Cinematic Southeast Asian instruments
Discover the musical pulse of an expansive geographical region distilled into a curated collection of instruments. Sångara—a library of over 70 percussion, wind, and stringed instruments from various parts of Southeast Asia—was made in collaboration with the inimitable composer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey. It brings new colors to your composing palette, perfect for scoring, eliciting vivid mental images, or fabricating rich and cinematic worlds of sound.
Created with Richard Harvey
Through conducting, composing, orchestrating, and playing on numerous film and television soundtracks, Richard Harvey has made an indelible mark on the industry. Not only has he worked on celebrated soundtracks such as The Little Prince, The Da Vinci Code, The Lion King, Interstellar, Luther, Disney’s live action Mulan, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business: Hans Zimmer, guitarist John Williams, and Paul McCartney to name a few.
In addition to his compositional and performing work, Richard is an avid collector of musical instruments, with over 700 from all around the world. He’s made it his mission to share them with the composing community. This is his fourth collaboration with Orchestral Tools, picking up where Phoenix Orchestra, Andea, and Abacus left off.
Highlights
Distinctive instruments with distinguished sounds
Sångara contains a massive selection of instruments, some of which have never been sampled before. The instruments are all sonically unique. In this video, we explore the history behind some of these instruments.
A 16-string arched, horizontal harp with a long neck decorated with a bodhi tree leaf.
The strings of this fretted, two-stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body are plucked with a pick.
A circular rattan frame houses 16 tuned gongs that are played with hard or soft mallets. For melodies or harmonic texture.
Bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The base is held in one hand while the other hand shakes the frame.
A circle of tuned gongs struck with soft or hard mallets. Higher in pitch than the kong wong yai for more ornate melodies.
Usually made of bamboo, these hollow percussion instruments are varieties of slit drum with a snappy natural sound.
A zither originating from Indonesia, somewhat similar to a Chinese guzheng or Japanese koto.
A two-stringed, bowed instrument from Thailand. The lowest of the saw family with a dark and mellow tone. The body is made from a coconut shell and cowskin.
This free-reed Lao mouth organ consists of bamboo pipes connected by a hollowed out wood reservoir into which the player blows.
A curated selection of instruments
With over 70 instruments, Sångara presents a hand-picked selection of sounds from a vast and culturally diverse region. This sample library contains a battery of tuned and untuned percussion, a wealth of winds, and a plethora of plucked and bowed stringed instruments.
A wide range of articulations from experienced local players
Sångara was recorded at Karma Studios in Thailand, drawing on the knowledge and skill of experienced local musicians. In addition to common sustains and staccatos, many of the instruments feature articulations with a long tradition.
Instruments performed by Richard Harvey (woodwinds, zithers, percussion), Elaine So (drums and tuned percussion), Pongsakorn Lertsakworakul (drums and tuned percussion), Matas Masungsong (drums), Tossaporn Tassana (ranats), Somnuek Saengarun (reed instruments), Lertkiat Mahavinijchaimontri (strings), Pornnapa Netaumporn (Thai khim), Tinnakorn Attapiaboon (Thai wote and percussion), Sombat Simla (Thai khaen)
Special thanks to Chamnongchit 'CNC' Harvey, Matas Masungsong, Ponsakorn Lertsakworakul, Professor Anant Narkkong, Chris Craker
