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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. As you can possibly tell, the score is still in a “prototype” phase - especially with the dynamics, hairpins and slurs. Will upload an updated score later this weekend. 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 LOWPABD.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 /My apologies: I posted this in the wrong section by mistake. Unfortunately, I can neither move nor delete it./ 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 De Profundis.mp3 De Profundis.pdf

Thanks for clarifying, Vasilis — I misunderstood the obstacle as the audio recording rather than the video's room sound. Since you already record into GarageBand/Pianoteq, one option is to film the same performance and use its GarageBand export as the video's soundtrack. Align a clear first key strike in both recordings, check alignment again near the end, and mute the camera audio. That keeps the actual performance while leaving mechanical keyboard noise out of the finished soundtrack. If you use iMovie on Mac, Modify > Detach Audio separates the camera's audio so it can be removed after alignment: https://support.apple.com/en-mt/guide/imovie/mov267936bb2/mac A short test would tell you whether that is practical with your setup, without committing to filming a whole sonata.

My dear friend, first of all, thank you for taking the time to help me. However, regarding what you suggested, I’ve actually been doing that for quite some time already. I use my Clavinova together with GarageBand and Pianoteq 9 to record my performances, and that’s how I export my pieces. Lithl had actually suggested that I make live recording videos, which is something I can’t really do because the noise from my Clavinova would be audible. In any case, thank you so much for your time and for trying to help me. I really appreciate it!

No, this is not a live recording. The pedal sound you hear comes from sound libraries that imitate pedal noise. There are live performances of it too, but as the author I didn't like how this étude came across in them, so I chose to play it by hand on a virtual piano and record it for the vinyl. Due to health issues, I’m now finding it increasingly difficult to perform my compositions live. why I build all my music with MIDI files, even pieces that could be played. This étude is very easy to play, but unfortunately I can't play even that anymore, so I only write it in the software. This one, however, is a live performance, though the recording quality is very poor.

Is this a live recording? I ask so because I hear the pressing sound of pedal, and if it's so it's a really good playing. On the piece itself it has sentimentality and melodic fluency, and it reminds me of piano music from @UncleRed99 and @MK_Piano . Thx for sharing! P.S. Thank you! Henry

Hi Vasilis — on your point about recording your own playing: if the Clavinova's sound is the obstacle, the Pianoteq setup you already have could give you another route. You can use the Clavinova as a MIDI keyboard, record the live performance in Pianoteq's standalone MIDI recorder, and then export that performance as audio with your chosen piano. That keeps your actual timing, velocity and transmitted pedal movements, rather than relying on a notation playback. The connection depends on the Clavinova model (USB-MIDI or conventional MIDI), and a short test of the velocity response and pedal is worth doing before a full take. Save the MIDI performance as well as the audio so you can try another sound later without replaying it. If it is the action or pedal feel that is holding you back, that is a different limitation. Which Clavinova model do you have, and is it mainly the sound or the feel that you would like to improve?

"I listened to your sextet and also left a comment on YouTube, but in Georgian :) I liked it very much"

Dear Lithl, Thank you so much for your kind words and for listening to my sonata! I’m really happy that you recognized the main motif and enjoyed the contrasts and dynamics. And hahaha! 😂😂 I can’t believe I made such a terrible mistake with the spaces around “Binary”! I’ll have to be much more careful next time. Perhaps I should revise the whole sonata because of this serious problem! 😂😂😂😂😂 As for recording myself playing, I would really love to do that one day. Unfortunately, my Clavinova is not exactly the ideal instrument for presenting my music, but hopefully I’ll have a better piano in the future. Thank you again, my friend, for your kindness and support. It means a lot to me! 😊 Warmest wishes, Vasilis

Hi Vasilis, I'm glad to listen to your latest piece. This sonata has a particularly strong motif to me: I immediately recognized it and dived into the whole piece. The change of pace and dynamics is wonderful—there's great contrast that makes me excited for what comes next. But there is a big problem! That is, the topic title is "( Binary)" not "( Binary )"! No, it's not even a problem, haha. In any case, it's always so nice to listen to your piano pieces in this forum. If you have the opportunity, please record your own playing, like Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff. Thank you for sharing, I like your pieces 😊 Best, Lithl.

<font dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">B2 (Op.25 Etude 4 hand).mp3</font></font>