Debussy - Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon (orchestrated)

I have yet another orchestration for you today.

This was apparently Debussy's last work, which makes it all the more poignant for me to orchestrate.

It contains some surprising and fascinating harmonic progressions, pointing the way towards those composers who came after him.

I've tried to maintain the furtive and playful nature of the piece, and kept the orchestration as light as possible.

I think I've probably gone a bit too high for the trumpet? Might be a bit squeaky and unpleasant up there?

Colin Matthews has orchestrated this one, and I listened to his version about a week before crafting mine.

Tried not to let it influence me at all, and I haven't looked at his score.

Anyhow, looking forward to your thoughts...

Debussy - Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon #21 (score).pdf

Hello

Fantastic.

I think it captures the romantic spirit of Fauré very well – intimate, aristocratic and with a restrained elegance – acting as a direct bridge between the 19th century and French Impressionism.

It all sounds very clear.

I just have two comments:

1. Another thing that’s been firmly etched into my mind regarding the orchestra: always reinforce the bass. Because it’s in the part of the audio spectrum that the human ear perceives least clearly. Here it’s carried solely by the double basses; it could be doubled by the cellos, or a horn, or alternated, since you don’t have any bassoons.

2. Finally, I’m not sure if it’s possible to fit mutes onto the violins and viola in such a short space of time (half a bar). Overtones could be used for that effect.

Best regards.

Many thanks Luis!

My idea for the double-bass drone was to have an almost imperceptible note of menace in the background.

That's why it's undoubled and pianissimo.

It's supposed to represent the backdrop of World War I, since this piece was written in 1917.

I think strings can apply the sordino device pretty quickly; but if not, they could always use flautando technique instead (as I have in the double-basses).

Noticed this evening I've made an embarrassing transcription mistake at one point: so I will be correcting that later today!

Thanks again for listening,

Alex