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For my Secret Santa entry, I had to describe a world in which all the adults had succumbed to a global pandemic (COVID-19, anyone?), leaving the children alive and alone to fend for themselves and shape the planet they had unwittingly inherited. Though this is a fanciful scenario, psychologically this fear of loss of protection and "parental" guidance is not so farfetched. What would happen if all of that were stripped away? (It invariably is many times throughout our lives.) So that's what this work aims to delve into. I did not intend to get so carried away with this project. I wanted it to be just a few minutes long, with maybe one or two thematic developments... but the creative flame took hold and I'm helpless to resist its overlordish demands. Sigh. So here you have my first attempt at a "traditional" symphony. Not quite as long or extensive (thank God!) but an attempt nonetheless. As is my usual wont, the music is built around the 4th mode of limited transposition—a symmetrical scale whose harmonic progressions depend largely on augmented 4ths/diminished 5ths. Lots of dissonance, tons of quartal harmonies, and perhaps a bit of atonality in places, but I'm not apologizing. The work is extremely tonal—or maybe modal is a better word—it just explores some chords and progressions that aren't very CPP. No score yet... still working on the final two sections, hope to post it and them soon. But I wanted you guys to have something to listen to, since today is the deadline after all. Still working on the score, but the symphony is, by and large, finished. Great topic, definitely fed my creativity! Let me know what could be improved, or what you liked/disliked, as you listen to this. Thanks for bearing with me, and happy listening!

My Sonatina for marimba and harp. It was composed in 2015 for the chamber concert of several composers from Slovenia during the World Music Days 2015. It is three movement work without a "coughing" break and utilizes both instruments in colourful, expressive music, somewhere between neoclassicism and modern colourful style, however, I would not consider it to be impressionistic. At first I did not consider this Sonatina to be among my better works but I recently began to appreciate it more. Therefore I made this youtube recording.

I stumbled across a video of my music from a year ago, I can say I have improved a ton. Here is the past: Here is when I finished Music Theory: My newest piece:

Hi, Here a Waltz I wrote last week. Because of the mood I named just Spring Waltz. It's written for a late classical period orchestra: 1Piccolo, 2Flutes, 2Oboes, 2Bb Clarinets, 2Bassoons, 4Horns & Strings. I added also Glockenspiel and Vibraphone, because I like its percussive effect when doubling the winds. I think the style is also of the period. I appreciate your feedback.

Seaside Dreaming Master.mp3 Hi guys I'm new to this site and I would appreciate feedback on this piece I've composed. Thanks.

The title says it all: a few days after posting this fugue I seeked for and found some parallels, so I corrected them. I wasn't sure whether I should repost (which I'm doing right now) or simply let them slide past my mind. But I recently realised they were too obvious, which might be the reason why no one has replied since I posted the fugue. Also, I changed the instrument in the soundfont I'm currently using for the computer to play what is supposed to be a Reed Organ, despite I don't think the timbre is comparable to the real instrument, I guess it sounds nice. So it might sound like it's played by some sort of unspecified wind instrument. Hope everyone, quarantined or not, are safe and resisting the devastating effects of this epidemic so far.

Hello Jörfi, This is really very good. I am impressed by the way you handle the harmonics and dissonances in this orchestral setup. It should very suitable as film music ( as someone already suggested), but also as a standalone, it is really exciting. I think that this is your best work up to now. Congratulations!

Beautiful and moving piece, Aled. Everything made perfect sense... until that jarring dim7 progression at 2:17 that took us down a whole step to D minor. I'm absolutely not opposed to shaking things up, even in a piece as smoothly legato as this one, but perhaps your transitional passage could turn us out in a higher key than what we started in? Just a suggestion. You definitely have a knack for composition and know how to turn out a good piece of music. Thanks for sharing.

That's indeed a nice dreamy pieces, but it feel a bit strange that you finish in a different key you started with. You start in EM and you finisch in DM, right? Why?

I've completed the first of likely several drafts of this symphony. Thank you all for your patience and reviews of this in the meantime! To save space, I won't rehash what I've already said in the first post. This work is designed to be played in one sitting, and is divided into the 4 sections as described below. I've given the play time of their approximate start. I. Moderato, quasi marziale (0:00) — an unsettling march section in 4/4, presents the symphony's motifs II. Andante languido (4:19) — slow and elegant also in 4/4, but still with an uneasy edge III. Poco frettoloso (10:37) — quick-moving and agitated 6/8 time IV. Misurato, senza rimpianti (13:50) — freer and more final in 5/4 time, yet there's a sense of foreboding that pervades it (check out the ending) The score is going to take me some time to put together, so until then, here is the instrumentation: 2 piccolos, 3 flutes (1 doubles as an alto flute), 3 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 4 bassoons, 1 contrabassoon; 8 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones (tenor), 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba, 2 cimbassi; 2 timpani, cymbals, gong, bass drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, harp; 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, basses. Thanks in advance for checking this out! It's quite a long piece, so feel free to jump ahead or review it in pieces (or you don't have to listen to it at all, lol). This was a ton of fun—and work—to create, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor. 🙂 Let me know what you think could make the piece better, please!

Here was my topic for the Secret Santa event: "I'll keep this topic simple -and fairly abstract. One of the things, in my music, that I often write about is life and death. So, the topic that I choose will be within this abstract area: life, mortality, death, rebirth, lessons learned in life, philosophy of life." Wasn't sure whether or not to include the author, so I'll abstain for now, but I hope you enjoy the piece... though it is admittedly very theoretical.

I never listen to a new piece on its theoretical base unless it's pointed out to me and I'm asked to do so. So I just listened. I found the work beautiful. Music I have no trouble with. It works because of the pace and whether theoretical or not, the timing of events allows me to acclimatise, maybe absorb as it flows but with a few surprises - some brilliant effects. Put it on your next album. Superb.