FluidSynth

FluidSynth is designed to interpret the signals from a MIDI device in order to play the sounds on your computer. The program is based on the SoundFont specification and can be used for sound rendering as a standalone app or by integrating it in another application.

The program uses the samples included in the SoundFont files and processes the sounds by using SoundFont instruments. It is a rendering engine that can be configured for both live performances and rendering MIDI files to disk.

In both cases, an efficient MIDI processing tool is essential to provide high quality sound and avoid latency. This program uses a multi-threaded architecture designed to optimize the sample processing and audio rendering process.

Although the package does not include a graphical interface, you can still use it in command line mode or by downloading a dedicated front end. Since it is a processing engine, it can be integrated in other applications in order to render SoundFont samples.

The application is clearly designed for developers or other users who have previous experience with MIDI rendering tools. The included documentation provides you brief information about the program features but cannot help the beginners who have no experience in this field.

To sum up, FluidSynth is a versatile tool build to provide MIDI playback and rendering features as a command line app or as a shared library. It supports SoundFont 2 specifications which might be useful for your projects.