August 25, 20169 yr Last year i wrote "Pleiades" for the Portuguese Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra. It was a challange, but it was also lots of fun! My inspiration was the mithological story of the Pleiades, the 7 daughters of Atlas. I didn't try to write program music about their story, rather i wrote the music about the feelings and emotions i feel when i read the story of the Pleiades. It was premiered by the Portuguese Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra in Portugal in 2015 and it has been on their repertoire ever since. They also recorded it on their CD last year. "Pleiades" is composed in a kind of experimental form, with ideas and developments coming one after another, without great regard for tradicional musical forms. I experimented a bit with textures and instrumentations because i wasn't really sure how a plectra orchestra would sound, so i thought it would be fun to put the melodies and motivs in different instruments. Since the piece was premiered the orchestra has had only one Contrabass, so actually the bass part is sometimes hard to hear or feel, and some parts now don't work anymore like i inicially intended. But overall i am happy with the result and it has been well received both by the musicians in the orchestra and by the public. You can listen to it on SoundCloud: or on YouTube: It is my first piece ever to be recorded and i am really happy! =D I would love to know what you think about it! Thank you
August 25, 20169 yr Plectrum orchestras create a wonderful, "suspended" atmosphere. You showcase quite a command of the timbral qualities of the ensemble even if this is your first piece for this instrumentation!
August 25, 20169 yr Author thanks, i appreciate it. Yes, i also think the OPGB sounds really great. They have a kind of sound that looks like it is coming from a dream. i really like it. I look forward to righting something new for plectra orchestra...
August 26, 20169 yr Loved this piece! And what I beautiful ensemble. This is my first time hearing a plectrum orchestra.
August 26, 20169 yr Author thank you. i'm very happy that you like it. If you wuold like to find some more info about the Portuguese Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra here is their website:https://sites.google.com/site/copiaopgb1/
January 9, 20242 yr It must have been quite a challenge and rewarding experience to create music that reflects the feelings and emotions associated with the Pleiades story.
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