Aria for Soprano, Orchestra and Choir

Hello!

This is an Aria (song rather, ok?) that I've written quite recently...

Have a listen and enjoy please (no score this time):

www.nikolas-sideris.com/stuff/tfe.mp3

Soprano: Sofia Zarani

Just to mention that the link is working again and sorry for the inconviniense... (and the shameless bump of course) :D

Wow, that was awesome. I can't say much without a score though. Great singer.

Score? Words?

P.S.-Its really hard for people to review without a score.

Thanks.

Nope,

No score here...

Words, I will post in a second.

rather filmic, interesting.

has a bit of a Vaughan-Williams colour about it. a little like his 8th symphony.

I think if I were to look for something to criticise, it might be the rather indistinct melodic outline. It is a little hard to tell without the score (or at least a piano/vocal score). Those low notes at the beginning seemed a little out of the range of your singer (I'm rather fussy about singers).

Yes, it was out of range (low E for a soprano????)

The problems were the following:

The track was already sequenced and mastered when I went to the studio, and I didn't have any midi files with me, so I couldn't transpose anything...

Additionally the singer was really really tired (was doing me a favour).

Third problem is that I didn't think right, and most ofthe melody was an octave higher, so that low E, was middle E which was no problem. But she had difficulty making out the words at such a high register, so I brought it down...

I'm sure to take care of those problems next time I enter the studio though!

and thanks for posting QC. :shifty:

Wow. That was really cool.

Way too low for soprano. It might as well have been written for mezzo or contralto. They both would easily have the notes up top, and it lies in the more comfortable part of their range.

Unfortunately, I can't really judge this as an aria because I really can't understand any of the text. It would be better described as an orchestrated song. Are there others in the set, or is this the only one? You'll find it exceedingly difficult to have performed if you don't present it as a set.

An aria, just to let you know, is typically from an opera or operetta and is usually programatic, or tells a story. Basically, it is set for a specific character, and is, therefore, usually not transposable for different singers. Obviously you wouldn't transpose a piece written for voice and orchestra, but I think this piece could be performed by either mezzo-soprano, counter-tenor, or bass.

Unless, of course, the text is specific to a gender, or a specific person. Unfortunately, as I noted before, the text is not easily understood, and the setting is difficult to interpret without a score. Therefore, this is as good a review as you can expect from me at the time.

The Lyrics...

I can feel the tress shedding their leaves

I see their tears fall...

The shadowed vines creep through our mind.

As memories slowly fade and die.

And yet there's no reply...

Dark skies, but still we dream of gleaming trees.

Our thoughts; Sacrifices to a parasite

How could we forget that sight?

When the skies closed their eyes.

I've been waiting to cry.

And yet there's no reply...

The trees of light stand now bare,

their leaves all shed.

bitterness...

Greys and Browns intensified.

Our spirits?

washed with the sterile rain

And yet there's no reply...

And the skies closed their eyes,

I

Nightingale Incorporated:

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not looking into performing it. Either way this wouldn't work outside the sampled world. I mean a huge orchestra+choir and have a soprano sing to be heard? It simply wouldn't work. It would take huge revisions...

The low notes on the soprano, I already explained the situation to QC, in the post above your own.

Other than that, yes, probably Aria is the wrong word... But, I couldn't think of any other word (like song maybe? Damn stupid me!) to put in the tittle...

And thanks for the review. :D

I completely disagree with you on the concept of a soprano not being heard over an orchestra that size. Singers are trained to cut through an orchestra of any size without putting their instrument at risk. It's a major part of singing opera, as you can imagine, singing through a major orchestra. Also major cantatas and some symphonies utilize this practice of solo voice singing with the support of orchestra and chorus. The only difference there is that the soloist is typically in front of the chorus.

Sean,

I'm talking about the last 20 secs, mainly, where everybody goes ff... There it is simply impossible to be heard... Sorry if you misunderstood (probably my fault as well with my phrasing. It all comes down to the orchestration etc. In that part, and many others the orchestration is simply too thick, and too loud to let the soprano get away, at such low register. Don't you agree on that? It wasn't a general remark, but a comment on the exact song.

Either way, I won't chase any cycle of songs or live performances with this. :P

Well, ok, a soprano at that register is not going to be heard amidst the clamour around her. As a general rule, as the orchestra gets louder and fuller, the vocalist will typically tend to get higher and more cutting. However, a mezzo would probably would be able to be heard, seeing as it is in her range.

You've got to trust me about this. You could have the whole orhestra playing at fff and unless you have your singer purposely blending into the works, she will be heard. It's one of the amazing tricks of the human voice, and a major reason why I am a vocalist.

But I won't press the issue, just letting you know my opinion.

hmmm...

Fair enough Sean, I take your word.

Still as critisism to my work, it was never meant to be performed live, thus the careless orchestration... :)

Cheers, for posting.