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  • Submitted: Jan 24 2012 12:11 PM
  • Last Updated: Jan 24 2012 12:11 PM
  • File Size: 4.44MB
  • Views: 1417
  • Downloads: 522
  • Genre: Romanticism
  • Sub Genre: Expressionism
  • Form: Song

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Jabberwocky, Op. 28 No. 1

* * * * * 7 Votes

Scores

1) Jabberwocky




This piece was prompted by the November Competition (or anyway, the competition that went by this name when I started the piece :P !). As required, it incorporates Carroll's poem Jabberwocky. Despite not being a typical lieder composer, I made the "conventional" decision to set the text into music. I have scored it for six performers, namely flute, oboe, clarinet, basson, piano and voice (the score specifies an alto voice, but it could be sung by a male voice as well, as its vocal line isn't that much demanding). I went for a Romantic, dreamy-like atmosphere, attempting to recreate the diverse moods through a variety of instrumental effects, while retaining a couple of themes to give a sense of unity into the piece.

This is so far the only work I've ever composed where I set lyrics not written by myself, other than a setting of a Psalm done during my student years. It also marks the first time I use such a kind of an ensemble (I have created four or five lieder only, but these use just piano and voice). So I decided to undertake both tasks at once, and the result has been satisfactory enough to give it at least another try (which explains its designation as 'Op. 28 N° 1'). It might not be one of my best works, but given my lack of experience in this field of composition and the time constraints (despite it being finished some days early), it is certainly the best I could come up with :toothygrin: ...

Any suggestions and comments will be welcome (including proposals of other poems in English to be set into a song). Enjoy...



I loved the atmosphere! it's amazing, great work. I think it would sound a lot better if you changed the sound of the choir (0:31), because it doesn't sound realistic while the other instruments in the melody do, something more subtle and gentle perhaps would be great. :)
Martha Lucia: thanks for your review!

I'd also love to have another more realistic sound for the voice line. Unfortunately my sound library options are very limited; in fact, I thought about representing the 'voice' line not with this chorus sound, but with another instrument or even with strings; but the experiment went so bad that I switched back to it.

Getting this performed, however, shouldn't be as difficult as with an orchestral work - if I ever have a live recording, we'll both be very satisfied...

Gracias, amiga...!
I simply adore your style. Like Martha said, the atmosphere is enchanting. Great job :).
Very nice, I know the voice is the one, but I would have written some more solos for woodwinds, they do have certain texture, but maybe more notorious passages for each.

Quien sae' que le pasa a tu piano tú, se vuleve Glockenspiel al m.63 :D
It wasn't really a review, just a thought heh :D

I understand the problem of sound libraries, too bad. But hopefully you will have it performed and recorded some time in the future, that would be wonderful! best of luck with it.
@Johann15: your comments are among the most encouraging compliments I receive!

@SYS65: Thanks for your input. I was indeed very restrained when giving woodwinds their parts, as I feared they would detract from the voice. I mostly reserved them for particular passages and effects. But you're right, I could have been a bit more daring with the ensemble (and certainly will be in future pieces).

Quien sae' qué le pasa a tu compu, porque yo no encuentro el cambio a Glockenspiel por ningún lao... :D

@Martha Lucia: dreams are for free :) ...
There is a magical air about this setting that perfectly compliments the whimsical nature of the text. The wind writing is superb! I did find myself missing a horn to round out the quintet, but I'm sure you knew what you wanted and didn't want. ;) Enchanting is a good word for this. Well done!
@J. Lee Graham: many thanks for your words. I was absolutely going for this whimsical feeling, and your comment shows me that I achieved a certain degree of success.

I did think about adding a horn - but finally decided to leave it out, as I believed I had already enough of a variety of timbres to play around.
This has come to me as a bit of surprise, as there is no Tchaikovsky influence in this music. This sound more like a British 19. century style music. (Stanford)
As a singer myself I looked at the voice part extensively. Sometimes in the first there is a very long line of continuos eights and the singer will have problems with taking a breath and not losing the pace. The instrumentation is very good though. Nicely moving lines and polyphony. Good job.
@Sojar Voglar: I'm grateful for your knowledgeable comments, esp. about the voice part. My experience writing for voice is next to nothing (consisting solely of a handful of lieder plus a short choral piece), so despite taking pains to make the part 'breathable', I might still have made it somewhat difficult for the singer :D ...

I'm amused that you found no 'Tchaikovskian' elements in this music, instead pointing out at British music of the 19th century (which seems rather fitting for a British poem of the 19th century :D ). This is somewhat surprising for me as well, given that my knowledge of British music from this period is very limited at best.

Thanks for your reviews, which I really value!
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