The Balloons - Live Recording

Here is a performance of my new choral piece The Balloons. Performed at The Baltimore School for the Arts Graduation on June 1, 2008.

Arielle Armstrong, Rachel Coats, Patricia Hengen, Robert Falcon, Lawrence Bryant, Tevin Brown, Wesley Dessesow, and Sarah Walker
Scott AuCoin, conductor

So I really enjoyed writing this piece so much fun and such a nice test of color. Here is the text.

Les Ballons
Against these turbid turquoise skies
The light and luminous balloons
Dip and drift like satin moons,
Drift like silken butterflies;

Reel with every windy gust,
Rise and reel like dancing girls,
Float like strange transparent pearls,
Fall and float like silver dust.

Now to the low leaves they cling,
Each with coy fantastic pose,
Each a petal of a rose
Straining at a gossamer string.

Then to the tall trees they climb,
Like thin globes of amethyst,
Wandering opals keeping tryst
With the rubies of the lime.
-Oscar Wilde

YouTube - AuCoin: The Balloons

Enjoy! And comments are always welcomed!

Another recording?? You are just all over this choir thing aren't you??

Just looking at the score, I can tell you had some fun with time signatures and the key signatures. With all kindness intended, couldn't you have just written this in D-flat??

I'll say that this time your sopranos are well-rehearsed.

This sounds a little messier than you other piece, and it has a very unusual quality to it as well.

I'll get on this review later, as I have to go. Looks good though!
Alan

It could have been D-flat, it could have even been C, but for some reason C-sharp just felt right. C-sharp is not that big of a deal for singers, we get a chord and just take the do. It is a little messy I have another performance of this piece coming up this weekend so we can get it a little tighter. My sopranos were great, infact my fellow classmates, but they could blend together some more, and one of my tenors need some work as well.

Holy sharps, Batman!

Beautiful piece. It is a little difficult at times to hear the piece due to the blending issues-- especially that one tenor. But hey, tenors, what can you do? I think my favorite part of this piece how well the music flows with the text. All of the meter changes were very appropriate and made for some really fantastic phrases. The piece was very colorful, but again, it's difficult to tell exactly what was intended because of some intonation issues caused by the poorly blended sections. Did you suggest straight-tone singing to your choir, at all?

Blending is an issue. By Saturday, Ill have a more balanced chior.
Me and my comp. teacher talked to them about dynamic and straight singing but obviously the composer and a teacher who hold a doctorite in choral conducting know nothing. haha!

Thank you for the great feedback!! So nice. I will hopefully have a better recording where the colors will really sine through.

Scott

In my limited experience, it is always the tenors fault. Just kidding!

Before I forget, I found out today that I will not be able to make it there this weekend. I was hoping to go if only to give you some support. But the class I am taking now is very intense and they have us working all thru the weekend. Not to mention all day long and half of the night as well.

Another one that I can't make it to, but thought I'd at least tell you about is Saturday night at the Maryland Hall for the Creative arts in Annapolis.

Take a look

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts

I know that your thing isn't over until 7, so you may not be able to make it either, but if you can, I'm sure you would enjoy it. At least the price is right.

I hope everything goes well for you and your piece Saturday. When do you leave for Boston? If I don't get back to you by then, have a great trip there and learn a lot!!

BTW This performance sounded great to me, although I would have composed it in the key of Z Major flat a minor in 7ths and Augmented 9ths, just to mess with the vocalists!!

Ron

Ron..... you crack me up.