Chanson Boréale, for cello and string orchestra

This is a concertino I wrote specifically for a youth chamber orchestra. Although it's not a perfect performance, I was very pleased with the results considering the amount of rehearsal time they had. This is my personal recording of the piece from my place in the audience, so I do apologize for the fuzziness and the whispers going on around me.

The name means 'Boreal Song' or 'Song of the North.' Though I generally prefer to convey my musical ideas through chord structures, this piece is more lyrical than my normal wont. There are 2 major themes and a number of motifs throughout. The piece was designed to represent the struggle of spring overcoming winter, so I hope you can hear that in the tense passages and deep yearnings of the solo cello.

As always, feedback is welcome!

Edit: @Maarten Bauer I just saw you put up a piece performed by a youth orchestra, too, so now it looks like I'm trying to one-up you! That wasn't my intent at all, so everyone please go listen to Maarten's piece, too!

They managed to get a nice warm sound and a good amount of line out of their performance for a youth group.  Nice job to them, and to you for writing something emotionally engaging, but within the capabilities of a young musicians!  Did you get to spend any rehearsal time with them, or just attend the performance?

32 minutes ago, pateceramics said:

Did you get to spend any rehearsal time with them, or just attend the performance?

I got to spend a couple of rehearsals with them, and really the only direction I had to give was to pull out the violas and cellos a little more so they weren't overwhelmed by the sheer amount of violinists. I'm sure you know how many violinists a high school orchestra tends to have in comparison to the other strings...

And thanks for the kind words! It was a challenge trying to balance emotionality with simplicity, but if there were never any limits to creativity... I don't think we'd create very much. 🙂 

This is a really beautiful piece! As someone who likes more lyrical music, this was a real pleasure to hear. And you really did capture the feelings of the struggles between winter and spring! It reminds me of the music of late-romantic Scandinavian composers, like Grieg, or Sibelius, or Kuula, for the beautiful wintry sound, though you still managed to make it sound like it belongs in the present era. Well done! 🙂

15 minutes ago, Theodore Servin said:

This is a really beautiful piece! As someone who likes more lyrical music, this was a real pleasure to hear. And you really did capture the feelings of the struggles between winter and spring! It reminds me of the music of late-romantic Scandinavian composers, like Grieg, or Sibelius, or Kuula, for the beautiful wintry sound, though you still managed to make it sound like it belongs in the present era. Well done! 🙂

To be compared to Sibelius and Grieg—two of my all-time faves—I feel like my work here on this earth is done! 😉I love that you mentioned that; in fact, when the orchestra director originally asked for guidance in interpreting the piece, I simply told him, "Think Scandinavian." It truly warms my heart to know that what I was trying to convey actually came across!

Theo, you have made my day/week/month/year!