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Thank you very much Henry! Yes, I also think this is a step up from the original, but I think my current best piece is the choral one I composed a few months ago. Oh, the original also ended with a hollow sonority. I wanted it to have a very hard and Straussian color haha. I'll be sharing more in the future! See you next time. 🙂

If it hasn't been made clear already, I like to emphasize on depicting the more intense emotions we feel throughout our lives. This piece is no different. I've written this piece in celebration of the lives of those that we have had to grieve throughout our time on this earth, whom we've had the misfortune of out-living. It features a somber chord progression, using a simple melody with some intricacies throughout to help express the turmoil, and unpredictable nature of the human grieving process. Let me know what you all think 🙂 Remembrance_-_Kyle_Hilton_-_UncleRed99.custom_score.mp3 Remembrance_-_Kyle_Hilton_-_UncleRed99.pdf

I completely agree - horns are definitely the way to go

In my opinion it would make more sense to have 2 french horns and 1 trumpet instead of the other way round. Horns do a better job at creating a fuller and more balanced sound. Composers have always used them (tbf kindof lazily) to fill in harmony because they just work well for it. Also, they blend exceptionally well with the woodwinds, which is why they are above the trumpets on sheet music, despite not being the soprano part of the brass section, because they're "in between" the winds and brass. The trumpet on the other hand is very punchy and doesn't blend as well. This is why in the classical era, they're used largely for fanfare-like textures, and in the romantic era, they often take the foreground playing melodies.

Okay awesome - this is all I have so far lol

By the way, this is for a large orchestra and is a multi piece

This is the score both on musescore and YouTube https://musescore.com/user/53049012/scores/11716984

In fact that's the common practice of Classical Concerto for the ensemble to bring in the themes first before the soloist comes in. Only Beethoven changed the practice in his Piano Concerto no.4.

Good morning, Henry, First of all, thank you very much for your insightful comment. This text by Jules Laforgue is indeed fascinating. While it may appear abstruse at first glance, it invites the reader to join the poetic “dance” in order to uncover its deeper meanings. To begin with, like much of Laforgue’s work, this text is relatively unknown here in France. As a reminder, Jules Laforgue died in 1886 of pulmonary phthisis, a disease that defined the end of the 19th century and persisted into the next. Frequently referenced in art, it reached its literary zenith in works such as Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. In this poem, although Laforgue uses certain thematic elements drawn from medical vocabulary, he is not addressing the tuberculosis that would claim his life less than a year later. Instead, he revisits a theme he had explored before: an invocation to the moon, treating it as a silent witness. I previously set another of his poems, Complaint of the Moon in the Provinces, to music, which also centered on this motif. Here, the moon, once confided in for sorrows and heartbreaks in the earlier lament, becomes something much more unsettling: still silent, but now mocking, like stained glass in a church at night—soulless, dead, or languid in the chloroform haze of the clouds. It remains indifferent, even as the poet suffocates—perhaps from illness, love, or solitude. The absurdity of the poet’s situation is stark. His bad romances (béquinades—a now-obsolete French word) provoke derisive laughter, highlighting how his “platonic” (idealized) loves are reduced to nothing more than the trivial musings of an ordinary man. His imagined grandeur is deflated, exposing the ridiculousness of his human condition. This obsession builds into a chant-like rhythm, escalating into a true nightmare. The enigmatic phrase, “I want to gently caress your sad paten, widowed dish of the chef of Saint John the Baptist”, takes center stage. This is where the poem becomes almost proto-expressionist. Mystical imagery permeates the poem, but here it becomes unnerving. The paten refers to the dish that holds the Eucharistic host. In this vision, the moon is transformed into a dish—a plate in the sky—that once received the severed head of Saint John the Baptist. Now, it is an empty vessel, once an instrument of horror, reduced to a pale, lifeless object. At first, I hesitated to set this part of the poem to music due to its strangeness. Similarly, the inclusion of Salve Regina seemed too overtly religious. Yet, it is precisely this disorientation that defines the poem. The saint being invoked is none other than the moon—the “white lady” of folklore, queen of the night, whom he wishes to pierce with his phalènes. This, as you noted, is where the carnal implications are most evident. The phalènes, or moths, symbolize his poetic verses, which he uses to pierce the sanctified face of the moon. Yet, the phonetic similarity to phallus cannot be ignored. This could suggest a symbolic act of violation—taboo and transgressive. In the closing lines, “I want to find a Lied that touches you to make you emigrate to my mouth”, the poet seeks words powerful enough to draw the moon, his beloved, saint, or muse, to him. He desires a Lied—a song, popular or stylized—to achieve this connection. Laforgue, who lived in Germany as a reader for a countess, was undoubtedly familiar with Schubert’s Lieder. For me, the theme resonates with Der Lindenbaum from Winterreise, the epitome of Romanticism. That Lied inspired the musical motif I used here, after de climax. Both poems share a similar springboard: an invocation to nature (the lime tree in one, the moon in the other) as a confidant and source of solace. Laforgue’s melancholy mirrors Schubert’s: the consolation sought is ultimately unattainable. By the poem’s end, the observation is bitter. No rhymes remain, no words suffice—everything has been tried, all in vain. Yet, it is neither tragic nor pathetic, for tragedy is too sublime. Instead, it is simply futile, almost absurd. In my musical setting, I chose to reflect this futility by paring down the music after the preceding deluge of sound. Finally, a word on the poem’s rhythm, which I sought to capture musically. It is a decasyllable—a ten-syllable meter with a feminine rhyme at the end of each line. This form is rare, as more regular, symmetrical meters are usually preferred for their balance, particularly with clear caesurae. Here, however, the rhythm feels obsessive, deliberately strange. Notably, Laforgue’s earlier moon poem (Complaint of the Moon in the Provinces) used strict seven-syllable lines—a metric that hints at unreason. For this setting, I used a 6/4 (or 12/8) time signature to accommodate the ten-syllable lines while emphasizing the rhythmic punctuation of each verse with two beats. The entire piece is driven by an ostinato of eight eighth notes and two quarter notes. This is what I can add to your reading of the poem. Congratulations again on your astute insights and perceptive listening!

