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Complete First Symphony


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Here it is, with the second and third movements.

Edited by Rômulo Mello
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  • 2 weeks later...

I left my like a while ago but forgot to comment so let's listen to it again.

 

First movement: It sounds serious, powerful and inspiring to me (What are the "//" markings BTW?). E minor is powerful and serious in my mind, it lacks the pomposity other tonalities (C-, Bb) have (obviously that's just subject to many factors including my subjectivity) and replaces it by some other kind of shine. I overall like it, I mean it would be difficult not to, pieces with harpsichord are just fine, but apart from that the kind of chromatic motive that is played repeatedly by the string section is not only well developed but easy to remind and enjoy. If I had to note anything not positive, I'd say something as banal as this: I would not put slurs and ties in the same side of the score (e.g: M7, Vl. I, both above). 

 

Second movement: Good building & returning on the first 18 measures. Sorry for being overly nit-picky but M26, Vl. II, you have a D# there while in the prior, similar passage you had an Eb. Is there a reason behind that? Not that it's bad or anything, it's just that I stumbled upon it and had to ask. Also if you're using musescore (or another program with a similar "issue"), beware of the silences when you erase notes, they get all over the bar unnecessarily filling it, e.g: M30, Ob; M27, Vc. Cb. Hps.

The dynamics are so nice, I can definitely say my favourite parts in this movement are those >p and <f at e.g: M18, M36. They bring a lot of vitality to the movement. The ending doesn't convince me a lot but it's nice.

Third movement: oh yes, "Prestissimo", the word I like to read in a piece when I'm not the one playing it. Okay it sounds very much like this will be the concluding section, which I know it is beforehand but in case I wouldn't, it would sound me like "here comes the final movement". The viola triplets are probably and somehow guilty of that. The scales part seem to combine the shine of the first movement and the charm of the second, and the part after that just before returning to the A section is delicious, and probably the part that surprised me the most in the entire piece. The Pizzicato passage is very nice as well. The ending measures did not disappoint. If I had to choose a movement as my preferred one, it would be the third by far. Not that there's something wrong in the other two, but in my opinion you really level up in the final movement. 

 

Suggestion: perhaps it would be wise to offer the audio & score by movements too. This is a suggestion another user here wrote to me and I believe it makes sense in multi movement-ed pieces like your symphony. I do hope to listen to the next.

Thank you for sharing and hope you don't find my feedback too dense.

Kind regards!

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Also, as someone who hasn't had the time to listen to the whole thing and review your piece in its entirety yet, it would have been tremendously helpful if you submitted each movement as a separate file so that one could listen to just the 3rd movement in a single sitting etc.  It would make reviewing it much easier so that we don't have to listen to the whole thing in one sitting.

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Thank you for the replies!

13 hours ago, Omicronrg9 said:

What are the "//" markings BTW?

 

I think you are talking about the system breakers. Their purpouse is to make it visually for the conductor where one system ends and the other begins.

13 hours ago, Omicronrg9 said:

M26, Vl. II, you have a D# there while in the prior, similar passage you had an Eb.

 

Indeed, it is a mistake. Both should be E

Thank you for all the sugestions and observations!

I will add seperate MP3s for each movement in my post.

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