Song for the Fallen (2025 Christmas Music Event Submission)

Here is my submission:

https://musescore.com/user/89049631/scores/29505320/s/jl-md7

And here is the pdf:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oi66fwxpfjm4bvBB6mYQ9d5GGz-afdB2/view?usp=drivesdk

I hope you enjoy it! (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Hello @Musicman_3254!  Thank you for your submission!  Would you please grant us permissions to view the PDF score?  Thanks again!

Nice piece! Some nice use of a 'rare' dissonance. It is definitely inspiring, your effort, that you took to make a 'beethoven symphony 9' sized orchestral work. Choir, Orchestra...

Hi @PeterthePapercomPoser I have made it viewable for anyone!

Hello @Musicman_3254!

Welcome to the forum and thx for joining the Christmas event!

That's a really long submission and honestly I only listen to the first few minutes for it haha. It's nice to use an orchestra for it. Base on what I heard, maybe you can add some more layers in the music! Thx for sharing.

Henry

Listened to the whole piece. This is a very deep composition with various themes and fun styles throughout. This must have taken you awhile to create!

A work of symphonic proportions. It’s the kind of piece where it’s a shame not to have more realistic sounds, given how colorful it is.

Hello @Musicman_3254, thank you for sharing your contribution.

As far as I remember, your piece is dedicated to the fallen soldiers in WWI who decided to stop fighting for a few days at Christmas 1914 and gather to play soccer. I think I read such a description, but I can't find it anymore.

Although the mood doesn’t really remind on the peacefulness of Christmas, I think it is a serious choice to present it here and remembering on that what happened 111 years ago, taking into account that the same terrifying things happen again in Europe in the 21st century.

Using a special orchestra with all conceivable wind instruments and percussions forecasts somewhat the sound of big bands but is on the other hand an onomatopoeic description of the short period of silence between the fire trenches. In bar 49 I guessed to listen the referee’s whistle.

As I mentioned in a post to @TristanTheTristan, I would appreciate if you would also share it as MP3 audio file, too (for the next time). This would make it easier to listen to it several times, which would be absolutely necessary to thoroughly review a piece of this length.

Hi again @Musicman_3254 and welcome to the forum!

I don't know how nobody hasn't mentioned this yet but you prominently use the themes from apparently all three of the movements of Gustav Holst's 1st Suite in Eb.  I was sure that you were using some kind of English Folk song but apparently these are Holst's original themes that he wrote during an English folk song revivalist era.  I wonder, what is your goal for using all these themes?  Were you hoping to improve upon Holst's piece?  I think not only would better sounds give your piece more life but also a better understanding of the instruments and how to put them together to sound idiomatic and realistic (and well balanced with each other dynamically).  But I find it a bit strange that you didn't let any of us fellow composers/reviewers know that you were using another composer's themes in your work.  Thanks for sharing though and Happy New Year!