From harp to zither
Explore the magical resonance of the open string, from harp to zither—Lyra offers a carefully curated history of plucked string instruments for contemporary composition. With 11 instruments from Western European music traditions, you have an array of character soloists at your fingertips. Perfect for evocative leads, shimmering, magical accompaniments, or punctuating detail—like its sister collection Cetra, Lyra gives you spirit, nuance, and detail for your songs, stories, scores, and productions.
Intro offer
€119.00
RRP: €149.00 | Ends May 6, 2026
Plucked and hammered strings from the classical and folk traditions of Western Europe.
Highlights
11 detailed instruments from harp to zither
Automatic release sample selection for improved playability
Multiple articulations including glissandi, tremolo, chords, and ornaments
A choice of pluck styles for the dulcimer, psalterion, and lyre harp
Up to 5 mic positions
Recorded at SML Studios in Surrey, UK
The sound of Lyra
The central element that connects all of the instruments here is the way their open strings ring out. Playing styles differ: Some use hammers, some are played with the fingertips, others with fingernails. All the instruments are quiet, subtle, and evocative, and perfectly complement their sisters in the related collection from Richard Harvey, Cetra. Perfect for, but not restricted to, creating expressive melodies and details for fantasy, romance, art house, and all kinds of whimsy and melancholy.
Historical resonance
"Every musical instrument forms a part of an evolutionary process... all these instruments are part of that process. Some have reached their evolutionary peak, others are a part of history." - Richard Harvey
The instruments recorded for Lyra are modern creations that represent this process. Some show specific eras, others show rare and lesser-known branches that this evolutionary process has taken.
Contemporary tradition
Almost all of the instruments in Lyra come from Richard Harvey's private collection. These are absolutely exquisite instruments at the pinnacle of their musical evolution. Lyra puts these masterfully built instruments directly at your fingertips, and you don't have to tune them, store them, or clean them.
Triple harp
Traditionally a single instrument with 3 courses of parallel strings, our version is 3 discrete instruments positioned across the stereo field for a unique studio sound.
Hammered dulcimer
A percussive string instrument that takes many forms all over the world. We’ve used two different kinds of hammers.
Celtic harp
One of Lyra's frame harps, this traditional, triangle-shaped instrument from northwest Europe can change key with the help of small levers near the tuning pins. We've split it into two instruments: Sustains and special articulations.
Gothic psaltery
A box harp with a long history in Europe and commonly used in medieval churches. It can be played with fingernails, fingertips, or a quill plectrum.
Gothic harp
This instrument has a parallel history to the Gothic psaltery, and it has a similar range, but a clearly different form. It's lighter than a Celtic harp and almost always uses metal strings instead of nylon.
Psalterion
This instrument looks and sounds like a bigger, deeper-pitched psaltery. We recorded it as two separate instruments—one played with fingers and one with hammers.
Autoharp (plucked)
A type of zither strung with piano wires. It's a quiet instrument with a long sustain. We’ve removed the chord bars and plucked the strings to enable the strings to ring out.
Folk zither
A small plucked-string zither that exists in various forms all around the world. Ours has 15 steel strings.
Lyre harp
With its long, straight neck, the lyre harp is actually a member of the lute family. It has a rounded, earthy sound, and you get options played with fingertips or fingernails.
Tambour de bearn
Traditionally struck with a stick as a sort of tuned percussion. We treated it as a stringed instrument and recorded plucked sustains as well as the more traditional chords.
Created with Richard Harvey
Richard Harvey is a prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with artists such as Hans Zimmer, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, and guitarist John Williams. He’s conducted, composed, orchestrated, and played on numerous film and television soundtracks, including The Lion King, The Little Prince, The Da Vinci Code, Prince Caspian, Disney's live action Mulan, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Richard is an expert player and collector of unique musical instruments, with an unparalleled collection of more than 700 instruments—old and new—from around the world. Richard has already worked with Orchestral Tools to create Phoenix Orchestra, Sangara, Svara, Andea, Abacus, Monolith, and Cetra. With all of his Orchestral Tools projects, Richard is sharing his incredible instrument collection with the composer community.
More from Richard Harvey
Andea by Richard Harvey
South American instruments
Monolith by Richard Harvey
Cinematic traditional drums
Phoenix Orchestra
Authentic Chinese instruments
Abacus by Richard Harvey
Vintage children’s instruments
Sangara by Richard Harvey
Cinematic Southeast Asia
Cetra
From lute to guitar
Runs in SINE
Mic merging
Preserve your system resources: Fine-tune your mix using multiple mic positions, then merge into a single channel within the player.
Greater usability
SINE is designed to complement the compositional workflow. Create on the fly with auto keyswitch options, and easy remapping tools.
Download single instruments
Choose only the instruments and mic positions that you currently need—no need to download the entire collection at once.
Spectrum
Lyra
From harp to zither
SML Studio Surrey, London
Works with Orchestral Tools’ SINE Player—NOTE: Latest version required!
Size
94 GB of samples (32.4 GB SINEarc compressed)
24 bit / 48 KHz patches
SINE system requirements
Mac: macOS 10.15 or higher | Intel Core i5 or similar | Apple ARM chipsets supported | At least 8 GB RAM (16 GB+ recommended)
Windows: Windows 10 | Intel Core i5 or similar | At least 8 GB RAM (16 GB+ recommended)
Formats supported: Standalone, VST, VST3, AU, AAX