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March from the cycle of musical illustrations to Max Dalin's novel "The Bonfire and the Salamander." Composer: Alexander Khomenko. A stylization of early 20th-century military marches. Written for wind band.

I listened to your waltz. The concept strikes me as interesting, and so does the way you work with harmony: you clearly try to move away from conventional progressions. The semitone relationship between the triads sounds interesting and vivid. But, purely in my opinion, it isn't very well realized here. If you make a signature feature out of this progression, it should be carried through the whole piece, very clearly and consistently. Yet in bars 6–7, and again in 9–10, you break your own scheme, and the piece goes from interesting to a bit dull. If you had held on to this harmonic ostinato (G minor and F-sharp minor), it would have come out much more convincing. Good luck! =)

Poem by, Goethe: Über allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh’, In allen Wipfeln Spürest du Kaum einen Hauch; Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde. Warte nur, balde Ruhest du auch. Aesop.mp3 Aesop.pdf

Thanks for posting the update. For the voice-leading question, you could choose one short cadence and post those bars with the vocal parts, bass and your continuo realization visible. That gives readers a manageable example to discuss, and you can apply the idea elsewhere rather than revising all 18 sections at once. If your choir-notation question is about the older clefs, label that separately so readers know you are asking about readability rather than transposition.

I've updated playback now. Continuo is probably not very correct in meaning of voice leading, but it would take triple this time to do it... Also the score had some minor typos in choir words, so it's also corrected. I don't know if I should change keys for choir, so I let them stay like this for now. Waiting for further things to improve here or in next works.

The second track from my debut vinyl album. It consists of two different sections: the first part transports you about 200 years back in time, followed by a repeating four-chord loop with varying arrangements and, naturally, live guitar tracking. This was translated automatically as I don't know English, so I hope it accurately conveys my message.

Thank you! :)

listened to your quartet and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a finely crafted neoclassical piece. You've both preserved the style and built a very clear form, which is extremely important for works of this kind.

I listened to your composition and enjoyed it. It has an interesting image, and its musical language is simple but not boring. The form is good, too: a well-proportioned ternary structure with a recapitulation. Best of luck in your future work :)

A short baroque x romantic piece for you guys I wrote in the midst of three gruelling days in my conservatory. I subconsciously composed this piece to be sort of a theme for an imaginary nation I created whilst writing my first novel. All feedback is warmly welcome! Do tell what sort of a city/nation emerges out of your imagination having listened to it, and also if it resonates with the title. Land of White Palaces and Black Dreams.mp3 01 - Full score - Land of White Palaces and Black Dreams.pdf

Thank you so much. Basically the voice is not recorded but generated using an ai vocal synthesizer. Cheers

Your composition doesn't sound terrible at all; on the contrary, it's interesting and cohesive. But yes, you're right: it's technically not easy to sing. It takes a very strong vocalist. Could you tell me how you recorded it? You've intrigued me with your remark about an AI performer.

I used older ones just for fun/to learn to write in various keys. I can always change them, I forgot about it to be honest 😅

For the section issue: open the three-dot menu at the top right of your post, choose Report, and ask a moderator to move the existing topic to the appropriate vocal section. That keeps the music and any replies together; there is no need to delete it or post a second copy.

Another point about the score, I'm not sure what has happened with some of your clefs. I also use Musescore, and there are indeed work arounds for lots of things! A great first effort at a longer work!

Lullaby A lullaby from the music for Max Dalin’s novel “The Time of the Unseelie.” Composer: Alexander Khomenko. Lyrics by Max Dalin. Sung by Anton Yachmenev. Lerik opened the piano lid and played a few chords. The piano sounded muffled, as if it had a cold. Lerik wrinkled his nose and frowned, but didn’t close the lid. He sat lost in thought, running his fingers over the keys, and a melody seemed to weave itself together on its own. And he began to sing under his breath: “Try to fall asleep. Don’t look at me, don’t look. If only the light could return to your soul, and the minutes stretch on until dawn. Thoughts the color of lead, ashes of a spring that never came, Faceless darkness sowing fear without end, Cruel memory has wounded your dreams.” It was a very sad and strange romance. I had never heard it before, but Gleiza knew it and joined in, tenderly and brightly: “Hush-a-bye! Forget all the sorrows of the earth. Hush-a-bye! Don’t give your soul away to memory. Out of misfortune and anguish (the heavens are so near), Bloom like a star in the blue abyss.” After that they sang together: “You would have risen to the sky, but the mists cannot bear your steps. The air is deadly heavy, and hopes are empty and meager. If only the light could return to your soul, lest we forget how to breathe. Try to fall asleep, your road is not yet ended, The soul will rise again together with faith.” By the finale Rosher had joined them. His face looked as though he were singing either a spell or a lullaby: “Hush-a-bye! Forget all the sorrows of the earth. Hush-a-bye! Let your sleep brim over with love and warmth. Out of misfortune and anguish (the heavens are so near), Bloom like a star in the blue abyss.” “Wonderful!” I said admiringly when they fell silent. “You sing wonderfully. You could go on the radio, like real performers.” “By the way,” said Rosher, “where did you, Your Highnesses, learn a forbidden little song?” The Highnesses were astonished to the depths of their souls. “Why would it be forbidden?” Lerik snorted. “Father has a cylinder with the recording. He likes it, we used to sing it to him…” “Otherworldly creatures, aren’t they, Their Highnesses?” Rosher asked me. “And the Sovereign is no better. The whole Holy Land knows, except them.” “Yeah,” I said. “Guardsmen know forbidden songs by heart and sing them at the risk of a heresy charge? Looks like I’m the most virtuous one here, since I’m hearing it for the first time. And I don’t get what’s in it that deserves a ban.” “Come on, guys, there was such a scandal… I thought everyone had heard. Ilenga of the House of Quiet Autumn, you know, Ilenga, the Fox of the Bright Grove, they say she sang this beauty at a concert without the censors’ permission. And it’s dedicated to some poet from before the war, who was put away for godlessness and treason for twenty years without rights. Ilenga disappeared too, after that: the radio never plays her, no word of any concerts… at best, she’s been banned from performing in public.” Max Dalin, “The Time of the Unseelie.” Translated by Claude.

