Hi to all,

Here's my first attempt to orchestrate this nocturne.

I actually started this last year, and never really finished it properly.

I know there's a load of things wrong with it! Not least all the missing slurs and clumsy handovers, etc...

The cadenza-like figure on Pages 8 and 9 is particularly awkward to orchestrate: so any suggestions would be very welcome!

Maybe I should divide up the runs into shorter figures, and spread them out across different instruments?

Perhaps dovetailing these together with overlapping notes, or single handover notes?

That way the cadenza could work its way around the orchestra to give a nice 3D effect?

Anyway, just thinking outloud!

Hope you enjoy.

Nocturne No.1 in Eb minor (Faure orchestration) #41.pdf

Edited Saturday at 01:34 PM2 days by Alex Weidmann

Hello @Alex Weidmann.

This is beautiful orchestration of Faure's Prelude. I love the tonal colors and textures you have created. However, I have a few minor suggestions.

1. I would recommend have full score on page 1in score order. Then following pages, you can condense it.

2. woods and brass usually share staves. That way, you can write a2 or which wood part or which brass part.

3. The Pitch percussion is barely noticeable.

4. Same goes for the harp.

3 and 4 have to do with orchestral balance issues.

Hello

I have to say that, overall, it sounds very good.

Without being a super-expert in orchestration, I think I’d take a closer look at a few things.

For example, there are some very large leaps that could be handled differently, such as the bass clarinet and oboes in bars 9–10, or the tuba in bars 107–109. There are other examples too.

I’m not familiar with the original version, but perhaps it’s a bit too literal.

There are very low registers for some instruments, such as that piccolo arpeggio in bar 87. And with an impossible pppppp dynamic, which is also incongruous: as it ascends, it doesn’t make sense for the volume to decrease.

Many thanks Luis and Kvothe for your comments!

Yes you're right, the score is a mess! It's designed for midi rendition: so I haven't tidied it up yet.

Where I have separate staffs in the woods and brass, it's because the material is too complex to combine into one staff. Although I do have more work to do on assigning a2 and solo passages.

The piccolo was sounding very shrill and horrible at Bar 87: so I tried to pull it down with the pppppp!

In practice that whole cadenza-like passage needs rewriting in some kind of modified gesture, because it doesn't translate very well to orchestra in this literal transcription.

The large jumps in woods and brass would probably be difficult to play: so I will try to change those somehow. Maybe by alternating between instruments?

I will try pulling up the dynamics on the vibe, glock and harp, though I do want them to be fairly subtle.

N.B. My tempo is much faster than the original piano work, because I felt it sounded better that way. Wonder if others agree with this choice?

It's a lovely work that's not especially well known: so hopefully I'll be able to do it justice in the end!