Orpheus

Just a comment as a bassoonist: Please use tenor clef rather than ledger lines. Also depending on the skills of your bassoonist, be careful of using too many notes from around the d above middle c to the a below. Especially if they are tongued. They crack easily. Great music though I thought.

Hmm I've been taught to use bass clef like this too... But only in the score not parts. The point is to make the reading a bit easier on the conductor. Regarding the piece itself it is overall very good. One thing to be careful of I think is that some of your entries sound out of place.

I resent that... I also agree to a great extent with Marius' comments. Just a couple of small things: What do you mean by slurred minims on a glockenspiel? and I think you should be a bit more careful with dynamics. eg at the beginning the high violin should not be as loud as the choir. But also I like your use of the horns. It is well done and you should use more of your winds. Especially your bassoons. They're great. Really great. So great that the whole world should play them. Also where those chimes come in -that's really good- but maybe it would be better if you were to make them less metrical. Basically I really think this is a highly sophisticated piece, but you still have a few things to work on. Orpheus

Can you clarify whether you want actual medieval music or medieval-sounding music. I don't think you will get anything braveheart type music from the medieval era.

Really enjoyed that. Would I be right in guessing you based that at least a little on Allegro Barbaro by Bela Bartok? (He's one of my favourite composers)

You are right. Double tonguing does not have to correlate to technical proficiency. It just takes a bit of practice.

While the notes tongued are very difficult, they are not impossible when you factor in double tonguing. If however it is too difficult for a performer, I would not object to a slightly slower version. As for the upper range, as a bassoonist I know that a high B is actually quite accessible, and more so for an experienced player. Thanks anyway, in future I will try to keep thimgs a little more manageable.

Sorry everyone about the quality of the first pdf. I didn't realise I had not changed the page size to a3 as I had intended which resulted in the clashing:whistling:. I have now replaced it with an a3 version:D. Note, in regards to an earlier comment, the piccolo sounds an octave higher than written, and the bass clarinet an octave lower (In the same way as the double bass or contrabassoon). Hence although these instruments may appear to have parts outside their range, they in fact do not.:P

That is standard notation for detached, but not staccato. As to the bass clarinet, that is probably a fair point.

This is not only my first posted piece on this site but my first serious attempt at a concerto, so please give me as much advice or criticism as you can. I don't think it really conforms to any particular style, and my main concerns are that it is not harmonically interesting enough, not melodically memorable and not well structured enough. So advice in these areas especially would be appreciated. Thanks, Orpheus. Bassoon Concerto - 1.mid Bassoon Concerto - 1a.pdf

First things first: Congratulations that was enjoyable to listen to. I have made a few observations that I think you will find helpful: While I enjoyed your melodic ideas, I thought that you could have orchestrated more fully than you did for this style of piece. You make good use of melody and counter-melody but you tend to leave a rather empty score. This means that the sense of climax is greatly reduced because you are not using the orchestra's full capabilities. Try firstly to use more instruments; your instrumentation now would be considered small even in the classical period and a "fantasy" would benefit greatly from a romantic style orchestra (perhaps a harp or piano among other instruments). The brass especially could use a few more instruments, but the main section that is lacking is the percussion since you have none. Furthermore it is usual that the woodwinds would have two instruments of each type and so it is normally expected that there would be two parts written (on the same staff in the score) for each woodwind. I would also advise the use of a second violin section. The orchestration in general would benefit from a more solid harmonic backing. This means both more vertically - which will be aided by larger instrumentation but also requires that you try to use more parts of the chord and double some instruments to reach all registers of the orchestra- and horizontally - which requires that you have more consistent harmonic background. Furthermore you should consider using chords such as 7ths or suspended 4ths more frequently to help build climax. Additional thoughts: Perhaps you could also explore some modulations, metre changes or tempo changes. Perhaps you could aim for a little more unity of theme. What I mean is reusing a single theme but in different ways. Beethoven is very adept at this and so I suggest you get a copy of the 5th symphony's score and a recording and listen. Finally, well done and keep going.