Storm and Calm

One of my attempts to challenge my community band's perceptions of music. The piece alternates between Storm and Calm; the Storm being a series of fights I went through with my best friend a week or so ago for a few days, and the Calm being the moments in between the fights and then the fight release of all the tension.Please be honest about your opinions of the music.

Storm and Calm

Greetings,

Your compositions never cease to amaze me, Gixander! The piece is exceptional and it really shows off your talent. The opening immediately screamed James Swearingen to me; due to his piece "And the Angels Called". I remember you saying you are somewhat influenced by his music. Are you thinking about getting your music published by a well-known publisher or publishing it yourself? Now to your music: It did seem to get a little repetitive towards the end of the opening section around measure 46, but you changed it up enough to make the transition into the faster section smoother. My only suggestion for this section is where you have Piccolo and Flutes playing that sixteenth note figure (measures 55-56) and then the Clarinets answer it (measure 57). You could probably have them accelerate those rhythms with 32nd notes or even a trill. It's totally up to you. The faster section was a little short for my taste. I was hoping for a little more development of the melodies in that section. Perhaps you could work on that section just a bit more. This middle section also reminded me of the middle section of your piece "The Hunt" which was also in 2/4. Interesting. I absolutely love the melody that the Vibes play in order to officially start the material for the second fast section. It gives me chills. The entrance of the first flute melody is beautiful. How are you able to formulate such luscious melodies? I'm not going to lie, that restatement of the opening melody absolutely scared me! I was awesome how you put it in a key that sounded somewhat terrifying. I bet if a band played that with much force, the audience would probably jump a bit. Haha. You could probably add to the intensity by having both the suspended cymbal and the timpani roll loudly into measure 183. The ending suited this piece very well. The dissonant chord was very jarring (I'm sure that's what you were going for). All-in-all, this was another one of you more fantastic pieces. Please get a live recording of this piece if your band plays it. I'm still waiting on the live recording of "Soaring Against the Sky". Please, please, please continue composing music! I love hearing your works!

Peace,

C.L. Winston

I enjoyed this.

It was a bit too traditional Swearingen-esque for my liking , but there were some pretty good moments! I agree with a lot with what Mr. Winston said.

Yes, when I first started focusing on Concert Band as one of my main genres, I was studying Swearingen up and down. At that time, it seemed like everyone had one of Swearingen's pieces in each concert, so to me it was a good idea at the time. I'm trying to break away and get better at building energy, and especially here, I'm hiding snippets of the next section in the previous section. For example, the melody at 36 is similar to that at 74; 92 is almost an exact hint at what's to come at167.

I've started listening to other composers that have very lyrical segments to their music, one example being Steven Reineke. One of the two groups I'm in doesn't have Vibes, so I never fully explored their potential, but one day I was listening to Reineke's "Heaven's Light", which I think is one of the most beautiful and endearing pieces out there. He makes amazing use of the Vibes, and I started looking into them more.

I certainly had in mind speeding up those into a trill, though I think in the area where the Piccolo/Flute is answered by the Clarinets, only the Piccolo/Flute would do that. The Clarinets I wanted to keep at sixteenths because I'm slowing down not only the tempo, but also the movement of the piece by rhythm. It's something that I'd have to try out in a rehearsal setting.

I loved playing the Vibes against the Oboe. I tried to avoid hinting directly at a tonal center for the Vibe parts, choosing to stay in fourths and fifths. It was actually an acccident that I left the Vibes by themselves at 159, becuase I wasn't exactly certain how well they would come off by themselves. I'm happy I kept it that way, because I heard live Vibes tonight in person (I heard them last so many years ago), and I know it'll come out right.

The main reason I choose not to do an actual build up into 183 other than the instruments that were already playing is that if I had chosen to do that, it would have signalled something big was coming. Notice the dynamic levels. Everything except melody is at mezzo-piano, melody at mezzo-forte. In a typical setting, the crescendo into 183 is not going to be enough to give away what's about to happen, though some people might figure it out.

The keys were built from the two statements of the opening measures, 1 and 183. 183 was written first, and then I started a melody in E minor...but I somehow had to build it into Bb minor...I accidentally hit an F major chord when walking down from the A minor chord, and that allowed me to get to G minor...and then I just did it again (Ab major leading into the Bb minor). You could tell there was something coming, but probably not in enough time to know what it was. I did find it amusing that if you write out the key signatures, it's the same three in a row (Em/G, Gm/Bb, Bbm/Db). Totally by accident, as I usually write without key signatures now and add them in afterwards

As far as how I create the melodies you call "luscious", I actually mess around a lot on my flute. You know, just improvise as I go, and eventually stuff works itself out. If I could I would play each part to make certain things like dynamics and articulations work out correctly. The best thing I can say is that something simple is all you need to shoot for, then work your way out of it. Sometimes melodies just come to me, sometimes I'll be sitting there playing the start of something or the end of it over and over and hours later, still nothing.

The one thing I wasn't certain on this piece were the two Horn parts doubling the Clarinet/Saxes/Oboe on the opening melody. I've been assured they are indeed playable, but if anybody who plays Horn can tell me "how" playable they are, that would be a good help to me.

As far as getting published, I had sent in "Soaring Against the Sky" to Barnhouse in late September, but hadn't heard anything. That was a little worrisome, because they just recently changed from reviewing between August-March to August-January. I sent them the e-mail info to prove I had sent it, and asked what the status was. They never received it; they told me to go ahead and send it anyways, even though it was right near the end of their period (I think, I'm still a little hazy on whether "between August and January" means August and January are included or not). So that was nice of them, and I'm just waiting to hear back on it.

I play horn, and it is playable, but not practical, if that makes sense. I think the clarinets and saxes could do well on the melody without the help of horn or oboe.

I want to keep the Oboe in there at least until a rehearsal because I think it'll help give the melody a sharper sound. The Horns...I'm on the fence on that. For now, I'll leave it in and if need be I can certainly make it a cue, because I do like the sound that the Clarinets and Horns make when at the same pitch. I might add a slight countermelody that plays between the lower Brass and the Clarinets/Saxes, maybe a slower version of the melody (rising and falling chords instead of mostly static like the lower brass). That should be a good alternative.

Any suggestions on any other parts?

I want to keep the Oboe in there at least until a rehearsal because I think it'll help give the melody a sharper sound. The Horns...I'm on the fence on that. For now, I'll leave it in and if need be I can certainly make it a cue, because I do like the sound that the Clarinets and Horns make when at the same pitch. I might add a slight countermelody that plays between the lower Brass and the Clarinets/Saxes, maybe a slower version of the melody (rising and falling chords instead of mostly static like the lower brass). That should be a good alternative.

Any suggestions on any other parts?

Well it is your piece, and you do know what you're doing. Just be careful, Oboes at that register can be kinda honky but it could add weight to your melody. Horns might make it a little rough, but just see how everything goes.

What I'm also thinking I might do is simplify the part that the Saxophones have in the second iteration of the starting melody. Leave it at a quarter note rhythm, perhaps? Are there any suggestions on additional percussion parts that might work out well?