Luis Hernández

Hello I have to say that, overall, it sounds very good. Without being a super-expert in orchestration, I think I’d take a closer look at a few things. For example, there are some very large leaps that could be handled differently, such as the bass clarinet and oboes in bars 9–10, or the tuba in bars 107–109. There are other examples too. I’m not familiar with the original version, but perhaps it’s a bit too literal. There are very low registers for some instruments, such as that piccolo arpeggio in bar 87. And with an impossible pppppp dynamic, which is also incongruous: as it ascends, it doesn’t make sense for the volume to decrease.

Yes, I do understand. I think it depends a lot on what your goals are, how you work, and why. For someone who arranges or produces music, who works with a DAW, a ‘wordbuilder’-type concept will be best because the result is surely more realistic (at least for now, given that Cantai has only been on the market for less than a week, according to Dorico). It also allows you to work with lots of different software. But that’s not my role when it comes to music. What I like is writing music and getting it to sound, more or less, acceptable. I do it purely as a hobby; it’s not my profession. And although I’ve used Finale and MuseScore, I’m much more familiar with Dorico. That’s why this integration is brilliant for me.

I don’t know why it’s called ‘Cantai’. But I don’t think it has anything to do with artificial intelligence; rather, it means ‘to sing’ or one of its verb forms in various Latin-based languages. What’s more, it uses recordings of real professional singers (soloists and choirs). I’m familiar with that software you mention. And I used to have it, but depending on what you want to do or what your needs are, it’s better or worse for different people. What I like about Cantai is that you write the notes and the text in the same editing programme (MuseScore, Sibelius, Dorico). And that’s it. It uses expression maps for dynamics and so on. You don’t have to work outside the editing programme (in a DAW, or in XML, etc.). Which is fine, if that’s what you want to do

Hello Have you heard of this virtual instrument called CANTAI? Please note: I have no affiliation with these programmes, even though I use them. https://cantai.app/ It’s a virtual instrument for voices and choirs. It works with MuseScore (which is more advanced), Dorico (the official version was released a couple of days ago) and Sibelius. The novelty is that you write the score, add the parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass, choir) and write the lyrics... And once everything is set up, the result is that it ‘sings’. I use it with Dorico. It still needs improving, because although it interprets dynamics and accents, and there are many voices available, there will be more. At the moment, in Dorico you can write in English and Latin. But Chinese and Spanish are already available in MuseScore (I think). I’ve written this little sample song to see how it works.

I really enjoyed it. And it reminded me of Ives’s sonatas, although he didn’t improvise. Certainly, given its length and the fact that it’s improvised, it’s phenomenal. It never loses its direction or its appeal.

A beautiful piece that strikes me as being in the neoclassical style. It’s always lovely to see handwritten sheet music. I’m not sure if it’s a live performance or a virtual instrument; these days, anything is possible. The sound is a bit ‘muddled’ for my taste in a style like this.

It sounds fantastic, very cinematic. The backing vocals are a bit odd, but that’s always the case with virtual ones. The score—I imagine it was created in a DAW because it’s a bit… in that style.

Hello This piece is fantastic. It sounds very modern in many ways: dissonances, harmonies, dense textures, etc. But it retains a Baroque spirit. Bravo.

@danishali903 Thank you for your comments; they are very valuable to me. I will certainly take another look at these orchestral versions and keep your comments in mind. However, in general, I believe that during this period—similar to (though distinct from) Impressionism—the conventions of classical or Romantic orchestration do not apply in the same way. Of course, I already suspected that some very fast passages wouldn’t be idiomatic for certain instruments, and that information is very valuable to me. The same goes for playing fast passages in unison on two instruments. However, some doublings that seem unnecessary are there for the sake of color, which, in some cases, departs from classical combinations. This is what we often see in the 20th century. I have a certain fondness for these orchestrations. Because I really like the original piano versions. But they’ve been through a lot. I made them quite a while ago without having a clue what I was doing. Then, when I wanted to revise them, they went through the process of converting to XML, importing into another program... And there are things that need cleaning up. The most important thing is that when I did this, my beginner’s mistakes were very obvious, and I wanted every instrument to be heard in every piece, no matter how brief the passage—hence all the unnecessary doubling and the inconsistencies in dynamics, with too many instruments playing at pianissimo. But I’ve since learned my lesson, and in this very chamber-music-oriented style, you have to be very economical with your sounds. Well, you’ve encouraged me to make a new version taking your comments into account—thank you.

The six short piano pieces date from 1911 and belong to the free atonal period, preceding a more “radical” systematization.

The pieces sound good. The language is simple, which fits the style of music. I prefer the second one as it has a bit of a ballad feel, honestly, I’m getting a little tired of this genre.

An emotional piece with a meticulously crafted score. The multi-divisional arrangement of the string section is particularly interesting.

I see. Anyway, I’m going through the pieces as they’re uploaded (there’s only one so far). But I’d prefer to send the results at the end, so I can compare them with one another.

I have a question... Should the evaluations, scores, etc. be carried out once the deadline for submitting entries has passed?

It’s a meticulous piece of work and it sounds good; however, I feel that while the arpeggios work well on the harp and even the vibraphone, they don't seem very idiomatic when played repeatedly by the woodwinds (clarinets and bassoons) or even the cello. I think you’ve tried to be very faithful to the score, but the orchestra doesn't behave like a piano...