The latest addition to Emergence Audio’s Textures sample library series has arrived, completing the string line-up with its final component: the viola. As with the previous releases in the range, Viola Textures takes a different approach to traditional string libraries, employing the company’s Infinite Motion Engine and Non-Static Sampling technique to create interesting, evolving pad sounds from the source samples.
Developed by Emergence Audio’s founder Michael Vignola, Non-Static Sampling introduces subtle variations to played notes over a long period of time, an approach which they say helps to create fresh, emotive and dynamic sounds that offer an interesting tonal character whilst retaining the natural qualities of an acoustic instrument. Along with the other members of the Textures family, the library promises to cover a wide range of musical genres, and is recommended for TV, film and video game scoring and sound design, as well as neo-classical, ambient, drone, mediation music and much more.
The latest instalment includes 26 traditional articulations performed by Elise Frawley, a New York-based violist who specialises in performing and recording classical, contemporary and pop music. Patches consist of two blendable layers each with their own independent settings, and over 100 parameters including envelopes, filters and modulation sections make it possible to create a huge range of custom sounds, with more than 160 presets included to provide inspirational starting points.
"I find the Emergence Audio instruments to be a breath of fresh air in the realm of sampled strings. There’s a level of emotion and texture in these sounds that I find to be incredibly inspiring and real. They’re now an indispensable part of my writing template." - Atli Övarsson, composer, ‘Silo’, ‘The Hitman's Bodyguard’, ‘Defending Jacob’
Compatibility
Viola Textures runs in Native Instruments’ Kontakt or Kontakt Player version 6.7 or later, which is supported on PCs running Windows 10 or 11, and Macs running macOS 10.14 and above. VST, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available, and there is also a standalone version. 3.44GB of disk space is required.
Pricing & Availability
Viola Textures is available now, and is currently (1 February 2024) being offered at an introductory price of $65 USD, reduced from its full cost of $99.
