Morivou Posted March 3, 2012 Posted March 3, 2012 ALL! Thank you so much for participating. :) But, there can only be one winner a month. And, this month's winner went all out, as people have been commenting. I pleased to announce Sojar's winning piece and the prize of being able to write for Baritone and Piano and have it recorded by me. This is purely optional if you want it, but I will do it for free and provide you with a nice MP3. Whatever works for you! Thank you all for coming and please come BACK for the April Showers competition I, myself, will be hosting. :) -Morivou. FINAL TOTALS (judging below): 1. Silky_Wilky: 224 2. Treehugger1995: 245 3. IAMIvan: 222 4. Ink: 200 5. Sojar: 280 6. Troiano.MUS: 162 7. Nigel: 266 8. Caladluin: 145 SCORES BY MARIUS: ------------- SILKY_WILKY ------------- ||Musical Content|| Moody and mostly satisfying work here, with some pleasing and interesting ideas on offer. Those ideas, for instance the gentle tapping notes reminiscent of falling snow at m.25, tend to be underdeveloped and neglected in favour of repeating the main melodic core though. Section E had the chance to be a true contrasting section, but it remains very consistent with the previous sections and feels like it should have grown to a larger, more dramatic peak before descending back to the main melody once more — a missed opportunity. Overall the work is more homogenous, static, and tame than I would have liked. 30/40 ||Technique|| Good opportunities for the musicians to express, occasionally lacking in opportunities for them to breathe. A very interesting choice of instrumentation, providing a great colour palette. Why no bassoon on the low end, though? Bass clarinet is a fine alternative generally, but its warm, broad tonal quality seems at odds with the wintery mood in this instance. A bassoon's double-reed edge could have lent the lower register a more appropriate feel, perhaps. Overall no major issues, though it appears to be written more naturally for a string ensemble than a woodwind one. 20/25 ||Creativity|| There is more variety to be found in winter landscapes than this, and I felt that, while the music provided good companionship to the inspiring painting, it didn't dig deep enough beyond the superficial. Neither the dynamics of winter landscapes nor the dynamics of loneliness felt fully explored, and my overall satisfaction with the piece, the sense of having journeyed and experienced something, suffered accordingly. 15/25 ||Final Score|| 71/100 --------------- TREEHUGGER1995 --------------- ||Musical Content|| Lively and colourful piece here, with a strong diversity of moods. Excellent build from m.41 back to the arpeggiated introductory figures. I wish more had been done with the quick scale runs in combination with the arpeggios as that was a strong concept. Harmonically, I felt the work meandered more than was necessary. The sense of lively activity and fun was well established, but the quieter middle portions and the ending lacked any sort of harmonic support to their intended moods…things were still just aimlessly wandering about, which diminished the impact for me. My biggest issue is that the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. There was no true sense of closure or of having thoroughly explored the presented material; a little more patience and polish would have gone a long way. 25/40 ||Technique|| This would be fun for the instrumentalists in some portions, but in others you're asking them to do some acrobatic things without proper opportunities to take a breath, rest their embouchure, etc. You've also got a couple of instrument switches for the doublings that happen rather quickly. You're writing for musicians, remember, not ninjas. I'd also like to see more phrasing indications on some of the legato passages, as now they're left ambiguous and the score looks strangely naked as a result. Could use some cleaning up overall, in fact, in terms of object collisions, odd engraving choices (why numbers over every bar? It's not a film score…), etc. 15/25 ||Creativity|| The strongest aspect of this piece was its creative depiction of the intended imagery. I felt that it had the potential to be stronger, but was held back perhaps by the inexperience of the composer, which I say as a compliment because it means the intangible, difficult-to-quantify part of composition — the vision — is there, and just the technique and experience is lacking. Looking forward to seeing how future compositions will sound when those latter aspects catch up to the former. 20/25 ||Final Score|| 68/100 --------- IAMivan --------- ||Musical Content|| This is definitely unique, and not in a bad way. Excusing the bizarre synth sounds used in the rendering, my impression is that this piece is full of flashes of brilliance cloaked in some awkward passages that are certainly not idiomatic. Musically, it's got many very pleasant melodic passages and the overall bouncy mood is endearing and charming. The section transitions are probably the weakest link, with many of the shifts coming abruptly and feeling jarring. Especially the ending, where a solid concept is weakened by an unpleasant introduction to it. The piece isn't weak, it just feels unedited and somewhat indecisive. 