# Soundiron's Voice Of Rapture: The Soprano solo vocal library



## Peaslee (Jun 9, 2013)

We've just released our new *Voice Of Rapture: The Soprano* solo vocal library today. We feel this library represents a new benchmark in solo vocal sampling for classical operatic voice. As the first release in our new Voice Of Rapture SATB series, this powerful 3.5 GB collection of fully playable chromatic content and emotionally charged melodic phrases gives you more creative freedom, expressive power and work-flow flexibility than any other solo vocal library in the world.

Check out our MP3 demos here! 
http://soundcloud.com/soundiron/sets/voice-of-rapture-the-soprano
[flash width=580 height=200 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F6122684&amp;show_comments=true&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_playcount=false&amp;show_artwork=true&amp;color=b99a43[/flash]


We chose our vocal artist Nichole Dechaine specifically for her precise and yet delicate style, exquisite tone, smooth delivery and brilliant energy. First, we captured True Legato vowel sustains for Ah and Oo vowels, using an exhaustive long-form sampling method for unparalleled quality and realism, with infinite sustain, natural release, 3-voice polyphonic support and plenty of fine-tuning parameters. Next we explored other standard dynamic Ah, Eh, Mm and Oh pure vowel sustains, with or without vibrato in piano and forte. You'll also find nearly two-dozen malleable staccato syllables and sustaining chromatic chants, each with synchronized legato, EZ syllable/word switching. All of this chromatic content spans a playable key range of over 2 octaves, with total performance controls.

She then performed improvised melodic phrases for us at 100 bpm, with collections rooted in the keys of A, B, C, D, E, F and G (with both major and minor variants). We also recorded similar collections of melodic phrases based on the traditional Angelic Salutation (The Hail Marry) in Latin, as well as sections of a classic French poem from the mid 1800s by Rene-Francois Sully-Prudhomme, also spanning a full set of root keys, as well as an eclectic collection of cheerful and haunting whistling phrases. 

Click Here to see images of the user interface: 





We also covered various vocal effects, such as whispers, laughing, coughing, breathing, sweeps, swells and more. Finally, we took the source material and contorted it into a broad selection of ambiences, drones, atmospheres, pads, leads and special FX instruments. We've also included our comprehensive FX Rack panel, with chorus, delay, distortion, compression, EQ, amp/speaker simulation and convolution reverb, featuring 70 of our most popular custom recorded rooms, halls, cathedrals and otherworldly fx impulses easily available right through the interface. 

We recorded her in a close, totally dry studio environment with exceptional microphones and preamps to capture every subtle nuance. We then carefully prepared and edited each sample and hand-programmed each element into a unrivaled performance interface that delivers both efficiency and control. The Soprano brings together superior programming, performance, quality and living, breathing soul into an unprecedented solo vocal solution that you will not find matched anywhere else. 

It's on sale for only $119 through June 20th, 2013. The price goes to $139 after the intro period ends, so don't wait! Voice Of Rapture: The Soprano is 3.5 GB installed and includes 3852 Samples, with dozens of Kontakt presets. It's a standard open-format library with fully accessible wavs, so it requires the full version of Kontakt. The free Kontakt Player does not support this open format.

http://youtu.be/EagBnoUYwBc (Check out the detailed video walk-through with Ryan Scully to see the library in action.)


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## shakuman (Jun 9, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

Finally! (o::o)


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## musophrenic (Jun 9, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

And here I am thinking I was gonna save money this month. Well played, SI, well played.


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## Mr. Anxiety (Jun 10, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

I think this library sounds good. It's a bit frustrating getting a real sense of what the nuances are in it from these demos. By chance, will anyone be doing a more naked demo of the voice, with minimal background and mixed forward?

I think that would really help getting everyone on board.

Thanks,

Mr A


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## Graham Keitch (Jun 10, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

'Hail Marry' ?? 

No idea who Marry is - that's what happens when a couple are wed :lol: - but no doubt we'll hear a lot more about him or her as they crop up over and over again in phrases! :roll: 

Graham


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## playz123 (Jun 10, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*



Graham Keitch @ Mon Jun 10 said:


> 'Hail Marry' ??
> 
> No idea who Marry is - that's what happens when a couple are wed :lol: - but no doubt we'll hear a lot more about him or her as they crop up over and over again in phrases! :roll:
> 
> Graham



 Let he who is without sin cast the first...typo!  But while we're on the subject, shouldn't the title of this thread be Voice Of Rapture?  In any case, the library is indeed one of Rapture and definitely not the Voice of a Raptor, so glad that part is correct. Still not sure what a "Sorpano" is though...a singer whose throat is sore from singing too long?  

