The luthéal might well be the rarest piano in existence. Invented by the Belgian George Cloetens in 1919, it adds nail and felt stops to the regular piano sound. This makes for bell-like clarity or the typical harmonic warmth associated with a Fender™ Rhodes® piano - the luthéal offers just an all-acoustic version of it.
These new sounds inspired Maurice Ravel to several of his pieces (including „Tzigane"). To this day, only one original luthéal is preserved, which is exhibited at the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) in Brussels.
Luthéal at the MIM, Brussels (© MIM)
Back in the day, the luthéal was welcomed as the new piano type by many artists, but got lost in the Second World War and was buried into oblivion. Several mysteries arose about Ravel's luthéal notions in his scores. In the 1970s, one remaining luthéal was discovered at the Conservatory of Music in Brussels, rusting away in the cellar. Painstakingly restored, Ravels pieces could be played for the first time again as they were intended.
Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), Brussels (© MIM)
Conductors from all over the world regularly enquire at the MIM to rent the luthéal for performances. However, the risk of damage makes it an impossible task to ship the only remaining of its kind around the globe. Therefore, the MIM teamed up with realsamples in order to create an extensive virtual luthéal, consisting of nearly 10.000 single samples. The virtual version contains all stops, each featuring up to 32 velocity layers and 8 release samples per note as well as additional pedal noises.
The luthéal features inspiring and unconsumed tones great for any type of music - be it acoustic folk asking for something slightly different than your typical piano, pop, jazz, electronic music or classical pieces like Ravel's Tzigane. Prior to its official release, the virtual luthéal already had its stage premiere with the Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University in Baltimore performing the Ravel opera "L'enfant et les sortileges".
For the critical task of recording the instrument, custom-made Wagner™ U47w® tube microphones were used in conjunction with Crane Song™ Flamingo® preamps and Universal Audio™ 2192® digital converters, captured in 192 khz/24 bits resolution. To start right away, presets are available for all common sample formats including HAlion3®, Kontakt4® and EXS24®.
The Luthéal Piano sample library is available in different resolutions, starting at 269.95 US $. The sample library can be purchased directly on the realsamples website.
Sound samples and details
http://realsamples.com/index.html?d_650 ... ano297.htm
Background Information
realsamples was founded in 2003 and is based in Karlsruhe, Germany. The company specialises in large sample libraries, providing authentic virtual realisations of acoustic instruments. In 2007, realsamples started the Edition Beurmann featuring historical harpsichords, spinets and pianos.
For further information, please visit realsamples at http://www.realsamples.com
Further information on the instrument can be found at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM): http://www.mim.be/pleyel-grand-piano-wi ... -mechanism
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HAlion®, Kontakt2®, EXS24®, GigaStudio®, GigaStudio3®, Rhodes®, Universal Audio™, Wagner™, Crane Song™, Fender™ and all other product/brand names used are for identification purposes only. Brand names, trademarks and product names belong to their respective owners and are in no way affiliated with realsamples.