Hollywood Fantasy Winds

Hollywood Fantasy Winds presents an array of majestic woodwind instruments that transcend the modern orchestra:

• 5 instrument ensembles featuring 2 Irish Whistles (High and Low), 2 Renaissance Flutes, 3 Uilleann Pipes, and 4 Ocarinas. Numerous articulations include legato slur, sustains with different vibratos, shorts of various lengths, and effects like flutters and glissandos perfect for fantasy film, television, and game soundtracks.
• Each instrument recorded with 4 microphone positions: Close to capture instrument (ensemble) detail, Mid at the edge of the stage for definition, Main providing a big, unified sound with a Decca tree + outriggers configuration, and Surround providing a deep, lush space at the back of the stage.
• Use the Moods to find the right feel for your composition. Use the Soft mood for more intimate writing, the Classic mood for a traditional orchestral sound, and Epic for a big, cinematic sound. The color of the user interface indicates the currently selected mood.
• Comes with innovative new features and a suite of powerful effects available in the revolutionary Opus software engine.

Hollywood Fantasy Winds presents an array of ethereal, majestic woodwind instruments, complete with true legato and a wide variety of articulations to command the realism and power you need in a cinematic ensemble of winds. With this collection, you can paint detailed images of Celtic highlands, scrolling mountain ranges, enchanted forests, and any other fantasy settings you can possibly imagine. These winds complete the core orchestral trinity with lyrical strings and brilliant brass, giving you the texture you need to complete a true melodic fantasy ensemble.

Many instruments in the Hollywood Fantasy Winds have no parallel in the modern orchestra: sonorous Uilleann pipes, mellow ocarinas, and brilliant Irish whistles to name a few. You'll find they feel right at home even in the grandest settings though, and that they carry a rich, haunting quality that conventional sample libraries can't touch. Winds are the lifeblood of fantasy folk music, adept at describing everything from crowded merchant streets to fantastic adventures across uncharted lands. The entire collection is deeply rooted in Celtic musical literature and is perhaps the most unique and evocative section in Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra.

2 IRISH WHISTLES (HIGH)

If you've been enchanted by Howard Shore's melody for the Shire, you know the brilliant sound of the Irish whistle well. It's a staple in Celtic folk music, and it's extremely flexible as a topline addition to the melodies you create with other instruments in this collection. It shares similarities with a piccolo, but with much more expressive pitch bending and a dramatic contour between registers. Few instruments offer this rare combination of depth and dynamics in higher frequency ranges, and it will be a welcome addition to any fantasy ensemble.

2 IRISH WHISTLES (LOW)

The same mystical sound of the high Irish whistle, but with a lower pitch range and a deeper, mellower quality. This is a great way to extend the range of a standard whistle and provide a richer, airier quality that translates even more smoothly to orchestral and cinematic settings. If you enjoy the sound of the bass flute and wish there was a variant with more of a folk quality, this should fill that position quite nicely. Try doubling it at the octave with the high Irish whistle and you'll have a simultaneously warm and piercing melody that captures the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes you can imagine.

2 RENAISSANCE FLUTES

This flute has a similar smooth, breathy tone to the concert flute, but its wooden construction provides a mellower and rounder sound similar to that of an ancient recorder. Its smooth, breathy quality is simultaneously intimate and regal and offers a more pure, gentle substitute for the flute for you to weave into the orchestra or balance out the brilliance of the Irish whistles. Don't let this mislead you, though — these Renaissance flutes can stand up to scoring tasks of any scale, adding a fullness and mystical quality you'll be hard-pressed to achieve any other way.

3 UILLEANN PIPES

This Celtic classic from the 1700s has been used in countless scores like Braveheart, Titanic, along with Square's classic game Creid. Its construction is similar to that of the bagpipes, but its quality is more lyrical rather than piercing, making these pipes the perfect choice for regal melodies that blend seamlessly with a full orchestra. Uilleann pipe sound libraries have been around for some time, but an ensemble was unheard of until now — layer this with strings or other winds, or let it shine on its own for rich melodic passages fitting for the soundtracks of any scale.

4 OCARINAS

Nintendo's iconic game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time brought this haunting, hollow-tone but long forgotten instrument back into the public eye. Think of this as a more agile folk complement to the Renaissance flute used more often in court music; it's soft, flexible, and allows for beautiful trills and ornaments that add depth to anything you play. This ocarina ensemble is the perfect choice for soft, expressive passages when whistles and pipes cut through a little too sharply.

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