Spitfire Audio releases horn instrument ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS

Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS — creatively capturing the vivid and intense sound of an eight-piece horn section so essential to successful orchestral scoring, performed and recorded with the unmistakable acoustics of its Studio One namesake by eight exceptional players and an award- winning sound engineer using priceless microphones for facilitating quick and easy film score creation (whether elevating existing symphonic orchestral toolkits or pairing with ABBEY ROAD ONE: ORCHESTRAL FOUNDATIONS) as a fully-fledged, standalone library, helpfully housed in an award-winning, easy-to-use, intuitive and inspiring (AU-, AAX-, NKS-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible) plug-in designed for composers by composers that loads directly into all major DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) without the need for any additional software.

It is fair to say that the horn has proved itself to be the irreplaceable heart of orchestral scoring. Think American composer, conductor, and orchestrator James Horner’s forlorn main theme of Braveheart, the 1995 American epic historical war drama film directed and co-produced by Mel Gibson, or the thunderous horn section used in American film composer, singer, and songwriter Danny Elfman’s original theme to Batman, the Tim Burton-directed 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name… horns play myriad roles, from chorale accompaniment to strings through to punchy main themes that transcend anything that the rest of the orchestra has to offer.

Amazingly, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS is the ninth ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS series sample library to be released by Spitfire Audio — including its inaugural ABBEY ROAD ONE: ORCHESTRAL FOUNDATIONS — and the first featuring two legatos. Letting loose with an agile section of eight horns at its creative core, all are capable of going from speedy — playing with fast-run articulations across dynamics — to slow, stately, and more lyrical performances, and all with the sound of cinema — Abbey Road Studios’ famed Studio One and A-list London players — right out of the box.

But best of all, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS creatively captures the most essential ingredient to successful orchestral scoring — that vivid and intense sound of an eight-piece horn section. Thanks to those two distinctly different legatos, this cinematic treasure trove adds even more flavour to the ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS series. Digging deeper, the PERFORMANCE LEGATO patch is designed to be more aerobatic and instantly playable, performed with accented attacks at the front of the sustains. Since it allows for fast runs across every dynamic, it is very much the ‘plug in and play’ of the two. The LYRICAL LEGATO patch proffers a more measured and deliberate alternative, with a softer entry — perfect for slower, lyrical lines. It is also fair to say, though, that the difference between how those two patches feel is significant — as, indeed, is the way that they each uniquely influence a composition’s melodic character. Outside of those welcomed legato patches, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS has articulations aplenty — namely, LONG, LONG SFZ (Sforzando), STACCATISSIMO, STACCATO, TENUTO, and MARCATO, making for much musical flavourings.

It is not for nothing that ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS puts the same first-call players performing on globally successful movies at anyone’s fingertips — as, indeed, do all of Spitfire Audio’s acclaimed ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS series sample libraries. All are recorded by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Simon Rhodes (Avatar, Hugo, Harry Potter) — ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS has Mix 1 and Mix 2 available as a result, musically making use of Abbey Road Studios’ much-lauded microphones — making their presence felt on ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS as self-explanatory Vintage 1, Vintage 2, Pop Close, Pop Room, Close, Tree 1, Tree 2, Ambient, Outriggers, and Spill selections — and outboard gear that is clearly a one-of-a-kind collection. Audibly, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS users are effectively entering the room most composers can only dream of — namely, Abbey Road Studios’ Studio One. Of course, Studio One is considered to be one of the finest acoustic spaces in the world, with its history having an indelible connection with the scores recorded there, embedding emotion, mood, and magic into many of the most renowned films ever made. Musical matches made in heaven, classics such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Avengers: Endgame were all recorded in Studio One. Thanks to its rich tonality and famed reverb, Studio One’s sound is widescreen and epic — truly the iconic sound of cinema.

“As you’ll be familiar with from the scores of John Williams, Alan Silvestri, and Jerry Goldsmith, the sound of eight players really packing a punch in Abbey Road [Studio] One is really something to behold.” So says Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson — truly no stranger to the wonderful world of film scoring himself as an English composer for film, television, and video games, as well as a music technologist to boot — before adding: “This section is also capable of the very gentle and lyrical stuff as well.” Which, of course, neatly sums up ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS itself. “It sounds superb — just great out of the box; it’s very easy to play as another fantastic selection from the ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS,” summarises the thrilled company co-founder.

By being performed and recorded in the unmistakable acoustics of Abbey Road Studios’ Studio One, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS further enriches the already available offerings in the ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS orchestral range by commanding the forefront of instantly-playable instant cinema — right from the moment that the first patch is opened. After all, the horn has proven itself to be the irreplaceable heart of orchestral scoring, and ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS has taken its rightful place in Spitfire Audio’s acclaimed output of musical tools that are built to sound great and be exciting to use.

ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD®)-ready plug-in that loads directly into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) at an attractive RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of only £49.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$49.00 USD/€49.00 EUR (inc. VAT) from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/abbey-road-one-thematic-horns/

ABBEY ROAD ONE: THE COLLECTION, comprising all nine ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS series sample libraries to date — namely, the inaugural ABBEY ROAD ONE: ORCHESTRAL FOUNDATIONS, plus the ABBEY ROAD ONE: SPARKLING WOODWINDS, ABBEY ROAD ONE: LEGENDARY LOW STRINGS, ABBEY ROAD ONE: WONDROUS FLUTES, ABBEY ROAD ONE: GRAND BRASS, ABBEY ROAD ONE: VIBRANT REEDS, ABBEY ROAD ONE: MYSTERIOUS REEDS, ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC TRUMPETS, and ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS followup releases, is available as a series of AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS-ready plug-ins that load directly into a DAW at an attractive RRP of only £554.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$589.00 USD/€589.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — representing a substantial saving when priced against purchasing all seven sample libraries individually, and available as such until the next ABBEY ROAD ONE: FILM SCORING SELECTIONS series sample library is launched — from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/abbey-road-one-the-collection/

Spitfire Audio’s namesake Spitfire Audio application allows anyone to buy now and download anytime, and is available for free from here: Spitfire Audio – Library Manager

For more in-depth info, including some superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS webpage here: Spitfire Audio

Watch Spitfire Audio’s launch premiere of ABBEY ROAD ONE: THEMATIC HORNS — including its tantalising trailer video and Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson’s ‘traditional’ walkthrough — here: https://youtu.be/VZy69gQFo7A