OrchPlayMusic Objectives

The OrchPlay software provides access to all individual instrumental tracks of the full orchestra and enable subsets of instruments involved in a particular orchestral effect to be heard in isolation or within the full musical context. This tool provides unprecedented opportunities for scientific research on orchestration perception, for computational modeling of orchestration techniques, and for orchestration pedagogy and performance practice. With this system, orchestral players can rehearse their parts at home with a full orchestra in a "Music Minus One" fashion. Any user's instrumental setting related to any section of the score (with measure nr. and time-based units) can be saved as a bookmark with individual name, description and relevant score pages for use in the classroom or public presentations. Bookmarks and Bookmarks Lists (referring to any compilation of pieces) can also be exported and shared with all other users. Standard stereo files can be imported as OPL files as well as any other related document and linked to them. The OrchPlay Music Library currently offers a selection of 100 musical pieces (from short excerpts to full movements) from the symphonic repertoire from late 18th Century to Contemporary. The selection is planned to feature a growing number of complete movement and expand to ca 400 significant orchestral masterworks within a few years. The goal is to provide an international reference database of multichannel orchestral recordings accessible to the widest public possible at a modest cost.

OrchPlayMusic is developing new technologies for music education and appreciation related to orchestration practice through the online multi-track OrchPlay Music Library of significant orchestral excerpts. These excerpts are created with a high-quality orchestral rendering environment (OrchSim) that produces recordings that compare favorably to professional orchestral recordings, complete with spatialization of the instruments, concert hall room acoustics, and ambient noise context. The engaging and highly realistic musical interpretations taking advantage of the deep knowledge of orchestral music and orchestration practice combined with a high degree of skill with digital audio workstations are the trademark of the highly qualified OrchPlayMusic staff. The web user interface allows for the selection of excerpts on the basis of composer, historical period, type of instrumentation (classical, romantic, modern, etc.), musical form and - soon to come- the type of orchestration effect or technique being sought. The complete OrchPlay Music Library of orchestral renderings in proprietary multi-track OPL format is available on a yearly subscription basis.