Overture: a Multimedia Tour of the Orchestra

This CD-ROM provides a tour of the orchestra, using photographs, illustrations, sound and video. The history of the orchestra and its arrangement includes details of the various different types of orchestra. Key topics include the role of the conductor and a study of instruments organized by section: strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.;Each section details the history of each instrument from its invention to performance, expanding on the construction and sound of each. Composers and their orchestral compositions are examined, and the techniques section takes a closer look at methods for specific instruments such as fingering and intonation. A book, "Classical Music on CD", is included in the pack.;A glossary defines key words and includes composers, techniques and instruments. All the illustrations, text and photographs can be printed. The system requirements are an IBM or compatible PC with 386SX or higher co-processor, 4Mb of RAM, and MPC compatible CD-ROM drive, sound-blaster compatible sound card, mouse, SVGA 256-colour display and loudspeakers or headphones.