Underworld Fantasia (Concert Band)

UnderworldFantasia_USSConcertBand_v0.5.pdf

This piece represents someone travelling through the underworld. It shows the mystery and fear surrounding such a place, but also the peace and restfulness that could be seen in it.

I composed this piece for my school's November concert and it should hopefully be getting performed then!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this piece! Any criticism is appreciated, also.

Hello @TheXylophone,

Welcome to the forum!

I love the Irato part with how static and homorhythmic the rhythm is, as it really depicts the underworld. Maybe b.n 59 is too bright for me with the trumpets and trombones for the underworld

I think you can add more dynamic contrast between the extreme in the entire piece. For me it's either pp or fff and I would like more different dynamic markings in between.

For me maybe after b.85 the contrast is not too great to distinguish it from the opening section. I think you can have orchestration change there and change the texture more.

Is there a reason there's no double reed instrument here? I really think the contrabassoon will do a really good job at portraying the underworld!

Thx for sharing your music and joining!

Henry

3 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hello @TheXylophone,

Welcome to the forum!

I love the Irato part with how static and homorhythmic the rhythm is, as it really depicts the underworld. Maybe b.n 59 is too bright for me with the trumpets and trombones for the underworld

I think you can add more dynamic contrast between the extreme in the entire piece. For me it's either pp or fff and I would like more different dynamic markings in between.

For me maybe after b.85 the contrast is not too great to distinguish it from the opening section. I think you can have orchestration change there and change the texture more.

Is there a reason there's no double reed instrument here? I really think the contrabassoon will do a really good job at portraying the underworld!

Thx for sharing your music and joining!

Henry

 

Thank you very much for the feedback!

After reading through what you said, I focus on improving a few things. Dynamic contrast, of course, I will try to smooth out in a few areas, it's just one of my pet peeves to avoid using mp and mf in most situations.

Regarding the use of double reeds, my school band has zero oboes, bassoons or any of their auxiliaries :(. If I could, I would add them for sure.

Anyways, your feedback is greatly appreciated, and will help with improving the composition a lot!

First of all, I loved your work and Henry's tips are great.
My attention is drawn to the band formation. I think you are in the USA. In my country (Spain) specifically in an area close to the Mediterranean, where I live, there is a long tradition of bands, and the formation is similar to what you propose here. Even the sonority.
Quite an achievement to adjust the composition to the available instrumentalists.

Best regards, and thanks for sharing.

 

48 minutes ago, Luis Hernández said:

First of all, I loved your work and Henry's tips are great.
My attention is drawn to the band formation. I think you are in the USA. In my country (Spain) specifically in an area close to the Mediterranean, where I live, there is a long tradition of bands, and the formation is similar to what you propose here. Even the sonority.
Quite an achievement to adjust the composition to the available instrumentalists.

Best regards, and thanks for sharing.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words!

I always had my school band's numbers in mind when composing and orchestrating this piece, I treated it like a commission.

I live in Canada, and most of our band traditions come from Britain and other parts of Europe, which could explain the similarities in band formation to what Spain traditionally uses.