Most of my work is Romantic, with somewhat of a contemporary feel (in my opinion) I have three notes written so far lol — F, Db, and Ab. I think the melody will flow with scalar-esque motion and leaps (up and down). I love maj7 leaps on strings and higher-register woodwinds. In a concerto, are you "allowed" to have an introduction from the ensemble before bringing in the soloist?

Yeah that was the idea to start off tonally with this piece then in the next one move away from the tonal center. Overall thanks for the comment.

It is confirmed that the next post would indeed be the slow movement of my Piano Sonata no.3!

Hello @JorgeDavid! I used to be a lead Trumpeter for a College local to me, back when I was an undergrad student. im not an expert on how the music is composed, never having arranged or composed Jazz works myself, but I couldn’t identify any immediate concerns with what you’ve done with this one so far. Once the full version is released, I’ll be 100% willing to give you any suggestions I may see in that! so far it appears that you’re getting the hang of it relatively easily!

This is an aria in the late Baroque style for flute, tenor, and continuo. The text is taken from Goethe's Unbegrenzt (unbounded).

I appreciate it! I’m particular to the Cello Solo’s too. When my brain-music-box heard them, I got flutters in my stomach! Regarding the modulation, yes, the current way it’s written was a placeholder for an idea yet to come. Just a very simple Caesura + 3 note arpeggio to have *something* in place during the editing process. as of now it’s almost fully fledged out. I’ve just been scratching my head with the modulation transition, and haven’t been able to think of a good way to filter that gap as of yet. But I’m confident in everything else around it so far.

Hi @GospelPiano12, I think it's difficult to provide suggestion to you with just the standard orchestration provided, other than having the information that the oboe would be the featured instrument! I think you can think of the style of the music you want. Do you have any musical ideas to be developed for this piece? Henry

Hey Peter, It sounds like a Baroque invention with wrong notes thx to the just intonation, until b.22 when you reach G major and stay in the key! It's quite unusual for me to stay in the subtonic major in a Baroque invention for a major key work! I like the imitations, particular the quasi stretto at the end. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Jean @Krisp! I love the word painting in your music! The music sounds so dark, chromatic and confusing with those scary images The silence after the "Out of Silence" stanza sounds nice! The Yes, Yes! confirmation, and the mockery music in the mockery stanza. The music get more excited when the thought of kissing is involved! Then after the sentence "Widowed plate of Saint John the Baptist Head", maybe the imagination of female religious saints, even though still under the objectification of female is thought of, so the music becomes peaceful apparently, though the sexual undercurrent still continue. There is so much thought in your music to paint the poem. I admire that! And your singing is as great as always. P.S. With "Baryton" I think of the poor bowed string instrument getting out of fashion which Haydn poorly waste his talent on his 123 Baryton trios thanks to his Esterházy Patron! Thx for sharing! Henry

Hello @Rafael Avila, Welcome to the forum! For me the piece never goes out of the control of A minor, let alone tonality at all! There are clear functional harmonies in it. For me it sounds more like having some chromatic non-harmonic tones added to the otherwise functional harmony. Thx for sharing and joining! Henry

Hey Kyle @UncleRed99, It sounds very nice to me. A nice theme and a nice texture. I especially love passages featuing piano and cello. The music reminds me of some lovely Richard Clayderman pieces! The up an octave sign in the bass clef piano at the beginning looks strange for me and you should just notate your left hand an octave higher! The modulation to G minor sounds abrupt to me but it's a work in progress so I guess you will fill in the gap otherwise! Excited to your final product! Henry

Hey Ivan @Ivan1791, This sounds so nice. I dare say it's even better than your original piano version of it. The orchestration absolutely enhance the espressive power of the original piece. The fragile flute+oboe combination and an einsam horn like Brahms or Mahler. Just hope the strings can join as well! I love this very much! One thing to note: in the original piano version it ends on a Picardy 3rd. This time is a sheer minor ending. I think it kind of reflects your present condition and I feel sad for both the piece and you. Nonetheless thx for sharing this wonderful orchestral miniature to us! Henry

Hi @Crackers, Welcome to the forum! For me the part 1 sounds like new music to me. It sounds soothing and I love the marimba/xylophone. The modulation to C minor sounds nice to me, though I think the bass could be less heavy there since it can cover the xylophone sound. You can also add some more notable melodies here, instead of broken chords! For pt.2, whtat's the pluck instrument? It sounds like Guzheng to me and the timbre is wierdly well for me. It sounds quite depressing to me and I quite like it. The picardy 3rd ending is quite surprising to me. Make sure to listen to and comment other members' works as well! Thx for joining us! P.S. Let's invite our Paper Composer a.k.a. @PeterthePapercomPoser for this Paper Symphony! Henry

Hi @PeteHarrison, The music itself sounds good and the lyric is quite funny. I think the vocal can be sung with more accurate pitch. Thx for sharing! Henry

This is a song I released in July of 2024 called "Boogietime". Please listen to the song and give me some feedback.