Virtual Orchestration: A New Aesthetic

Symposiums and Workshops
Written By Eliazer Kramer

Abstract:

Composers for film and video games generally make use of digital audio workstations (Pro Tools, Cubase, etc.) to complete their work. Sample libraries, virtual instruments, and extensive programming in their chosen software allow them to produce realistic sounding mock-ups that serve either as placeholders until their music has been recorded or, in some cases, as the final product itself.

Composing for a live orchestra and for a virtual one differs in a fundamental way: in the case of a live orchestra, one composes for the sound that one wishes to hear, while in the case of a virtual orchestra, one composes for the sound that one can convincingly produce. When virtual orchestration is meant to be the final product, concerns such as human playability are not an issue, opening numerous aesthetic and artistic possibilities unattainable by a live orchestra. Likewise, certain textures, often involving extended techniques, cannot be faithfully reproduced in the virtual setting.

The presentation will examine timbres, textures, and sonorities that are unique to both orchestral settings. It will suggest ways one can enhance the aesthetic and artistic merit of virtual orchestration, so that it is more than a “cheaper alternative” to a recording (i.e. incorporating dynamics or technical passages that are unplayable for humans). Finally, it will discuss how unplayable and non-idiomatic writing can be used as stimuli for creativity: once something of interest is found outside the confines of playability, can rendering it playable by an orchestra of real musicians lead to discovery (orchestration the virtual orchestra)?

Eliazer Kramer
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