Modartt has released another freebie for their KIViR project (Keyboard Instruments Virtual Restoration). This time it’s a cimbalom, the precursor to the piano. The cimbalom is played with mallets and has been frequently used in gypsy orchestras.
Some more info from the Modartt press release:
The modern cimbalom has 133 strings and a range of almost five octaves. Since 1897, cimbalomhas been taught at the Budapest Musical Academy. Debussy and Stravinsky were one of the firstnon-Hungarian composers who exploited the sound and the interest of the cimbalom hasincreased in recent years among many modern composers.
The Pianoteq virtual copy of the cimbalom behaves like the original instrument. Contrarily tothe piano, pressing down a key does not lift the corresponding damper. Hence, unless the pedalis depressed, all notes are immediately dampened.
The original cimbalom instrument, modelled in Pianoteq, belongs to the famous cimbalom artistLuigi Gaggero and was built in 2007 by Balázs Kovács, Opera Zongoraterem, Budapest.
I haven’t tried it yet, but the KIViR project is one of several good reasons to use Pianoteq in my opinion.
