Debussy orchestration (Footsteps in the Snow)

Hi to everyone.

This week I've been working on an exercise to orchestrate Debussy's Prelude No.6 from Book 1.

I came up with two versions, one with a very restricted instrumentation, and the other with a larger ensemble.

Interested to know which you think works best?

The final bass dyad was very problematic, due to its extreme low pitch. 
It sounded too intrusive and twangy in the harp, and seemed off-pitch in the double-bass, with a horrible grating timbre.
Eventually I decided to remove the lowest note altogether in the version with restricted instrumentation, and have the upper note pizz. instead of arco. 

Edited June 22, 2025Jun 22 by Alex Weidmann

Alex - overall both are very good orchestrations of the piano work.  After listening to the piano work, I found, I missed the resonance of the lower notes vibrating (pedal).

I'm not sure how to reproduce this quality in the lower winds and/or lower strings etc.

Mark

Thanks Mark.

I could perhaps use more contrabassoon for bass resonance.

Not sure double-bass would work. Its timbre is a bit too harsh, and doesn't really suit the material IMHO. 

I did have thoughts about adding some percussion. Perhaps a mark tree, sleigh bells or triangle to sprinkle some Christmassy magic?

Maybe that would sound too cheesy though?

Edited June 23, 2025Jun 23 by Alex Weidmann

21 hours ago, MJFOBOE said:

Alex - overall both are very good orchestrations of the piano work.  After listening to the piano work, I found, I missed the resonance of the lower notes vibrating (pedal).

I'm not sure how to reproduce this quality in the lower winds and/or lower strings etc.

58 minutes ago, Alex Weidmann said:

Thanks Mark.

I could perhaps use more contrabassoon for bass resonance.

Not sure double-bass would work. Its timbre is a bit too harsh, and doesn't really suit the material IMHO. 

I did have thoughts about adding some percussion. Perhaps a mark tree, sleigh bells or triangle to sprinkle some Christmassy magic?

Maybe that would sound too cheesy though?

Oh hey

I like the contrabassoon idea, it's so rich in the lower register. Perhaps the easiest and right solution.

Would it be so weird to have the piano with the orchestration? You mentioned harp, percussion, bells, etc., maybe the piano (or synth?) could be used as an accent/effect instrument in the ensemble. It could play the low notes of the final bass dyad in question, but just a random thought. 

Orchestration is really cool, and it helps I love Debussy haha. Nice work!

An Incredible orchestral landscape. I think you captured the loneliness of the piece quite well; the pedal effects are achieved naturally by the sustaining quality of the winds and strings. Just keep in mind, those triple and quadruple pianos may be hard to project, if you get a real ensemble to play your piece. It’s interesting to hear how differently you’ve approached this prelude as compared to another recent orchestration:

Of course, I also hear similarities but I do really prefer your choice of instruments. There seems to be more drama and depth of feeling. 

14 hours ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

Would it be so weird to have the piano with the orchestration? You mentioned harp, percussion, bells, etc., maybe the piano (or synth?) could be used as an accent/effect instrument in the ensemble. It could play the low notes of the final bass dyad in question, but just a random thought. 

Orchestration is really cool, and it helps I love Debussy haha. Nice work!

Thanks Vince!

I did think about adding a piano; but that seems like cheating!

I made the wider orchestration first, and then my composition tutor suggested I use a smaller chamber orchestra instrumentation instead. That's partly because contrabassoon is apparently not a standard part of the line-up, even in a larger orchestra.

10 hours ago, Mooravioli said:

Just keep in mind, those triple and quadruple pianos may be hard to project, if you get a real ensemble to play your piece. It’s interesting to hear how differently you’ve approached this prelude as compared to another recent orchestration:

Many thanks for the kind words.

The dynamics were designed mainly for the MIDI rendition from MuseScore. Would have to adjust them for a real orchestra. 
Anything below ppp is a bit silly and meaningless for real musicians!

Also think I should've used n instead of ppppp and pppppp: so will go back and change that.

Probably should've pushed up the master fader too, as my mp3's are both very quiet.

I was aware of Colin Matthews' version; but have avoided listening to it, as I wanted to come up with my own ideas.

The orchestration is simple, yet effective. I like the sparseness of it all, and would not add in any percussion/keyboard instruments as suggested above. However, the instrumentation is a little odd, but it works for me. 

You should definitely remove those ppppp dynamics. For strings, I would recommend doing it all con sordino. 

Hi @Alex Weidmann!

Love your orchestration especially that contrabassoon. I think adding con sordino for the strings will make another timbre for the quiet sound. Thx for sharing!

Henry

On 6/25/2025 at 11:56 PM, danishali903 said:

the instrumentation is a little odd

That's probably 'cos I'm a little odd! 🤪

Glad you liked it though.

Will try con sord, though I already have flautando at the end; but I guess I could use both together?

10 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Love your orchestration especially that contrabassoon.

Thanks Henry!

MuseScore makes contra sound extra realistic with that blowing sound. 

I really like when the intimate aspect of Debussy is the essential component. No the bloated thing in the recent famous orchestrations just mentioned above. Bravo!

Thanks Uhor!

I discovered a couple of wrong notes in my interpretation that no one seems have spotted, but will go back and correct them when I have time.