The Alpine Project offers a free collection of orchestral instrument libraries for Native Instruments Kontakt, designed for composers and music producers. The project was created to address the challenge of finding high-quality, playable musical instrument samples from the public domain. By gathering these samples and combining them with advanced scripting and effects within the Kontakt environment, The Alpine Project provides libraries that are suitable for both beginners and professional composers. The original collection has been downloaded more than 100,000 times and is consistently ranked as one of the top free orchestral libraries for Kontakt.
Project Origins and Philosophy
The Alpine Project was initiated with the goal of making the best public domain orchestral samples more accessible and usable. The creators recognised that while many free samples existed in the public domain, they were often difficult to locate and came in a variety of hard-to-use formats. The project collects these samples and integrates them into NI’s Kontakt, employing clever scripting and effects to create great-sounding, free sample libraries. The libraries are designed to be playable and simple to use, making them a valuable resource for studios ranging from young beginners to Grammy-winning professionals.
Available Instrument Libraries
The Alpine Project libraries include a selection of brass and woodwind instruments. The libraries are available for download for Kontakt 5 or higher (full version required, as the free Kontakt Player is not supported).
French Horn
The French Horn sample library is based on samples from the University of Iowa Music Instrument Samples. It is described as very playable and simple to use, with a great sound. A notable feature is its large dynamic range, which is achieved through modeled dynamics.
English Horn
The English Horn library is based on samples from the free Eddie’s English Horn Soundfont.
Bass Clarinet
The Bass Clarinet library uses samples from the University of Iowa Music Instrument Samples (MIS).
Technical Requirements and Usage
The libraries are designed for use with the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt, version 5 or higher. They are not compatible with the free Kontakt Player. The libraries feature specific controls for musical expression. For most instruments, the modulation wheel controls dynamics, and key velocity or the A-1 key switches legato on/off, allowing for polyphonic playing. For flute and clarinets, breath control is used for vibrato. The strings section includes articulation patches for long and short notes, except for the strings which have their own articulation patches.
Project History and Updates
The Alpine Project was started five years prior to the information in the source documents, at a time when there were few free orchestral sample libraries in modern sampler formats. Since its release, the project has been integrated into studios worldwide. An upcoming new edition of the project is noted as an update and consolidation of the entire collection. The project was created by Noah Horowitz and includes samples from various universities and individuals.
Accessing the Libraries
The Alpine Project's main website is hosted on a Wix platform. The source material indicates that download links for the libraries, such as one provided via Rapidgator, may become inactive. In such cases, users are advised to be registered users on the source site and can send requests to have dead links re-uploaded. The team aims to re-upload files for users as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The Alpine Project provides a valuable, free resource for composers and producers seeking high-quality orchestral samples for Native Instruments Kontakt. By curating public domain samples and enhancing them with professional scripting and effects, the project delivers playable libraries for French Horn, English Horn, and Bass Clarinet. The libraries are designed for the full version of Kontakt 5 or higher and are widely used by beginners and professionals alike. Users should ensure they have the correct software and be prepared to seek alternative download methods if direct links are unavailable.