25/40 ||Technique|| Betrays a lack of familiarity with the woodwind instrument family, or at least a lack of concern for their individual strengths and weaknesses. Some uncomfortable and overly pianistic passages appear throughout, and the score itself has some unintentionally funny elements (asking flute players to play pizzicato, etc.) that should be corrected. Not unplayable, but this isn't good woodwind writing. 10/25 ||Creativity|| While it may have been better suited for strings or even a percussion ensemble, this is undoubtedly a fun and creative take on the winter scenery and matches the composer's intentions. An interesting perspective, in any event, and one that could be polished into a truly wonderful piece with some more hours and a bit of careful study. 20/25 ||Final Score|| 60/100 --------- Ink --------- ||Musical Content|| A good effort from a newcomer to the art. There are many good ideas presented in this adorable little work, but they come fast and furiously, without style, without subtlety, and without polish. There is nothing overly brave going on, of course, so extra attention needs to be paid to ensuring that the fairly comfortable, generic harmonic and melodic material is at least perfectly executed. It's not there yet, despite some revisions that have evidently been made. Transitions are rushed, and ideas feel underdeveloped throughout. On the other hand, the interplay between instruments is fun and balanced, and there is a decent variety of moods expressed, so there is a lot of potential in here. 20/40 ||Technique|| From a purely technical standpoint, the writing is quite strong and very appropriate for the instrumentation. The more typical arrangement of instruments would lend this a balanced and enjoyable sound if performed live, and the musicians could have a great deal of fun with a more polished version of this work. 20/25 ||Creativity|| I was not reminded of winter, sadly, nor of anything else in particular besides perhaps Saturday morning cartoons. The piece lacks an individual identity at this point, which is its greatest weakness; it does nothing to distinguish itself or make itself independently recognizable. I wish I was hearing more of the composer's individual voice, but sadly I do not. 10/25 ||Final Score|| 56/100 ------------- SOJAR VOGLAR ------------- ||Musical Content|| What a tremendous work! It's adorable and oozes talent and precision. Actually very reminiscent of Bernard Hermann's film scoring work — has that old fashioned charm to it and would not sound terribly out of place in a concert of Shostakovich/Prokofiev's more lively works. The piece breathes, has a personality, and evolves very organically just as one would hope it. An enjoyable listen without reservation, lacking in only one thing: diversity of timbre/mood. That aspect remains quite static throughout and there's not much in the way of a sense of progression from beginning to end, but the material is so expertly presented that it's easy to forgive this. 35/40 ||Technique|| Impeccably crafted woodwind writing on display here. It's idiomatic, challenging, satisfying, and clearly notated. No complaints. 25/25 ||Creativity|| While I wasn't necessarily reminded of winter, I did very much enjoy the work. Though it was effortlessly cheerful and showcasing some extraordinary technique, the piece was actually somewhat unsatisfying from the perspective of offering a strong listening experience. It felt more like an extremely accomplished technical study than a moving musical work. More distinction between sections, and more depth and attention to the intangible elements would elevate this to perfection. 15/25 ||Final Score|| 82/100 ------------ TROIANO.MUS ------------ ||Musical Content|| Sparse, thin, and frankly more than a little boring. I follow the notion of old man winter looking outside, but I'm not made to care, nor to feel what he's feeling, nor even to recognize that he's feeling anything at all — is he asleep? On drugs? There's very little to hold on to here, musically, even given the brief nature of the movement. There's almost too little to comment on. Even if this was performed live, it's written such that it would sound empty and static. There's more to winter than this, and even if the idea was to present emptiness, it could be done in a much more sophisticated manner. Disappointing. 