“The Crystal Lady-in-Waiting” — a miniature for small symphony orchestra. Composer: Alexander Khomenko. Here you can watch the animated film that uses this miniature as its soundtrack. “Apocryphon” (based on Max Dalin’s novel “The Bonfire and the Salamander”). Screenplay by V. Osadchenko, music by A. Khomenko. Images and animation: ChatGPT and Pixverse. “Important and monstrously rich gentlemen used to come to my father from the capital, and even from abroad, to look at the dolls. I didn’t like the guests: I was told, ‘Don’t forget your muff, little flower,’ but I loved watching them meet my father’s dolls for the first time. Not everyone was delighted by the dolls, though many were enraptured to the point of ecstasy, almost to tears. Some were struck with horror. One high-strung lady said, ‘My God, they look as if they’re gazing from beyond the grave!’ and fled, yet her companion paid a fortune for an automaton of a girl at her copybook. Precisely because the doll’s eyes looked as if they were gazing from beyond the grave. Many wanted that rapture, that horror, for their own.” M. Dalin. “The Bonfire and the Salamander” (translated by Claude)

"Old-Fashioned Waltz" (Starinnyi vals) from the musical illustrations to Max Dalin's novel "The Bonfire and the Salamander" (Koster i Salamandra). For wind band. Composer: Alexander Khomenko.

Right now, I am completely focused on composing classical pieces, but earlier on, I was also into rock, jazz-rock, and pop. This is the very first track from my first vinyl record. It’s a blend of psychedelia (in the style of Pink Floyd), rock, and just a touch—a tiny bit—of classical elements. The guitar parts are, of course, performed live.

I'm looking for orchestral composers to join the Cuestra beta, a new Windows production workstation designed around orchestral composition. It's very different from conventiional workstations in quite a few ways that you'll see. The product will be free on release. If anyone here is interested, vistit the web page linked below, look over some of the features and details, and request an invite to the Discord server where beta testing will be taking place starting today. https://studioonescripts.github.io/Cuestra/

Thank you, I'll update playback file when I make the continuo.

Welcome! On the continuo playback point you mentioned, a practical workaround is to make a separate playback copy of the score and write out a simple right-hand realization for the harpsichord there. Keep your intended bass line, and start with just one short section or cadence before doing all 18 parts. That lets you hear the harmonic support without having to make a fully realized keyboard part compulsory in the performers’ score. For checking the counterpoint, try playing the bass with just one vocal line at a time, then add the other voices. In MuseScore Studio’s Mixer (F10), you can Solo more than one instrument together. Temporarily reducing reverb can also make entries and note endings easier to check; restore it afterwards for the listening version. The controls are documented here: https://handbook.musescore.org/sound-and-playback/mixer These are suggestions for the mock-up you described, rather than a verdict on the composition. A short excerpt with the continuo realized would make it easier for readers to discuss the harmony you actually intend.

I didn't really do much, and I didn't keep track of the competition. here is what I was working on, in total 2 days; 1 day near the start of the competition and I added a bit just now. was to be summer competition submission.mp3

My dear friend, thank you so much for this information. I had no idea you could do this! I’ll look into it properly and will definitely keep it in mind for my future works. Thank you once again, and all the best to you!

Hello! This is my first post here and my first larger piece. Consisting of 18 quite short parts (everything is written in the score) cantata - "De profundis" (Ps130) is for SATB choir, SATB solo, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, flute, oboe, bassoon, 2 trumpets, trombone and basso continuo. Unfortunately, this is the best I can do with the "recording" (there is no text and BC is just bass line on harpsichord) with musescore. I know my contrapunctal writing needs a lot of practice and study to improve, so please excuse any awkward moments in the music—to my ears, it sounds reasonably decent overall! Since it is my first "publicated" score, I would really appretiate any kinds of tips/feedback about music, score and sound :) Thanks in advance EDITED 17.10.2026: Updated audio (continuo as chords, added cello doubling bass line) and score (some typos) De Profundis_audio.mp3 De Profundis_score.pdf