Town & Country Festival Dance

If you think that that title is long consider this: (I've been reading Chopin's biography) "On 16 November 1848, Chopin gave a concert in London's Guildhall for 'The Annual Grand Dress and Fancy Ball and Concert in Aid of the Funds of the Literary Association of the Friends of Poland.'" I thought my title was cool until I read that. I was bested!

I am re-posting this because of improvements I made in the orchestration and recording, and the instruments and libraries are all new as well, and at great expense, and hopefully for good effect.

I like the new design very much!

Totally blown away by this piece, Ken! Great job!

It has a very squarely, sticky rhythm, and a whimsical nature which reminds me a lot of Prokofiev - given his penchant for making his music to sound subtly funny despite all the drama, which you also show to have. It's quite a hit to quote Chopin ball's title, since this piece itself sounds a lot like it could have been heard right there if the date was a few decades later.

A question. This is the very first time I see the horns below both trumpets and trombones in a score. Was this by design or by mistake?

Seriously, I totally commend this work, a refreshing take that perhaps symbolizes the rebirth of the whole site. Thanks for sharing!

Still love this. I do thing the new sounds bring a life to it that makes it even more enjoyable. One step closer to a real life performance!

This is a lovely, whimsical piece of music, and I would be very proud if I was the one who composed it. I second Austenite's comparison to Prokofiev. There are certain sections which, to me, are very closely reminiscent of the Dance of the Knights, and the Gavotte from the same ballet as well as his first symphony. 

Thank you for your nice compliments, guys. Austenite, that is a mistake in the order of the instruments! I'll fix it soon. Re: Prokofiev, I don't know the piece you mention, nor much else of his music. Maybe I should but I don't. Although I like Russian composers in general, I have never studied Prokofiev in the same way I've studied Stravinsky.  The only piece I do know and love is the Troika from Lt. Kige. And I heard it first in a Woody Allen movie, Love and Death.

On ‎17‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 5:31 PM, Ken320 said:

I have never studied Prokofiev in the same way I've studied Stravinsky.

There are quite a few similarities between them, as they both promoted the Neoclassical musical movement of the early 20th century. If you're familiar with Stravinsky's Pulcinella, I can almost bet you'll find some appeal in Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. Look also for Romeo and Juliet, a ballet featuring the famous Dance of the Knights among other small jewels. If you do listen to it, you'll get a better understanding about why both Fishfry and me brought him up when commenting your (extraordinary) piece.

I think it was the ponderous orchestration (imo) in Lt. Kije that kept me from venturing out further. But the Classical Symphony is quite different, so thanks for the heads up there. It would be nearly impossible to achieve the subtlety, and speed, of the string playing with my virtual instruments. Spifire Audio has some stellar string libraries but they cost thousands. Maybe someday.  Maybe I could pitch this to a local college, but I have a feeling they look for more modern things or things from composers with a name.

I enjoyed this very much in its first iteration.  I don't recall the orchestration differences but the sound samples are certainly wonderful!

Well done.  Whimsical is a very good adjective for the piece, and yet the quality of writing was anything but.  Great job.

Curious, what instruments did you use in this?

Maybe not a college, but what about a community symphony to try to get a performance?

13 hours ago, bkho said:

I enjoyed this very much in its first iteration.  I don't recall the orchestration differences but the sound samples are certainly wonderful!

 

Thanks. That's mainly in the bass. The old library's cello and bass didn't sit right. You have to have a good foundation, right?