***********************

Mike and company...this release is superb. I've only been working with it for a few hours, and 'no nits to pick' yet at all. The audio quality is superb, the controls all work effectively, and I love being able to see the wave now...and better still actually *see* where I've set my offset point (rather than rely on just a number). Brilliant! And 'we' are so pleased to discover that the Soundiron VOR series will also include ATB as well as the Soprano. My choral conducting client says he's "delighted" to hear that.

I've also had a little fun with this library, as well as being in awe. Did you know that the Legato Ah is perfect for recreating the singing voice in the original Star Trek theme?  One of Mike Greene's "Ladies" does that tool, but so does this soprano...and beautifully. Oh, and speaking of the soprano herself, her voice and her picture are lovely. Your choice of a vocalist for this library was a wise one, and she did a superb job. What an incredible singer!

Anyway, not to rattle on, but definitely another top notch release from Soundiron. And thanks too to Ryan Scully for his walk-through, which I watched on the weekend. I felt right at home with the library as soon as I loaded up the first patch. Cheers, and congratulations to everyone involved!


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## quantum7 (Jun 10, 2013)

DEFINITELY gonna pick this one up!!! I sure wish it came out 6 months ago, though- would of been perfect for my new album....guess it'll have to be on the next one.  BTW, Mercury was a God-send for me on my project. Great job, Soundiron!!!


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## constaneum (Jun 10, 2013)

I like all their vocal/choir libraries. Truly awesome !! Especially the latest "Voice of Rapture: The Soprano"....One question regarding their "Ah...(with Vibrato)" patch which was showcased in the walkthrough. The Vibrato seems to be overwhelming. Is it controllable via CC so that it can be transitioned from a Non Vibrato Ah sound to a Vibrato Ah sound?? Is Swell control referring to Vibrato control or what? Thanks.


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## marcotronic (Jun 10, 2013)

Really beautiful! Are the phrases tempo-synched in any way?

thanks
Marco


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## Parisonic (Jun 11, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

Hey ,
Sounds wonderful . Also wondering about a CC controlled non vibrato > vibrato transition[/quote] . 

Thanks 

P.


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## constaneum (Jun 11, 2013)

please kindly let us know the soonest so that we can ready our credit card for purchase !!


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## TuomasP (Jun 11, 2013)

*Re: Soundiron's Voice Or Rapture: The Sorpano solo vocal library*

Sounds awesome! Sascha Knorr's Song for L. is my favourite. Very moving performance and inspirational track. Now i just need to wait pay check to get this lib :D


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## playz123 (Jun 11, 2013)

marcotronic @ Mon Jun 10 said:


> Really beautiful! Are the phrases tempo-synched in any way?
> 
> thanks
> Marco


Hey Marco, you're in luck.  K5 required of course.


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## playz123 (Jun 11, 2013)

constaneum @ Mon Jun 10 said:


> I like all their vocal/choir libraries. Truly awesome !! Especially the latest "Voice of Rapture: The Soprano"....One question regarding their "Ah...(with Vibrato)" patch which was showcased in the walkthrough. The Vibrato seems to be overwhelming. Is it controllable via CC so that it can be transitioned from a Non Vibrato Ah sound to a Vibrato Ah sound?? Is Swell control referring to Vibrato control or what? Thanks.



Might want to give that question a bit of a rethink when considering vocal libraries.  In any case Soundiron has provided both vibrato and non vibrato patches, so if you find the vibrato ones too much (I certainly don't) then just use the non vibrato ones. In addition "Swell" is used to control the volume swell of the 'instrument'. It's not a vibrato control.


"Vowel Sustains
The sustains presets contain 5 different sustaining vowels (Ah, Eh, Mm, Oh and Oo).The Ah, Eh and Oh vowels come in both forte vibrato and piano non-vibrato variants.The Mm sustain is included as a piano dynamic with vibrato and the Oo is a piano dynamic without vibrato.The Eh and Oh vowels begin with a slightly transient attack that can be bypassed by using the Offset knob."


