Size may be king in the natural world but sometimes the real power lies beneath the surface. After all, some of the tiniest insects are hardwired to floor a six-ton elephant. This latent symbiotic power comes to the fore in the same way with Metropolis Ark 4 – Elite Orchestral Forces, which integrates various approaches from the previous three collections, performed to perfection by the Metropolis Orchestra.
The sections are not small – they are sharply focused like the Maschinenmenschrobot in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, all unbridled expressive energy and singularity of purpose.
Similarly, the mixed wind sections are not instrumental sections in the conventional sense, but rather special blends of colors that come together to create a broad palette of virtual instrumentation. All performed and mixed in such a way that the listener perceives them as a single sound.
Just like the oppressive calm before a returning storm, the sound is always powerful and aggressive. The dynamic range goes from pianississimo to fortississimo, but the underlying force and bite is always there – every whisper is a controlled scream.
This time around, we have special high energy articulations – Power Legato, Martele Sets, Overblown Winds, Overpressure Strings – designed to harness the raw power behind the professional sheen.
As well as the strong rhythmic and melodic articulation sets, Metropolis Ark 4 provides the building blocks for creating striking orchestral effects and textures. Shaped by their rough surroundings, these sounds are edgy, offbeat and expressionistic.
Metropolis Ark 4 includes an impressive array of High, Mid and Low String Sections for you to choose from, not to mention 10 Mixed Brass & Woodwinds Sections. With a Melodic Percussion Ensemble, Tuned Timpani & Tom Ensemble and a whole host of Percussion and Drum Ensembles at hand to harness the rhythms. And for that additional emotional charge, there is a Women’s and Men’s Choir at your fingertips.
Instrumentation and Recording
Metropolis Ark 4 contains recorded sections grouped into four "Districts", which are divided into patches containing a single articulation as well as multi articulation patches. You will find all of these patches inside the Instruments folder. Metropolis Ark 4 also comes with a selection of ready to play multis that are accessible from the Multis folder. The collection contains the following sections, as they appear in your instruments folder:
District I - Elite Orchestral Forces
01. Full Orchestra
02. String Orchestra
03. Woodwind Orchestra
04. Brass Orchestra
05. Mixed Choir
District II - Orchestral Sections
01. High Strings
02. Mid Strings
03. Low Strings
04. Flute Piccolo
05. Flute Oboe & Clarinet
06. Bass Oboe & Basset Horn
07. Horn Wagner Tuba & Trombone
08. Trumpet & Muted Trumpet
09. Flute English Horn & Muted Trumpet
10. Bassoon & Horn
11. Bass Clarinet & Muted Bass Trombone
12. Bass Clarinet Bass Saxophone & Cimbasso
13. Contrabassoon Euphonium & Tuba
District III - Choir
01. Women Choir
02. Men Choir
District IV - Percussion
01. Marimba Xylophone & Piano
02. Tuned Toms and Timpani
03. Kick Drum Ensemble
04. Percussion Ensemble
Metropolis Ark 4 features Multi Articulation Patches in a separate folder for all sections and instruments.
You have free choice between a number of microphone positions, which have been chosen individually for best mixing and blending. All patches have Tree, Surround and AB, with Close I, Close II, Close III and Close AB on select patches.
These microphone positions are switchable in the GUI and can be controlled via MIDI CC. Additionally, all core articulations have been recorded with multiple velocity layers for realistic dynamics.
All samples have their natural panning.
Resources
Folder Structure - see the folder structure to verify your installation
File Listing - see all needed files to make sure your download is complete
