Garritan on Catalina and Big Sur?

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Ben Byram-Wigfield Edited November 10, 2020 14:04

With the release of Big Sur imminent: MM's last official post on compatibility for Garritan claims:

"macOS 10.15 Catalina is not considered within the system requirements for the Garritan Instrument libraries ... we are currently unable to provide support for Garritan libraries on this OS.".

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038684493-Garritan-Instruments-with-macOS-10-15-Catalina

And yet Finale 26.3, which contains the ARIA Player and Garritan samples, is given a clean bill of health. And the only known issue listed related to the installation of CFX Piano.

It's pretty poor that no further statement has been given, just as Catalina's year is up. The ARIA Engine was updated in November 2019 with listed fixes for 'some files not opening on Catalina', and a further update was released this year in June.

I guess MM's statement on Big Sur will be released soon. It will be interesting to note if they say anything about Garritan stuff.

My own experience is that the latest updates of ARIA Player and Engine work with no problems at all on Catalina and later.

5 comments

Date Votes

Ben Byram-Wigfield Posted December 14, 2020 17:56

MM have confirmed to me that the only issue with Garritan libraries on Catalina and later is with the installer for the CFX piano.

All other Garritan libraries work fine.

Alex Dingley Posted December 23, 2020 14:37

Is the "CFX Piano Installer Issue" simply a macOS installer-security problem? (as in; when you open the installer, macOS Catalina/Big Sur stop it from launching because it's "not from an identified developer" ?) — if it's JUST that issue, then I suppose the fix is 'right-click on installer & select open' — which seems to work for most "non-identified developer" app-installs. Just curious, as I'm now making my list of "what is / what isn't" ready for Big Sur.

Ben Byram-Wigfield Posted December 23, 2020 15:35

If it were as simple as that, then one would think that MM would have released a code-signed version as an update.

MM have been code-signing their apps since at least 2017. You can check the status in System Information, under the Applications panel in the sidebar.

Most installers are 'documents' for MacOS's Installer app. There is an excellent third-party 'alternative' installer app, which lets you inspect installer packages and overcome problems that Apple's app won't let you get past: It's called Pacifist, by Charlessoft.

Generally, I'd say if it works under Catalina, it works under Big Sur. Catalina cut out most of the dead wood.

Robin Newman Posted January 18, 2021 15:01

My current mac runs Catalina, and won't install the GPO5 library which hangs mid install. However I have a backup of my previous machine (which ran High Sierra) and worked with the Garitttan Orchestra samples. I can restore the library to my current machine. Is it possible to integrate it with the Aria player to work?
Are there any developments which will enable me to get the product working. It is frustrating to ahve spent quite a sum f many and no longer being able to use this resource.

Ben Byram-Wigfield Posted January 18, 2021 15:12

Are you sure it actually hangs, rather than just "doesn't appear to do anything for some time"?

As mentioned above, have you tried using the third-party installer app, Pacifist, instead of Apple's installer app?

You should be able to restore GPO from a backup. You'll need to install the .audio samples (in one location); the instrument .sfz definitions (in another). If you already have the ARIA Player (and VSTs) installed, then you just need to tell ARIA where GPO is, using the same techniques as outlined in the document for Moving the sample library.

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217749158-Moving-your-Garritan-samples-folder-after-installation

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