Alex Weidmann

Thanks so much for listening Henry! Glad you liked it 🤗

Seasons Greetings all! Here's a little something I'm cooking up for a concert next year. It's based on the Epitaph of Seikilos, which is the earliest surviving complete song. I tried to give it a flavour of Antiquity, and to create unexpected harmonies. Haven't come up with lyrics yet; though it will start with the original Ancient Greek text translated into English. Maybe my piano part is a bit too thin? Or perhaps I should keep it sparse? The notation is intended for midi, and I'll be adjusting the dynamics upwards by at least one degree for the musicians. When I make the final score, I'm intending to write out the spread stacked chords in full as arpeggios.

Thanks Henry! That upwards leap in b.58 is definitely a cry of anguish for me. Glad you liked it! I was actually considering dropping the whole first movement: so great minds think alike! I agree it's the weakest of the three, perhaps because it's too pastiche, and also feels like it's treading water in the middle section. Since Vivaldi was a major inspiration, I was trying to evoke his violin concertI in my style of composition. For example the repeated notes in the third movement coda are typical of his music, and help to inject extra impetus and energy.

Thanks! This was the neoclassical piece that inspired me:

Great use of percussion in this work, including a load of techniques and instruments I'd never heard of. I hope the propane tank is empty; otherwise you could have an explosive ending!

Thanks Luis: that's exactly what I was aiming for! Can't wait to hear what it sounds like when played by real musicians.

This is a really fun piece to listen to! The brass writing is top notch. The highlight for me though, was the duetting between the piccolo and flute. Not a combination I would've thought of using. Love the strange sound of the flexatone! Will have to use that instrument some time in one of my future works. I wonder, would it come through as strongly as this against a full orchestra? Or would it need to be amplified?

Happy Winterval to all! This is a work I posted previously in the incomplete section, and it takes the form of a mini-concerto for violin (with the movements indicated by the rehearsal marks). It's more or less finished now; though I may still have to tweak some of the voice leading, and haven't started writing in the slurs yet. Since I last posted it, have added a coda at the end, and a whole bunch of counterpoint throughout the piece. (N.B. Rehearsal mark C indicates the start of the coda.) The work was inspired by Vivaldi, along with a modern work called "The Gold Standard" by Richard Harvey. (The latter was the main inspiration for the coda.) Think the most successful melody-line is in the second movement, as this carries emotional weight for me. The other two movements are more like baroque dance music. (I could imagine the cast of "Bridgerton" dancing to them at a ball!) I may have to cut the work down, as we're not really supposed to go over 5 minutes, and I'm now at 6. So any suggestions about where I could cut would be very helpful. Not quite sure the structure is properly balanced at the moment, or whether the movements gel together as a coherent whole? Any suggestions on what to name the piece also welcome. N.B. The dynamics and articulation are intended for midi rendition, and will have to be adjusted before I send it to the orchestra who are performing it next year.

Hi Stig. Just listened to "Evening Sun" It seemed like a stream of consciousness; rather than something with a fixed structure (such as Sonata form, Rondo form, etc...). I found some of your harmonies quite interesting and unexpected. Perhaps this is your unique way of composing. Have subscribed to your You Tube: so will try to listen to more of your work in the future.

You don't really need to learn how to use MuseScore. All you need to know is how to import a MusicXML file, and then export the audio file. Two very basic functions. The virtual instruments and voices are assigned automatically. Of course you can get better results by tweaking some of the dynamics and articulations; but you'll get a decent audio without doing any of that.

I would second that. I can't really get a good impression of your piece from Noteflight, the playback is too ropey. (That may be why you're not getting many reviews.) MuseScore would give a much better rendition of your score, even with no tweaks whatsoever.

Seasons greetings one and all! Just wanted to share this little experiment I tried this week, where I deconstructed Mozart's Requiem, then used little fragments to try and fashion a new piece. Later I decided to quote part of Mozart's work at the end: so it ended up a bit like a theme and variations in reverse. Not sure I'm done with it yet; though it may be finished? Including part of the original work probably just serves to show how weak my choral writing and voice leading is compared to Mozart's! I've a feeling it's a complete failure; but was fun to try. Anyway let me know your thoughts, if you have time.

Very nice production! I wonder, is this song based on a Celtic legend?

Not in any great detail no. I do have a score somewhere that shows which passages were completed by Süssmayr. I always feel this is the most contrapuntal of Mozart's major works (not unlike his "Little Fugue"). Seems to me that Handel was a major influence. Some passages from his "Messiah" sound very similar to the Mozart/Süssmayr Requiem. I don't know any of Michael Haydn's works; but I'm sure you're right, and will take a listen.

By sheer coincidence, I just went to a performance of Mozart's Requiem tonight!