I'll start with this silly little virtuoso tune for soprano. The aria "Look but Don't Touch".

Basically, this character, the baroness, is at a ball (which started with the Masquerade and Fireworks), jolly drunk, and starts teasing all the men. But she's still reserved enough to keep them at distance, claiming to be searching for a man that pleases her.

I tried to give it a silly/drunk look while still retaining simplicity (after all, the tenor falls in love with her, hence the Love Scene)

I don't have the full score available because it's HORRIBLY DIRTY since I had to transpose from A to Ab (to use an infamous high Eb, MUAHAHAHAHAH!).

I do, however (for the sake of context and general interest), have the soprano line with the libretto for those of you kind enough to follow the piece with it (piano = soprano).

mp3

P.S. Who Are You - Act I, Scene II, Aria_Look But Don't Touch SOPRANO NP.pdf

Very original piece of neo-classicism. It even goes beyond that, appealing, catchy, interesting and distinctive instrumental combination. Can't really hear a cliche besides the usual leading tone 7 to 1. Excellent balance in the instruments and very controlled use of timbre and melody.

A little light for my tastes but I can appreciate the work and craft that went into it.

Delightful. There's some harmonic variety not present in a lot of your stuff, and the vocal writing is adequate. I'd watch for some of the syllable placements, such as the long held out "I've", which I'm not sure should be written that way. The modulation in the middle worked, but I was expecting more of a traditional aria structure.

Also, some note spellings are wrong (using F when it should be E#, etc,) but those are superfluous details. Good job.

*stands and claps*

Seriously I see many glimpses of Johan Strauss' style, but you managed to bring it out in utter originality.

But I bet you will have to wait for someone able to sing that high Eb for you, no? :D

I think it sounds pretty great as i've said, it all fits very nicely, very clear and clean, catchy and clever. canny, cunning, convincing and crap (haha, i jest).

Somtimes it feels like a little more needs to be done in it, kinda feels hollow at moments, but I think that's purely the sound samples.

So yeah, I think it just... works, basically.

*stands and claps*

Seriously I see many glimpses of Johan Strauss' style, but you managed to bring it out in utter originality.

But I bet you will have to wait for someone able to sing that high Eb for you, no? :D

Do you know Ligeti's Requiem? :)

I really like what this sounds like, musically and as far as the scene description.

It def has the charm required and a sense of humor.

You def don't have to worry about a high Eb being infamous lol. Many lyric/coloratura sopranos can sing Eb's easily enough.

Very enjoyable.

This is very charming. I think you got the right feel across here. I wish I could hear it being sung... surely you know a soprano who can sing this?

I love one. :P

i think that the "thank you" melody it's a little to much repetitive... not too bad, however... it sounds more like a mozart piece, then a strauss...

Leroy Anderson (composer of Sleigh Ride and the Typewriter Song) does Donzetti.

I enjoy the piece. There is a certain sad irony beneath the "pleasant" veneer. This is not a very constructive assessment I realize but it has that sentiment.

Ok I do have one suggestion the placement of text on beats one, two and three seems too much - I mean it works fine the piece but you could have even gone much farther expressing her growing drunkenness (the triplets on I and I've are great) I just wish the placement of the beat started to lurch into dotted quarters odd groupsing of sixteenths a little more. So, my critique is not the piece itself but that I think with your musical ability you could have taken it even further.

BTW - Strangely this music could be applied to a children's educational program w/a few adjustments. So keep this in mind berlioz.

What Chris said about further expressing her growing drunkenness...

Again I felt as if the piece was somehow slightly empty or as Light put it "hollow".

Again it is clear you have a skill for composition and many of your gestures work and I did find the work enjoyable. Again (x3) I have some issues with the bass, this could be purely aesthetic but I am not so sure and so I wonder if you could look a little at your treatment of the bass and see if you could find some different and more satisfying (to your ears not mine) solutions.

Good work and you are clearly put composing before gardening.

About the hollowness, I'm sure it'll sound well once there's an actual voice singing it. Works for voice tend to be a bit more stripped of density.

I absolutely love the music! The only changes I'd make are to the notation. I'd change some of the syllable placement, seeing as it's a lot easier to stretch out vowels rather than consonants. Triplets seem to be very common which begs the question: should the piece be changed to a compound time signature? It might make it worse though, just a passing thought. Lastly, some of those F-naturals should be E-sharps.

Fantastic job on the music though! I can't wait to see this as a finished product!

I really like the melody and your instrument samples are really nice also. I can imagine a whorish soprano stumbling around the stage in a dress that is falling off as she reaches for another drink.

One thing that scares me, is the usage of the E vowel.....(i)...(ee) vowel. Please, tease, etc, lol. You have the singer popping up to Ab's and C's on what is the most difficult vowel to place in that tesitura. That could be dangerous for performance, simply because that vowel is so unreliable in what is a very fragile place of the voice, above the the staff. Even for a very high Coloratura soprano, it would sound very nasally, and extremely piercing. Perhaps that is exactly what you want, but if not, it will be a tough animal to keep under control. Otherwise, I like everything a lot. It sounds very mozart esque as far as the melody's playfullness. It's like the Queen of the Night had a few drinks and a lot of fun. Keep it up.

This is really good, is any music accompanying her? i would like to see that.

Uhm... You can hear the music accompanying her on the mp3...

Anyway, here's a shorter excerpt. An arietta in which Basil (the main tenor) is writing the baroness a letter explaining how she will proceed to answer him secretly, and at the end going into how much he misses the bliss of the previous night (a.k.a. my Love Scene).

Here's the score for the vocal line (piano sound = tenor):

P.S. Who Are You - Act I, Scene III, Arietta_Here is a Letter TENOR NP.pdf

Hey Berlioz!

Really nice piece I really like it, as people said before, it's really pleasant to hear, I like the ambience, and I really can imagine the singers and it would sound nice.

Well I really don't know much about vocal stage music so... can't make more comments lol

Keep up the good work!

Sebastian

Very nice. Mozart with a modern twist... Personally I would try to add a little more variety, maybe extending those sections where you have interesting changes in rhythm and use unexpected harmonies. The descending arpeggio on the major triad going back and forth between the soloist and the orchestra appears a couple of times too many for my taste. I really like the orchestration, perfect for this style. Cheers