Voxos: Epic Virtual Choir | Music Maker Publications

Film composers and other writers who are looking to add expressive colors to their palettes but need to watch the bottom line have it pretty good these days. Affordably priced products designed to help them create large and dramatic templates are entering the market at a rapid rate. Well, Let's qulify that statement a bit. At a grand, VOXOS is not an entry-level sample library, but if it allows you to create scores that include realistic sounding soloists and large vocal ensembles, is it something you can enjoy and possibly monetize?
A quick scan through the manual(which you can download prior to purchase) and the mission of cinesamples partners Michael Barry and Michael Patti becomes clear: to give composers a powerful set of tools that reside behind an easy-to-use front end.
And thst' just what they've done. using Native Instruments Kontakt 4 and a few simple screens built into VOXOS itself, Cinesamples has assembled a gorgeous sounding choir that speaks Latin... or at least aclosely affiliated derivative. Check out my findings below, and head for our webstie (Resource Library> Magazine Extras> Audio and Music) to hear examples.


Morphin through TIme


Open up the legato sections and check out the Settings page and you'll see a mere three parameters. Morphingm a relatively new term that signifies an app's ability to shift between samples while a note is depressed is one of the most exciting developments in recent sample technology. if you're working with the VOXOS legato sections you can morph between syllables "ooh" and "ah" incrementally.
The default for this vowel Morph parameter is MIDI Controller 2 (Breath control). You can assign this to any other control number (and save it in a patch) but there is nowhere to save this new setting as a default. Current MIDI controllers sport lots of easy-to-assign faders and knobs but there are plenty of users out there who are holding onto older controllers that aren't easy to program. It would be great to see future release of VOXOS include the ability to reset the default on all assignable MIDI controllers.
The morphing concept is also applied to dynamics. The manual doesn't state how many different velocity levels were recorded so it's impossible to know exactly how the Dynamic Morph controler (wired to the Mod Wheel) works, but it does provide a way to move through level changes smoothly. We'll get to the Voice leading engine (the third parameter on the legato Settings page) later.


The Samples


Cinesamples conducted the VOXOS recording sessions at the chapel of Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. The results are stunning. Sections recorded with Legato transitions include all main choral groupings plus a Boys' Soprano Ensemble. Soprano, Alto and a solo Boy Soprano were also recorded, all in 5.1. As we'll see a little later, the Surround mic recordings can be used to great effect. Audio clip #1 was tracked using the Soprano Legato Section I assigned Vowel Moprh to a fader built into my ancient Yamaha KX88 and worked this feature in real time while laying down monpholic line, then went back and recorded the Mod Wheel as an overdub to introduce some dynamics into the line.


Phrase builder and VLE


Looking for a tool that will let you type in a phrase and have your virtual choir chant it back? Too bad. The manual clearly lays out the developer's philisophy on this one. "We knew that one of the ways a sampled choir can sound very fake is by introducing excessive micro-splicing- A technique associated with"word builiding." We lovingly refer to this as Stepen Hawking Effect because of the resultant computerized sound."Sure I'd love to hear a choir of women intone the phrase " All girls love Gary," but thats not something VOXOS offers.
Voxos does have a feature they call the phrase builder, which let the user construct Latin sounding phrases, which the vocalists read back in an extremely effective manner. It's very effective and a lot of fun to work with. check out audio clip 2. I called up the phrase builder and activated both the male and female choruses
(soloists are not included in this feature)/ the Phrase Builder has a setting that allows you to select either staccato or sustain articulations, or both. If you choose to instantiate both staccato and sustain patches your velocity (which cna be assigned to suit yourtouch) determines which of them is active at any given moment. The men and women seperated by several octaves, are laid out in parallel fashion, with some nice sounding effects thrown in, so it's easy to get a feel for the phrase builder.
Creating phrases is easy. After activating staccato and sustains for both the Men and Women, I opened up the phrase builder page. Key Switches laid out on the bottom C octave on an 88 Key controller let you toggle between a maximum of 12 phrases. Each phrase has slots for up to 20 syllables, which include vowels and latin sounding fragments. A selection of effects is also included on this page. I used Random function when I improvised this track, then went back and created a 20 syllable phrase in slot 1 and a second phrase that had just the syllable"A" which yileds the "Ah" sound. in overdub mode I recorded key switches that alternated between these two phrases.
It's important to note that the phrase builder incorporates legato technique. Notes connected by legato will remain on the syllabes thats active. When you release a key before playing the next note the phrase builder will move to the next syllable in your phrase.
Let's reload the Legato Sections and try to figure out what the so-called Voice Leading Engine is all about. I sat down and improvised a short chorale-like phrase. Audio Clip 3 has the VLE engaged. Wow, thats reallty smooth. Playing back the same phrase with the VLE disengaged yields a far less satisfying result, as you can hear in audio clip 4. Oh, i get it- the voice leading engine lets you play back chords while still getting the smoothness my of legato transitions. Nice.


Back to Bach


And now- the main event. In this corner the challenger, Voxos. Over there the undisputed heavyweight champion J.S. "The Chorale Kid" Bach, Let's reall the phrase builder and put Voxos to the ultimate test: Intoning the opening bars of Bach's B Minor Mass.
Kyrie Eleison ("Lord have mercy")-has there ever been a simpler or more poignant sentence? Unanimously viewed as one of the pinnacles of Western art, the B Minor Mass demands purity,gravity, and balance from any choir that attempts to sing it. bach wastes no time getting down to business; from the opening bars of this first part of the Mass anguish and redemption are in full effect.
I started out by tracking the organ part which is actually a reduction of the orchestral score. Using just one instance of Voxos I built the five-part choir (which includesa pair of soprano staves) from the bottom up. Then I used the phrase builder to construct a single string of syllables. If I was going for maximal authencity I would have tracked the parts individually with their own legato phrasing to capture the melismas that Bach wrote for each part.
The piece sounded excitingly good while it was being put together, but once I finished sequencing the entire choir I finished sequencing the entire choirand migrated over to the mixing page to select only the far and Surround mic placements (to import that huge church sound) i went back, hit Play, and...
I was literally dumbfounded by what I heard. the full scope of Bach's dramatic intention- it was all there. I had to bring my wife Jerri down to my studio. Over the years Jerri has shown a remarkable indifference to any and all aspects of music technology, but when she heard this sequence she literally could not believe that samples were involved. Check out audio clip 5. What do you think?


Singing the praises


Voxos is a remarkable product. Do I wish that developers had found a way to let the user type in phrases, which would sound authentic on play back? sure, and maybe the technology will allow for that at some point. Voxos is still in development; Cinesamples is currently working on a free update to VOXOS which will include new material and some tightening up of the original sample set-check their website for details.
But the recordings are superb, the tools are powerful and easy to use, and if you're looking to augment your aresenal with a highly effective choir, you have to check VOXOS out.