10/40 ||Technique|| I'm not necessarily convinced by the choice of 3 flutes rather than some other instruments. There are 4 instruments from the same family, so there's going to be a distinct lack of variety and richness in the colour palette, and the music itself doesn't justify the choice of instrumentation. Otherwise, if you could keep them awake, I'm sure any decent musicians would have no trouble playing this. 10/25 ||Creativity|| Given that I found the work to be nearly devoid of creative merit, I will say that I picked out several instances where a more sophisticated treatment could give rise to some creatively satisfying elements. Examples include the wide, sprinkled staccato elements, and the subtle trill-infused texture. I'd have loved to see those ideas explored. 5/25 ||Final Score|| 28/100 -------------- NIGEL SIMMONS -------------- ||Musical Content|| This is a much more sophisticated and satisfying depiction of a sparse, wintery landscape. Some clever and enjoyable harmonic ideas being presented in appropriate and compact phrases, never becoming excessive. Dissonances are used very well, and there is a strong sense of conversation between the instruments. Too short, but very strong material squeezed into the conservative length. 30/40 ||Technique|| Very well written and displays a good attention to detail, especially in terms of balance and playability. There are some challenging passages, but they're fairly so and wouldn't make the musicians shake their heads. You used a traditional ensemble of woodwinds and the piece benefited from it. Nice engraving too, clear and clean. 25/25 ||Creativity|| This was extremely evocative of the ideas presented in the description, and would have reminded me of the bite of winter wind even without the program notes. Very accomplished use of the instruments to convey the feel of winter, especially the caprices of wind. Unfortunately, it's still too short and lacks the space to give these ideas a full opportunity to evolve, despite their compact nature. Nice work though! 20/25 ||Final Score|| 85/100 ---------- Caladluin ---------- ||Musical Content|| A simple melody and pleasing harmonies on offer here, presented somewhat dully. There's nothing really wrong with this work, but it's so unambitious as to be disappointing. It takes no risks, explores next to no depth with regards to the material it presents, and only superficially indicates that it has anything to do with winter. There's also an almost complete lack of creativity when it comes to the roles each instrument plays. The writing is extremely blocky and very static, which takes an already simple structure and makes it even less interesting. In other words, it feels like a sketch; there is no meat on these bones. 10/40 ||Technique|| The piece needs a lot of work here. First of all, the notation of certain passages is unusual, with some ties that I'd consider to be more messy than useful, even if they help with counting. It's in 4/4 so I'm sure any decent musician would be able to figure it out, after all. Furthermore, the bass clarinet is being notated in its sounding register, even though you've used treble clef, so I'm not sure what your actual intention was there. Either write it in bass clef at sounding pitch or in treble one octave above sounding pitch. Also, remember that humans need to breathe; give those pedal tones some spacing so you can let your musicians catch their breath. 5/25 ||Creativity|| Musically, this is not creative, but at the very least it's not entirely lacking in a wintery feel. It has a certain lilting melancholy to it that one might associate with winter, though if I had no program notes I doubt I would make the connection. From all perspectives, this piece needs a lot of work, but there are some decent foundations to build upon at least, so that counts for something. 10/25 ||Final Score|| 28/100 SCORES BY HECKEL: Silky: Musical content: 35/40. Pretty good, could be a bit more interesting (i.e getting out of the same harmonies more often) Technique and playability: 15/25. It's not great woodwind writing.. there's breaths and all, but it sits up really high and low for long periods of time, which can be tiring. Creativity: 20/25. It's creative, def. equal skill level. the extra ten, give it 8/10 :) overall: 78/100. Treehugger1995: Musical content: 40/40! Loved it! Technique and playability: 20/25. The instrument changes in flute and oboe are a bit quick, and there probably need to be a couple more breaths, but overall quite good writing. Creativity: 23/25. Great, maybe a bit more tossing around of ideas (melody wise) but still creative. Parts are equal. extra 10: 9/10 ;) overall: 92/100 IAMivan: First of all, WTF ARE THOSE SOUNDS????? xD okay, scores. Musical content: 37/40. Kinda cool, don't like the end though. Technique and playability: 18/25. those sounds are possible, but kinda..weird and akward to produce. Creativity: 20/25. Pretty creative ideas. extra 10: 7/10. Please use things that don't sound like a cheap organ... overall: 82/100. Ink: Musical content: 35/40. Too cute for my taste... Technique and playability: 16/25. not enough breaths... creativity: 20/25. It is kind of a creative idea. extra 10: 8/10. overall: 79/100. Sojar Voglar: Musical content: 40/40. AWESOME! Technique and playability: 25/25. Completely playable. creativity: 23/25. great! extra 