Something To Hack At

Actually, I've never tried writing for chamber orchestra, or any large ensemble before. This one is paired down a bit. One wind and one horn per instrument. It's only a minute or so of music. It is unfinished - and it may remain that way. I am not pleased with much of it, but it resonates in places. I recently performed the Persichetti sp? "Flower Songs" and I think I hear its influence seeping in in places.

Took about 3+ hours to write. No themes to speak of. Just through-writtten. Tried to apply a couple of techniques here and there. Though not atonal, it should have an atonal feel to it. Polychords appear here and there. I'm most concerned with what works texturally and what doesn't.

Unfortunately, the midi file sounds nothing like the finale file, but I'll post it anyways. For any of you who are willing to invest the time, please comment on what works, what doesn't and why. Thank You.

Something_To_Hack_At.MID

Something_To_Hack_At.MUS

Well, I detect hints of Persichetti (but from his Wind Quintet, I'm not familiar with the Flower Songs) and I also get Robert Graettinger moments particularly in the string harmonies, bars 5-7, 11-16 (for example) and the evasive tonality. After the first few bars it never quite finds a tonal centre - for me anyway.

Incidentally you have two trumpets which may be a little overwhelming in this ensemble, likewise in the woodwinds...a little confused as you said one wind and horn per instrument. Perhaps it's a way of looking at Finale. (Sorry, I have yet to try "notation" software. Different sequencers seem to address instruments and tracks differently, so bear with me there, please.)

Can the trumpet play the top D-flat (bar 11) without trouble (hoping I've read it correctly as concert pitch which means the player hitting high E-flat. Um, have you got Maynard Ferguson booked? ;)

I felt a slight reduction in tempo would give the more sustained moments a chance to show through. The rapid passage at bar 4 sounded confused. The string harmonies 'resonated' most with me and I liked the string writing in bars 11/12 - would be interesting to see how you laid them out. The bare texture of bar 7 came as a bit of a surprise. Only you know what you wanted there though.

I regret I will never write anything as original but I love this size of ensemble.

Anyway, just some thoughts.

Hi Montpellier,

Thanks for taking a look. I'm kicking myself because somewhere along the line - and I don't quite understand how I did it, I lost all my articulation markings and dynamic markings, and there were quite a few. I'm guessing I saved it as a midi file and then resaved the midi file as an .mus file. Drat.

The tempo was wrong when I downloaded it from YC and played it in Finale (it should be Quarter note - 70), but it is right when played through Windows Media Player - except some of the instruments and dynamics seem off. Hmm... I guess I'm going to have to work at this on future runs. Maybe figure out how to make an mp3 or something like that.

Anyways.. There are no double stops written for any of the horns; the midi files just make it look that way.

Regarding your comments - pretty much on the mark - It's pretty much a patchwork of attempts, some more successfull than others and wan't so hard to do because I didn't have to worry much about continuity or development.

Note to self: Hire Maynard OR remember to keep trumpet noteheads closer to the staff.

I think Measures 11-12 were the most successfull - they are a result of comments Qccowboy made when he first showed up here regarding his own work. - they're basically polychordal structures that move independentely of each other. It's not too hard to make it sound pretty sophisticated and yet preserve some accessibility for the ear. For instance, M11, beat 3 theres a Bb minor triad in the winds over an Ab major triad in the strings. By M.12, beat 1 it's an Ab major triad in the winds and a Db major triad in the strings - the Eb in the strings is just an extra color. You can follow the chords pretty easily from there because the inversions pretty much stay the same. Then, throw in a melody in the double reeds.. and voila. Not too hard to do, and of course the instrumentation possibilties are enourmous.

Next project I plan to not be so schizophrenic and see if I can explore one or two of these ideas with a little more continuity.

Thanks again for your comments.

The tempo was wrong when I downloaded it from YC and played it in Finale (it should be Quarter note - 70), but it is right when played through Windows Media Player - except some of the instruments and dynamics seem off. Hmm... I guess I'm going to have to work at this on future runs. Maybe figure out how to make an mp3 or something like that.

Anyways.. There are no double stops written for any of the horns; the midi files just make it look that way.

Ah.

Ok, well, I'll try to avert my cynicism of Finale (etc) but as expected, it decided to go its own way... downloaded at 120. Ironically, for all the things notepad can't do it allowed me to adjust the tempo. The dynamics were there although, yes, lost from the score.

Good luck with it.

Ah.

Ok, well, I'll try to avert my cynicism of Finale (etc) but as expected, it decided to go its own way... downloaded at 120. Ironically, for all the things notepad can't do it allowed me to adjust the tempo. The dynamics were there although, yes, lost from the score.

Good luck with it.

Well, I've already given up on it. - It has served its function. I've decide on a few things that worked ok and have started a new piece from scratch. It's coming along fairly well and I'm hoping to figure out how to make a decent mp3 of it. Certainly, I'll be posting pdf's of the score because not every one has Finale 06. Finale does have a "save to audio file function" but the one time I tried it I ended up with something distorted and otherwise pretty messed up. I may have to ask for help, but only after I fool with it for a while.