quintet Daunting Steps - Quintet for Piano, Flute, Contrabassoon, Violin, and Cello - 2025 Halloween Submission

this is a submission for the 2025 halloween competition. i was just really going for a spooky halloweeny vibe but not like "terror and dread and killer" vibes. it's definitely lighter than the other submitted pieces. also, contrabassoon! very spooky sounding instrument, and i've tried my best to harness that specific quality of it.

enjoy!

Entry:  Daunting Steps

Average Score:9.3 Very good

Review:

Execution: 10

The entry met the two requirements for this competition: an ensemble for solo instruments with the time frame of 3-7 minutes (with a sweet spot of 5 minutes). 

Instrumentation : 

Triple tonging in the woods usually marked with Flz. (flutter tongue). That way, the flutist knows how to tongue the notes.  As for String writing: there are some techincal issues to be addressed. First, Sul G marked only one measure. That seems bit confusing.  The measure tremolos with double stops...that might be cause playabity issues. the port. to natural harmonics.  Also, i am not sure if Arco with tremolo can be achieved then a port. That is rather demanding.    In this area, the entry will be score 7. 

Score presentation: 

After a careful readful of the score, there notation and engraving errors. There was hair pin that was not algin with the staff. There are rest that 8ths rest that should be quarter rests.  The 16h note triplets in compound meter might be misleading.  Ergo, the score will 9 

Taste: 

What I like about this entry is that is experiments with idioms that general audience might not be accustom to. There is high sense of chromatism that leads you wonder if this atonal or not. Ferium knows how push beyond traditional harmony and open the door into modern harmony.  For that, I will give a 10   

Form Development Structure Time

There is a clear sense form and structure in this entry. Although it does not use classical structure, which one may be used, you have to know how modern composers use form and structure in new ways.  Unlike the traditional sonata forms, this piece is more like Rapsody or similar to scherzo.  Both are free forms. I am going to Scherzo in this case, since the meter matches here. (However, I am not sure...if that composer wrote that way). A Scherzo is built like minuet but in 6 or 3. And in this 6/8 with two meterical stress. And that was achieved well. 9.5.  

Harmony, Textures:

The interplay between parts created moody polyphonic and chordal textures. 9  

Melodic material

The melodic material through this was well devopled. 10 

Overall this orginal and creative: 10