10: 10/10! overall: 98/100! edit: I know this includes a french horn, but it is a standard woodwind quintet. no worries! Troiano.Mus: Musical content: 25/40. Not that interesting, doesn't sound complete. Also, if you're going to use a bass flute, make it worth it! Technique and playability: 15/25. It's playable, just not that interesting for the players. Also, the notes are a bit long. Creativity: 10/25. It's really conventional, not really creative... extra 10: 4/10. (incomplete sounding) Overall: 54/100. Nigel Simmons: Musical content: 35/40. Really good stuff. I liked it, though it was a bit short. Technique and playability: 20/25. Maybe another breath here or there, but not bad at all. Creativity: 18/25. Creative enough, perhaps a bit more development would have been nice. extra 10: 8/10. Overall: 81/100. Caladluin: Musical content: 29/40. Not great...the main theme is kind of nice, but it doesn't go anywhere. Technique and playability: 8/20. Ever heard of breaths?? Creativity: 10/20. Some thought went into this. Extra 10: 6/10. Also, clarinet sounds were 1 octave too high. And Bass Clarinet sometimes = bass clef! Overall: 53/100. MINE: Silky Wilky: Musical Content 35/40 Technique 20/25 Creativity 15/25 Score 5/10 My only note aside from everybody else's is that… geez.. the English Horn is in F. If you're going to write a transposed score, you should have all the transposing instruments with their own key signatures. And, actually, I have learned that it's almost better to just write EVERYTHING in "no key" with no accidentals but still have the transpositions. :) Yeah? Tree: Musical Content 40/40 Loved it! Technique 20/25 Your switching of instruments is… difficult to understand. But, you know this already and apparently have fixed it. So, only 5 points off. Creativity 25/25 Your opening gesture was fantastic! Score 0/10 Messy. Bleh. If you want, we can work on it. But, I could go on for days talking about how to improve your score presentation. Ivan Musical Content 25/40 Good piece. Pretty much one idea the whole way through. Good presentation of winter. Technique 25/25 Excellent, excellent use of woodwinds! Creativity 20/25 :) Score 10/10 Very acceptable score. Ink Musical Content 20/40 Good ideas, but not very much linked together. Work on coherency. Technique 25/25 You sure know how to write for woodwinds! Creativity 10/25 Not very interesting. Work on unconventional chord progressions! Score 10/10 Very acceptable score! Sojar: Musical Content 40/40 Holy crap, dude... Technique 25/25 Holy crap, dude... Creativity 25/25 Holy crap, dude… Score 10/10 Holy crap, dude…. Troiano Musical Content 30/40 I actually did like this little piece a lot. Just very still. It's almost warm. :) Technique 25/25 No qualms. Creativity 15/25 Just warm. Score 10/10 Nigel Musical Content 40/40 Brilliant! Technique 25/25 You know what you're doing! Creativity 25/25 GREAT!!!!! Your use of woodwinds is superb. Score 10/10 Calad: Musical Content 20/40 I didn't find it very interesting. Nice Ideas though. No forward movement. Technique 25/25 Creativity 10/25 Score 9/10 Just write the bass clarinet in bass clef. 1
Sojar Voglar Posted March 3, 2012 Posted March 3, 2012 Thanks, I am flattered. :D I may be foolish to ask but: Baritone - voice or euphonium? ;) We call euphonium baritone in Slovenia. 2
Morivou Posted March 3, 2012 Author Posted March 3, 2012 OHOH! No, I sing. :) I actually, coincidentally, DO know a Euphonium player and could probably coax him into performing. haha. But, Voice baritone would be preferable. We call the Euphonium the Baritone here too, so it's a very valid question. ;)
Ink Posted March 3, 2012 Posted March 3, 2012 Thanks to all the judges for the critiques! I can't wait for another competition to role around, this really helped me out with woodwind writing and and writing in general. Good job to the other contestants, you were all brilliant.
Sojar Voglar Posted March 3, 2012 Posted March 3, 2012 I have to take some time to listen to other contestants. I did listen to about three of them, but I should check everybody. Morivou, do you prefer any language? I could do in Slovenian and, of course, write phonetical tutorial as well. Or you prefer any English poetry? Maybe you should send me the text you'd like to have composed. ;) I prefer this, since I always lose a lot of time searching for suitable text.
Morivou Posted March 3, 2012 Author Posted March 3, 2012 We can do English if you want me to find the text. I'm no good at finding Slovenian texts. ;) haha.
Nigel Simmons Posted March 4, 2012 Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks for the reviews! It was a fun project, something I never would have even considered doing before the contest. A good learning experience. Congrats, Sojar! What did I tell you? ;)
Morivou Posted March 4, 2012 Author Posted March 4, 2012 The scores show you weren't very far behind, Nigel. ;) Good job! Keep up the good work.
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