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## constaneum (Jun 11, 2013)

Thanks for sharing the info ! Didn't knot that it doesnt work that way. Hehe !


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## Peaslee (Jun 11, 2013)

constaneum @ Mon Jun 10 said:


> I like all their vocal/choir libraries. Truly awesome !! Especially the latest "Voice of Rapture: The Soprano"....One question regarding their "Ah...(with Vibrato)" patch which was showcased in the walkthrough. The Vibrato seems to be overwhelming. Is it controllable via CC so that it can be transitioned from a Non Vibrato Ah sound to a Vibrato Ah sound?? Is Swell control referring to Vibrato control or what? Thanks.



It's the voice of sleep deprivation! We're working long hours on another project - something big and super duper secret...


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## quantum7 (Jun 12, 2013)

Peaslee @ Tue Jun 11 said:


> It's the voice of sleep deprivation! We're working long hours on another project - something big and super duper secret...



VERY excited! :D


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## constaneum (Jun 12, 2013)

I've bought a copy of this wonderful library....Played around with the sound and I have to say, I'm very impressed with it !!! Great job, guys. However, I'll like to ask something in particular. For the legato patches, I noticed there's only Ah (with Vibrato) and Oh (with no Vibrato)...I'm curious on how come Ah must be sampled with Vibrato? There are time when I prefer Legato Ah patch to be no Vibrato. Is Ah always with Vibrato ? Can't it be like Oh with no Vibrato at all??? Is it sampled/fixed that way (Ah with Vibrato and Oh with No Vibrato) because this is a Soprano library? Just curious.


Kindly have a listen to this. http://youtu.be/bOJuMhtH9ZQ?t=1m8s ... i'm actually hoping there's a Legato Ah (no vibrato) patch which sounds like this as we wont want the entire melody line to be with vibrato. Just a suggestion. :roll:


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## Peaslee (Jun 12, 2013)

constaneum @ Wed Jun 12 said:


> I've bought a copy of this wonderful library....Played around with the sound and I have to say, I'm very impressed with it !!! Great job, guys. However, I'll like to ask something in particular. For the legato patches, I noticed there's only Ah (with Vibrato) and Oh (with no Vibrato)...I'm curious on how come Ah must be sampled with Vibrato? There are time when I prefer Legato Ah patch to be no Vibrato. Is Ah always with Vibrato ? Can't it be like Oh with no Vibrato at all??? Is it sampled/fixed that way (Ah with Vibrato and Oh with No Vibrato) because this is a Soprano library? Just curious.



That's a good question, but it's important to understand how complex and time and lab or intensive even a single legato vowel is when you're dealing with singers. True legato for soloist voice necessarily requires us to use a far more intensive long form method to provide a properly realistic result. That means _each vowel_ can require around 3 - 4 hours of non-stop session time by itself. That's for a single vowel at a single dynamic layer. 4 hours of session time is considered an exceptionally long and arduous full recording day for even trained singers. 

True legato recording for solo performers is basically one of the most physically demanding types of sampling a musician or singer can endure - if not _the_ most. It's far more taxing than even the most challenging concert performance, with even less room for error. Most describe it as a simply brutal test of pure endurance. Asking a singer to tackle more than a couple of true legato vowels in a single week would be pushing your luck, as it could very well wreck their voice for a week after that. It also involves countless hours of editing and programming after the sessions and then adds significantly to the size and scope of the library. Given the rigors of capturing the content, we opted for a balance of depth versus variety, since providing every possible option wouldn't be possible at anywhere even remotely near this library's current price point. 

We're glad folks are enjoying what VOR:S is capable of and if people really are hungry for it and there's enough demand we'll definitely explore the idea of expanding the library with a future add-on option.

PS - we just conducted a huge block of brand new solo instrumental legato today, so the pain is fresh in my mind. But probably not quite so fresh as the pain felt by the pour souls we've just put through it on your behalf.


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## constaneum (Jun 12, 2013)

Peaslee @ Thu Jun 13 said:


> But probably not quite so fresh as the pain felt by the pour souls we've just put through it on your behalf.




Hehehehehehe !! :mrgreen:


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## lucianogiacomozzi (Jun 13, 2013)

Sounds awesome, wish I had no need to buy food! I just got Olympus Elements and my God is it awesome! Thanks guys for these outstanding vocal libraries you're bringing to us.


