Frank Bridge - The Hour Glass: The Midnight Tide (orchestration)

Hi, I'm back yet again, with the 3rd movement of Frank Bridge's "The Hour Glass".

It's a crazy work for piano, and not at all easy to orchestrate.

I think my filigree passages in the woodwind may be unrealistic in terms of coordination?

Also, MuseScore is telling me the vibraphone and marimba parts are straying into "expert" territory, which I guess means you need extra large instruments with additional tone-bars?

N.B. The score is an early draft designed for midi only: so will need a lot of adjustments for a real orchestra.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy!

Frank Bridge - The Midnight Tide #37.pdf

Edited June 16Jun 16 by Alex Weidmann
Improved score

I'm wondering greatly why this piece did not receive any feedback (let alone positive and encouragingly complimentary feedback), even after 3 weeks and more.

I absolutely love many elements that have been used in this score:

• Use of melodic Caliope (Baritone woodwinds, Soprano Strings)

• background call-and-response (alternating between Violone and Violin/Violinone)

• moment of introductory climatic moment (the herold of the Timpani's and Double-Bass's dotted-rhythmic march)

Just to name the few things. It also invokes a beautiful sense of a late evening walk down an urban city. (I just checked the name of your piece again, and it speaks of the "Frank Bridge"! The setting illustration you were going for seems excellently executed!)

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I do concur that arranging 2/4-hand Piano works into Orchestra is quite the arduous and ambitious task. Most people don't realize how difficult it really is to learn idiomatic writing for 30 or more instruments; so that your performers can perform your work at ease and with joy; and your audience can, at the same time, enjoy the listening experience of it. (I have come across a lot of works that is a 'joy' to play, because it's highly idiomatic and "quite easy to perform" with "minimal rehearsal"; but with little thought having been put into the music, which makes the listening experience of it a bit dull and flat. "Boring" music, as some would call it. In short, easy and simple to play; not fun to listen to!)

As far as difficulty of instrumental writing is concerned (you brought up your virtuosic pitched percussion lines being advised by Musescore as difficult): a lot of times, it heavily depends on the personal practice (as well as personal incentive and motivation) by individual performers to bring your works to life. From my own experience: if it doesn't sound like how it's supposed to and/or it seems like the performer is struggling and making the music seem too difficult to fully and viably perform.... a lot of times, it's because they haven't practiced the music, and/or they simply need to care about it more. In these instances, it often has minimally or not at all to do with your own fine writing. Just as a composer-to-composer word of reassurance. ;)

(Check out my own music score that I posed two days ago! I have spent time writing fairly to greatly idiomatically for many of the instruments; making the line seem 'harder' than it actually is. Yet, the players of its earlier first edition still struggled, when I gave it to a Philharmonic (one of 'the best' in Europe, as it is reputed; especially considering the historic famous composers who had given it premiere music to perform! Not naming names, not naming the orchestra) to performed. Furthermore, guess what?? During the first rehearsal, the dress rehearsal and the final performance that premiered this Tone Poem), it sounded like an intermediate half-learned high-school concert band that's just learning how to get it together. Individual instruments were literally sticking out, and a few sections were quite off pitch, shrill, crass and.... not performing the affects I was intending/asking for. This happened, despite having the music 3 weeks to a month before their final performance; and, they have the MIDI mockup. They were given the resources to make it happen. And, it didn't. It was very embarrassing, seeing that, at the end of the premiere, I had to stand up and take a bow. Forever, that European audience saw my face and will remember me: that it must be me as a composer. After speaking to people later down the line who reviewed the (earlier first edition of this) music, the remark I received was, "....Why was it not performed better?" or "... Why did they sound like that?" "The line is fairly easy and straight-forward to achieve, with some bit of practice." See that? Was it my music, or was it simply that my performers didn't care enough to practice it? I suppose I can diverge into the topic about Philharmonics rolling their eyes when it comes to having to "deal with" new student works (You know, 'here we go again...student works.... let's get this done, so that we can enjoy playing Beethoven and Shostakovich!!'), but I won't get too far off the topic at hand. What was my point in all of this? Your Vibraphone and Marimba lines are likely fine. It's probably regarded as difficult, but that certainly doesn't make it not viable and easy to learn! Really, it comes down to the attitude and the desire by your percussionists to learn and practice it!)

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by ARCMusicPublishings

Hi, many thanks for the kind words, and thoughtful review.

Frank Bridge is actually the composer. (Don't worry, I hadn't heard of him either until very recently!)

This is my orchestration of his 3 movement piano work "The Hour Glass".

(You can find the other 2 movements lower down in the Orchestral and Large Ensemble category.)

Far as I know, it's never been orchestrated before.

Frank was a British composer (1879-1941), who mentored the young Benjamin Britten.

I think the main issue with the marimba part is whether you can actually physically get round the instrument to play those octave movements at this tempo.

And also whether you can find an extra large marimba (and vibraphone) to cover the pitch range required.

I'm thinking I'll probably rework those passages so they fall into a narrower range.

I've heard those stories about orchestras not taking student works seriously; but what can you do?

Ah, I see. (I thought Frank Bridge was a landmark; which I hadn't looked up yet. Ha!)

Regardless, you brought Britten's advisor's piano music to life. Your rendition of it is quite stunning; and does invoke the urban late night mood as for-mentioned. And, the second portion of my post (regarding difficulty of percussion part) still stands.