9 Studies for 9 Players

UPDATED FEB 2009

So I'm pretty much done with the orchestration process of this piece. Please disregard anything posted prior to November 2008 unless you're interested in the slow development of this piece.

This is my first (nearly) complete large-scale work. It is a 9-movement nonet written for mixed-instrument ensemble. The first 8 movements each have their own driving motives or theme. The level of development of the motives in each movement depends on the amount of material within each movement. The final movement is a fantasy quoting and developing the material in the first 8 movements.

Instrumentation:

Flute

Clarinet (in Bb)

Bassoon

Trumpet in C (chosen because of the focus on upper range)

Horn

Trombone

Violin

Viola

Cello

I've uploaded Finale 09 files for each of the 9 movements, as well as midis. I just got a new laptop and haven't set up PDF exporting yet. If you're having trouble with playback, disable the Garritan instrument playback.

This is the first 5 movements. The next movements will be added in my next post, since I can only post 10 attachments per post Please let me know what you think. All feedback and criticism are welcome.

II.mus

II.mid

III.mus

III.mid

IV.mus

IV.mid

V.mus

V.mid

Mind posting some MIDI files? :whistling:

EDITED Feb 2009: Most of the posts are not applicable, but some are. Here are movements VI-VIII in score and midi. Finale 2009 again. I noticed that on some scores the parts are displaying in transposed parts, and in some of those cases, the C trumpet is incorrectly displaying as a Bb trumpet. I also lost some of my headings. Please ignore that, as I have to re-format the scores to get them ready to print anyway.

Again, all feedback and criticism welcomed.

VI.mus

VI.mid

VII.mus

VII.mid

VIII.MUS

VIII.mid

I think this will be a very interesting piece. I'm no expert on this type of music but I will say I love the concept, and I especially love the quintet you've posted here - this is very expressive, emotional and interesting music, not just clever music. Though it is very clever as well, and I'm looking forward to hearing more. :P

I think this will be a very interesting piece. I'm no expert on this type of music but I will say I love the concept, and I especially love the quintet you've posted here - this is very expressive, emotional and interesting music, not just clever music. Though it is very clever as well, and I'm looking forward to hearing more. :P

Mayhaps by "not clever" you mean the lack of rhythmic complexity? That's semi-intentional, as the movement is meant to mirror (in heart) plainchant; I just didn't want to do the full cliche and use only brass.

If that's what you meant, you'll love the adagio I'm scoring right now. Maybe I'll have a chance to upload it tonight - we'll see.

"next" movement, as an adagio (well, the tempo is lento, but you know what I mean). I say "next" movement because I'm not sure where it will fit into the scheme of things.

Full nonet again, utilizing suspended harmonies. The A section, I think, is especially lush.

I think what Terve was saying was that it was not only clever, but emotional, moving, etc.

At any rate, I thought the first one was really cool, but teh other two you posted weren't as interesting. Cool chords and such though, I think it was just the lack of rhythm in the others that didn't grasp my attention like the first one did. I see you weren't going for rhythmic complexity though as you mentioned, but I think even still a little variation might help. I'll make further comments when this is complete ( as in the other movements) since I don't know where this little suite type project is going. :)

Vince

I'm so slow in putting things on Finale. I have most movements sketched out, but getting everything orchestrated has been a boar.

Working Title: 2nds and 4ths

Very quick, rhythmical movement using the full ensemble. Almost all movement is done by 2nd and 4th. I'm still doing some editing to try to thicken up the counterpoint in areas, as well as increase the rhythmic variation.

.mus and .mid posted.

So I changed my first 2 posts to contain the first 8 of 9 movements, fairly edited. the score isn't as pretty as I'd like, but that will be cleaned up before a finished submission. PLEASE PLEASE tear this apart. I don't care how nit-picky, how critical, how negative. I am going to be conducting this either later in the spring or in the fall with a mostly professional ensemble, so I want to get this as "perfect" as possible.

Thanks in advance. I hope you enjoy it!

At the requests of others, I've posted the un-polished scores for each movement. Sorry they're not presentable. That will change. Ignore if C Trumpet becomes Bb, or if parts show up transposed. That will all get cleaned up. Please pick apart anything else related to the actual composition. This includes voicing, articulation, dynamics, phrasing, motivic development, instrument use, ranges, etc, etc, etc. Be RUTHLESS!!!!!

Finale 2009 - II.pdf

Finale 2009 - III.pdf

Finale 2009 - IV.pdf

Finale 2009 - V.pdf

Finale 2009 - VI.pdf

Finale 2009 - VII.pdf

Finale 2009 - VIII.pdf

K... still not done with the 9th movement, but I wanted to post what was done up until this point. This is through 1/2 of the recapitulation. I'm trying to free myself up a bit more rhythmically, but it still needs more TLC. I'll make another post when it's done. Please, as always, feel free to comment. Even if I don't agree, I'll still treat your comments with respect.

XIXc.mus

So I can't believe I'm still working on this. I'm trying to make the piece less "square" - that is, less bound to the established meters in an attempt to make everything "flow" a bit more. I'm uploading what I've done w/ the first movement. ANY FEEDBACK is welcome. Please.

I - edited.mus

I - edited.mid

Matt,

These are very clever pieces. Fine examples of linear writing ;)

Seriously I enjoyed them very much. The material is very tight and true to the motivic material.

They are well orchestrated too. My only observation with regard to orchestration is the trumpet part. Sometimes it goes a bit high and might overwhelm the rest of the texture DEPENDING on the player. A confident and sensitive player could pull it off but anything less it will probably be loud just to speak and might ruin the effect your after. One example is the last movment where you have just the brass playing. A confident player won't have a problem with it, but because the voices are spread out quite a bit a less confident player might not feel "supported" and shy away from it.

Just a thought. Take it for what it's worth.

Steve Winkler