Orchidea is a framework for static and dynamic computer-assisted orchestration.

It is the new generation of the Orchid* softwares for assisted orchestration (originally created in the Ircam Music Representation team). It is a joint project between Ircam, HEM Geneve and UC Berkeley and is made of several tools, including a standalone application, a Max package and a set of command line tools.

What is computer-assisted orchestration?

Assisted orchestration can be thought of as the process of searching for the best combinations of orchestral sounds to match a target sound under specified metric and constraints. In other words, it is a process that generates a score from any given target sound!

Although a solution to this problem has been a long-standing request from many composers, it remains relatively unexplored because of its high complexity, requiring knowledge and understanding of both mathematical formalization and musical writing. But Orchidea can do it, check the video below!

For more information about computer-assisted orchestration please see here.