Waltz for Oboe, Clarinet & Orchestra

Hi, here a piece for woodwinds and orchestra.

Section A is a kind of pastoral and section B is a dramatic one with the chasing syncopated accompaniment on the clarinet and bassoon.

Does it feels too much contrast beetwen A section in DM and B section in Gm? 

Does it feels like a Waltz? It wasn't my intention to right a Waltz, my intention was to find a name for that and I decided 5min ago it has some kind of Waltz Ryhtm, but I'm terrible in finding tittle to my works 🙂. I usually write what comes to my mind, not thinking much in particular forms, and when it's finished I think about the tittle...

One more thing: would you better write dotted half to 50bpm or quater note to 150? 

Any comments are welcome!

What a fun piece! I really like the overall feel, and the organization is very clear and fits the piece well.

I really liked how you added in additional voices in the restatement of the first section (English horn and bassoon). This gave the restatement some extra interest the second time I heard it. I will say I think it would have been a little more effective if these lines were a little more developed. As they are, they feel more like ornamentation rather than independent lines.

I was curious why you decided to feature the oboe and clarinet? I would have liked to have heard more variation in the orchestration. For example, I think it would have been really cool if after the B section in the minor key, you returned to the A theme with the entire orchestra triumphantly singing out the theme instead of just the clarinet and oboe. As it stands, I think the orchestration is held back due to featuring the oboe and clarinet, but that's just me.

5 hours ago, Guillem82 said:

Does it feels too much contrast beetwen A section in DM and B section in Gm?

The contrast is fine, I liked it. However...

5 hours ago, Guillem82 said:

Does it feels like a Waltz?

The A section has a subtle waltz feel to me, but I didn't really get a waltz feel out of the B theme. I still liked it, don't get me wrong, I just didn't feel like a waltz. You kind of need that "oom, pah, pah" for a waltz if you ask me. It can be done without being to overt however:

5 hours ago, Guillem82 said:

One more thing: would you better write dotted half to 50bpm or quater note to 150? 

I think it's ok as it is. I'm no conductor, but this would tell me the beat is supposed to emphasize the dotted half note instead of the quarter note.

Thanks for sharing!

Question why did you choose to have the oboe and clarinet play in unison?  thirds? etc.  Will the English horn break through in this arrangement; maybe another orchestra instrument would "ringout" cut through better?  Contrary motion/alternate thematic line might create a nice contrast too.  The melody is very inviting.

You repeat your melodic ideas quite often in the A section.  You do the same thing in the B section but it doesn't bother me as much there.  I think it's a cool idea to have these two solo instruments perform together with an orchestra.  I also noticed that this work is conceived thematically, form-wise and orchestrationally in a pretty much classical style which also gives your piece a pretty happy mood.  You get a bit darker in the B section which is a welcome respite from the brighter melodies that surround it.  I wish you had repeated the B section again after the recapitulation of the A section.  This piece could also have used more of a finale to give it the sense of completion in my opinion.  Overall nice job though!

17 hours ago, gmm said:

What a fun piece! I really like the overall feel, and the organization is very clear and fits the piece well.

I really liked how you added in additional voices in the restatement of the first section (English horn and bassoon). This gave the restatement some extra interest the second time I heard it. I will say I think it would have been a little more effective if these lines were a little more developed. As they are, they feel more like ornamentation rather than independent lines.

I was curious why you decided to feature the oboe and clarinet? I would have liked to have heard more variation in the orchestration. For example, I think it would have been really cool if after the B section in the minor key, you returned to the A theme with the entire orchestra triumphantly singing out the theme instead of just the clarinet and oboe. As it stands, I think the orchestration is held back due to featuring the oboe and clarinet, but that's just me.

The contrast is fine, I liked it. However...

The A section has a subtle waltz feel to me, but I didn't really get a waltz feel out of the B theme. I still liked it, don't get me wrong, I just didn't feel like a waltz. You kind of need that "oom, pah, pah" for a waltz if you ask me. It can be done without being to overt however:

 

I think it's ok as it is. I'm no conductor, but this would tell me the beat is supposed to emphasize the dotted half note instead of the quarter note.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for you answer. Yes, I could maybe have changed more the orchestration of A in the recapitulation, but I like the mood of the melody played by oboe and clarinet, with the strings doing accompaniment en second term and some interactions of English horn, Horn in F and Bassoon. 

I agree the Waltz is too subtle, I should reconsider the name. 

17 hours ago, MJFOBOE said:

Question why did you choose to have the oboe and clarinet play in unison?  thirds? etc.  Will the English horn break through in this arrangement; maybe another orchestra instrument would "ringout" cut through better?  Contrary motion/alternate thematic line might create a nice contrast too.  The melody is very inviting.

 

Yes, playing clarinet in interval below the melody is also a nice idea. Thanks!

13 hours ago, PaperComposer said:

You repeat your melodic ideas quite often in the A section.  You do the same thing in the B section but it doesn't bother me as much there.  I think it's a cool idea to have these two solo instruments perform together with an orchestra.  I also noticed that this work is conceived thematically, form-wise and orchestrationally in a pretty much classical style which also gives your piece a pretty happy mood.  You get a bit darker in the B section which is a welcome respite from the brighter melodies that surround it.  I wish you had repeated the B section again after the recapitulation of the A section.  This piece could also have used more of a finale to give it the sense of completion in my opinion.  Overall nice job though!

 

Thanks for the idea. I think a more orchestral exposition of A section is also possible and interesting to give a bit more contrast. Maybe oboe and English horn playing in intervals dobled by violin I and II, Bassoon reenforcing the melody one octave below and Clarinets, Horns and violas filling in with some harmony and rythm texture...I still have to work a bit more on it and give some tries get with the right and balanced arrangement. 

I like this very much!  It seems closer to a minuet than a waltz to me but it’s your piece, you can name it however you like 😀

2 hours ago, bkho said:

I like this very much!  It seems closer to a minuet than a waltz to me but it’s your piece, you can name it however you like 😀

 

Thanks for you feedback @bkho !!!

On 7/15/2020 at 11:00 AM, Guillem82 said:

Does it feels too much contrast beetwen A section in DM and B section in Gm? 

Does it feels like a Waltz? It wasn't my intention to right a Waltz, my intention was to find a name for that and I decided 5min ago it has some kind of Waltz Ryhtm, but I'm terrible in finding tittle to my works 🙂. I usually write what comes to my mind, not thinking much in particular forms, and when it's finished I think about the tittle...

One more thing: would you better write dotted half to 50bpm or quater note to 150? 

I like the atmosphere you created in the A section. The texture of strings and woodwinds sounds nice. 

The contrast between A and B could be even bigger I think. Not musically per se, but orchestration-wise you could make it much more dramatic, and thus create a bigger contrast.

It doesn't feel like a waltz, feels sort of dance-like, but not typically a waltz.

I'd write dotted half to 50 bpm (because of the strong emphasis on the first beat.

Oh and one more thing, the main theme of section A reminded me of the Eroica theme, very nice!

Thanks for you feedback @DirkH, happy you like that!!!

Yes, you are right, A section start with the same four notes as Eroica theme.