Viola Organista – An Unusual Free String Instrument For Native Instruments Reaktor

Talented French developer Boscomac has recently introduced Viola Organista, the latest addition to his amazing series of free Native Instruments Reaktor ensembles.

The ensemble is based on an experimental instrument dating from the 15th century, described in the Codex Atlanticus collection of drawings and written concepts by Leonardo da Vinci. Although it is unknown whether or not Leonardo da Vinci managed to build a working prototype of the original viola organista concept, a similar instrument called Geigenwerk was built in 1575 by Hans Heyden. The instrument sounds similar to a viola, however it looks very similar to an organ.

Even though it’s not easy to compare the sound of Boscomac’s virtual creation to the sound of the original instrument (only a single instance of viola organista exists today), I can say that I really liked what I heard in the audio demos on the product page linked below. I love how the vibrato adds this odd and almost artificial feel to the sound of the instrument, an effect which can be heard particularly well in the first demo track. According to the info on the product page, vibrato is controlled via aftertouch.

Like most of Boscomac’s fantastic freebies released to date, this one is definitely a must-try for Reaktor users. Here’s hoping that he will also release VST plugin versions of his virtual effects and instruments one day, making them accessible to the rest of us. Viola Organista will work for 15 minutes in the freeware Reaktor Player.

Download

Viola Organista is available for free download via Boscomac’s website (589 kB download size, ZIP archive, contains 1 instrument in ENS format for Native Instruments Reaktor).