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## Maestro77 (Jun 13, 2013)

Have to chime in here and echo the words of others in this thread. This library is amazing! It's a blast to play right out of the box and can sound even more incredible with just a little bit of tweaking. Gorgeous vocal and a no-brainer for the price. Pop some of the built-in reverb on a legato vowel patch and you've got an instant angel from heaven. Excellent work as always, Soundiron!


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## TuomasP (Jun 15, 2013)

Maestro77 @ Thu Jun 13 said:


> Have to chime in here and echo the words of others in this thread. This library is amazing! It's a blast to play right out of the box and can sound even more incredible with just a little bit of tweaking. Gorgeous vocal and a no-brainer for the price. Pop some of the built-in reverb on a legato vowel patch and you've got an instant angel from heaven. Excellent work as always, Soundiron!



+1 Just purchased this, swift download with Continuata downloader, fired up Kontakt and instant gratification  Stellar product with no-brainer price.


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## Guido Negraszus (Jun 15, 2013)

I really wish I could say something positive about the legato patches. Is it just me? So far I used it (or rather tried) on 2 tracks and it just doesn't sound right to me. The soprano voice just jumps at me without any beauty or emotion. Using the mod wheel doesn't make much of a difference. Since others users rate this a great library I will give it more tries on other songs and genres but so far I'm just disappointed. It could be that I maybe don't like this singer, not sure. I worked with a few soprano singers over the years and I know there are huge differences even within great singers.


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## Guido Negraszus (Jun 15, 2013)

Actually I just listened the "A Failing Dream" demo which turned up on my FB page. Unfortunately this just confirmed my own experience. I love this track, so beautiful but then that soprano voice. Sorry guys, it's unconvincing. It sounds brutal, hard and just out of place.


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## Graham Keitch (Jun 16, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Sun Jun 16 said:


> Actually I just listened the "A Failing Dream" demo which turned up on my FB page. Unfortunately this just confirmed my own experience. I love this track, so beautiful but then that soprano voice. Sorry guys, it's unconvincing. It sounds brutal, hard and just out of place.



Guido,

This is probably because it's most unlikely a strong, almost operatic soprano would sing nothing more than a heavy vibrato 'aah' throughout an entire piece written in this style. This is both a compositional shortcoming and a limitation of the library - to which we will be told it's only an early demo. I have to agree, it sounds awful to my ears but clearly most others don't share that view and will find great use of it.

Graham


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## shakuman (Jun 16, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Sun Jun 16 said:


> Actually I just listened the "A Failing Dream" demo which turned up on my FB page. Unfortunately this just confirmed my own experience. I love this track, so beautiful but then that soprano voice. Sorry guys, it's unconvincing. It sounds brutal, hard and just out of place.



I don't agree with you! ;/c] it sounds fabulous, Thanks Mike and Gregg for your awesome work. =o


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## clockwiser (Jun 16, 2013)

Graham, I read your comment and it made me to look through your previous comments and I found this.




Graham Keitch @ Thu May 09 said:


> Sooo pleased I invested in this - and there's still more to come!
> 
> An excellent demo that raises the bar and shows how it should be done.
> 
> ...



To be honest, I find this this particular Sable demo to be absolutely awful and synthetic. If it’s what impresses people and as you say “how it should be done” , then I question whether they know what a live string ensemble would sound like. I personally feel that what we have in choral libraries nowadays especially from Soundiron is leaps ahead of the string libraries we have currently.

People are free to express their views on this forum, but ultimately different libraries works to different needs. Neither excessive glorification nor bashing will help anyone. Everyone has his or her own taste and opinion. That’s why there is such a diverse range of libraries that caters our different requirements.


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## Graham Keitch (Jun 16, 2013)

clockwiser @ Sun Jun 16 said:


> Graham, I read your comment and it made me to look through your previous comments and I found this.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi Clockwiser,

Your comments are a PERSONAL attack - whereas my comments were purely directed at the topic in question and what appears to me to be an unsuitable choice of an operatic heavy vibrato aaah for this particular demo. It doesn't sit well for me personally. I did say I thought this was a compositional issue in part. 

