Sibelius opens a window to music

Sibelius for Windows now available

Sibelius Software announced the availability of the Windows version of its market leading music notation software, today. Originally developed for the Acorn platform, Sibelius, is the UK's market leading notation software and is used by musicians of all kinds, including film composer, Lalo Schifrin and conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas.

Written by composers Ben and Jonathan Finn, Sibelius for Windows uses technology to make composing and musical arranging quick and simple. Sibelius for Windows is easy to use, replicating manuscript paper on-screen. Whole scores can be reformatted in just one-tenth of a second, while notes are inputted using a mouse and standard keyboard, or "played" into the system via a MIDI keyboard.

Ben Finn, managing director and co-founder, Sibelius commented:

"We set out to create a software solution which takes the repetition out of scorewriting, so that composers can focus on the creative aspects of writing. Being composers ourselves means that we know what musicians need from a package like this, and the new Windows version means that we can reach a wider audience."

Sibelius for Windows also allows musicians to publish their works directly onto the world wide web. Any score written on Sibelius can be saved on the Internet allowing anyone to see and play your music, whether they have Sibelius or not.

John Rutter, choral composer, commented "I never thought I would abandon pen and ink, but Sibelius' quality, speed and ease of use have completely won me over." Sibelius has been developed to provide realistic, natural sounding playback.

Sibelius automatically plays all the correct instrumental sounds via MIDI equipment or a PC soundcard, by reading and understanding the musical markings in the score, so musicians can hear their music played at the touch of a button.

Sibelius also features Espressivo™ - a unique feature which adds phrasing and expression just as a musician would. When playing orchestral or band scores, Sibelius' SoundStage feature positions the sound in 3-D space to simulate a concert hall experience.

"It's so important to hear the music as you write it, but few of us have access to an orchestra when we want to test out our ideas. Sibelius for Windows gives you an orchestra at the touch of a button." continued Ben Finn.

Sibelius is integrated with PhotoScore Lite™ - an innovative scanning program developed by Neuratron Software. This allows users to scan-in and arrange printed scores for use by groups including choirs, schools, colleges and orchestras.

Sibelius prints all types of music at a professional quality, making music available to anyone.

Further features include intelligent page layout to make page formatting simple and quick, part extraction in a matter of seconds, and the ability to customise the look of your score.