October 1, 2025Oct 1 Hi to all. Just wanted to post an orchestration I've attempted of Purcell's "Funeral Sentences". Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this was originally written for SATB choir, with timpani and a quartet of trumpets. Here I've arranged the piece for full symphony orchestra. Not sure if it's been orchestrated like this before, but haven't heard any other versions in this instrumentation. I used an old midi file as the basis for my score: so some of the trills and drum rolls look a bit strange. Think they sound more realistic like this though: so it may not be such a bad thing. Haven't bothered with slurs, as the score is designed for midi rendition only. (Also have noticed I need to correct my spelling of D major chords.) Hope you enjoy! Edited October 2, 2025Oct 2 by Alex Weidmann
October 2, 2025Oct 2 Author Have now listened to Steven Stucky's arrangement of this work from 1991, and was pleased to discover it's very different from mine! He uses less woodwind, and more brass, with a far more radical reimagining of the original material (especially towards the end). Also interesting use of tubular bells that totally caught me by surprise! It's a far more accomplished piece of orchestral writing; but I feel like mine is more faithful to the original intention of the work. Anyway I'll let you be the judge.
November 4, 2025Nov 4 Author Just made a new version of this with more varied instrumentation, including harp and vibraphone. Hopefully it's an improvement? Added some extra counterpoint on the doublebass, which I wrote myself. Not sure it works!
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