I wasn't library bashing either when I referred to limitations as these are inherent in most choral libraries. I can't agree that today's choral libraries are leaps ahead of string libraries. They can't possibly be given the complexity of sampling the human voice and the incredibly difficult task of word recreation. That is no disrespect to SoundIron or any other developer of choral libraries.

As you deemed fit to mention and bash Sable (a bit hypocritical don't you think?), I believe the Spitfire team does provide demos that reflect the full capabilities of the library - coupled with compositional maturity. For me personally, this provides confidence when selecting which publishers to purchase from. When Mercury was first released, Mike defended some rather embarrassing demos that just repeated 'Kyrie' and 'Sanctus' over and over again as early attempts to demonstrate the technology. I have no issue with that but I'd rather hear what the library really can do and in that respect, I uphold Spitfire as a good model.

Graham


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## clockwiser (Jun 16, 2013)

Graham, don't get me wrong. I'm huge fan of spitfire libraries, and I have all their Albion and love them. However if you say that the particular sable demo is a good reflection of the library's potential, then I would argue that the potential isn't great. That particular demo was among the few that I listened and decided not to get Sable, for now. I'm only giving personal opinions, as with most on this board. If that Sable demo represent the best virtual string sound then it's a proof that we are still so far away from the day when live string isn't substantially better. If that Captain Brown demo to you sound like the real thing, well I don't know what to say.

A libraries like voice of rapture can be so subjective, and its really depends on the user and the requirements. If someone doesn't like it personally, don't get it. Thats why there are different products around. However, I feel having purchased VoR it definitely got is highlights that other libraries don't posses. I can personally see it being used very effectively in the right context.

Again its personal opinion on whether string or choir is more advanced in term of sample libraries. Not to mention choral sampling is in many ways more difficult than strings, in term of individual sections. Having worked with many great orchestras and top session musicians over the years, when budget allows, having live string is still a must as it's just still substantially better than live. Both in term of ensemble and solo string. However I feel comfortable in using sampled choirs from these developers in the final production as they are just more convincing. This has to do with the priority in the scoring, with string section being mostly more prominent than choral section, however string samples are just not as realistic as choral samples are, in my opinion. 


C.


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## Peaslee (Jun 16, 2013)

First, it's important to remember that there is no such thing as the ideal voice. No voice will ever satisfy every listener, because voice is purely subjective. That's why we'll be recording a number of different singers over time, each with their own unique sound and style. There will never be a definitive voice because the entire notion is impossible. There are simply great voices that work for different people - as it should be. 

Voice Of Rapture has both a gentler "oo" piano legato without vibrato and a stronger "Ah" forte legato with vibrato. You can switch back and forth between them as you play, in addition to dynamic control with the Swell knob and transition tightening/loosening with the Speed control. 

And of course, there are the other non-legato vowels, staccatos, polys and flexible phrases to help tie it all together. Our concept with this and future vocal libraries - both operatic and beyond - is to provide an extremely functional tool chest that can provide excellent results in a wide variety of situations. One thing it will never replace is a live professional singer performing to your exact specifications for every possible scenario, in a professional studio with a pro engineer on call 24-7. Of course, that would cost quite a great deal more of your money and time. But all of that said, we're going to continue pushing the technical boundaries of vocal sampling as we always have done with each new library release and existing library update. We definitely appreciate the feedback, because it helps us shape priorities and identify new ways forward.

As far as the original alpha stage Mercury teasers, those were meant to show the basic sound and fidelity of the choir, rather than illustrate the full scope of capabilities, since they hadn't been completed yet. We gave a few friends a packet of a few hundred MB to work with from what was to become a 15 GB library and told them to have fun with it. The library was still in alpha. As it stands now, Mercury is the most advanced and comprehensive children's choir sample library available anywhere.


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## marcotronic (Jun 19, 2013)

playz123 @ Tue Jun 11 said:


> marcotronic @ Mon Jun 10 said:
> 
> 
> > Really beautiful! Are the phrases tempo-synched in any way?
> ...



Thanks a lot, mate! (And sorry for the late reply)

Marco


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## tmm (Jun 26, 2013)

Just noticed while listening to the VoR demos that the vocalist sounds a lot like one of the vocalist's for Tari's upcoming Shevannai. Probably just coincidence / similar style.


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## 667 (Jun 26, 2013)

Ah, I hate when I miss the intro sale for something!


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