Suite of Minimalism

Guys!!! I did it; after 7 months, the project is complete. For those of you who have listened to the different movements, there are new, even cooler additions to each movement. I really hope all of you enjoy, and please let me know your favorite moments/movements. Thanks for the support on this work this year!
 

Let me know if you want me to upload a better score or not.

What an impressive work! I don't listen to much minimalism (I did a single semester of it in highschool, and that's about it); so therefore, take my advice with a grain of salt. First of all, two months ago, I was studying the Debussy's orchestration in La Mer and Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; and I noticed many interesting similarities between his orchestration and yours. So, that again is another job well done! One particular moment that caught my ear was the texture from 1:40 onwards (I can't read the bar numbers, I'm sorry). Your treatment of the lower brass and lower woodwinds to add depth in your soundscape does occasionally remind me of Debussy's style (or in fact an impressionist's style for that matter) of orchestration. Your rhythmic and harmonic language does seem reminiscent of Stravinsky, which is again good; it sometimes works, but sometimes it does not; and I'll get to that below. Lastly, I really appreciated the idea of building tension and releasing tension. It worked well in this piece, and I would not be surprised were it to work in others as well.

Now, on the topic of your rhythmic language, I exhort you to take a closer look at movement two and the ideals it represents. I could only understand the purpose once you had described them to me; for the rhythmic language was not reminiscent of the ocean (at least for me). It was far too rhythmical. Perhaps you could consider further subdivisions (especially in the piano) or polyrhythms. Obviously, this type of texture and rhythms worked splendidly for the third movement (in which I would have appreciated a wider usage of percussion to add to your palette). 

Another thing you should look at, is that I believe your last page is missing...

Other than that, I commend you on your efforts. Well done and I look forward to more!

Great work. At first I was impressed by the number of instruments you have used. Often, the ensembles in minimalism are smaller. However, there is an interesting balance with timbre, in general.

The piece starts with an addition and subtraction of layers. My main concern here is that the bar (or measure) acts as a constant rhythmic cell, with no many linking elements, as happens timidly with brass in 1:10 or so.

The addition of the piano and new rhythms brings freshness in this part.

also, some melodic parts for the flute and horn etc..., are finally contrasting and I like that. I love the harmony by seconds.

19 hours ago, Sahil Sidhu said:

What an impressive work! I don't listen to much minimalism (I did a single semester of it in highschool, and that's about it); so therefore, take my advice with a grain of salt. First of all, two months ago, I was studying the Debussy's orchestration in La Mer and Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; and I noticed many interesting similarities between his orchestration and yours. So, that again is another job well done! One particular moment that caught my ear was the texture from 1:40 onwards (I can't read the bar numbers, I'm sorry). Your treatment of the lower brass and lower woodwinds to add depth in your soundscape does occasionally remind me of Debussy's style (or in fact an impressionist's style for that matter) of orchestration. Your rhythmic and harmonic language does seem reminiscent of Stravinsky, which is again good; it sometimes works, but sometimes it does not; and I'll get to that below. Lastly, I really appreciated the idea of building tension and releasing tension. It worked well in this piece, and I would not be surprised were it to work in others as well.

Now, on the topic of your rhythmic language, I exhort you to take a closer look at movement two and the ideals it represents. I could only understand the purpose once you had described them to me; for the rhythmic language was not reminiscent of the ocean (at least for me). It was far too rhythmical. Perhaps you could consider further subdivisions (especially in the piano) or polyrhythms. Obviously, this type of texture and rhythms worked splendidly for the third movement (in which I would have appreciated a wider usage of percussion to add to your palette). 

Another thing you should look at, is that I believe your last page is missing...

Other than that, I commend you on your efforts. Well done and I look forward to more!

 

Hey thank you for all of the kind words! I have not studied orchestration of anyone really. I have only been composing for 3.5 years and do it for fun alongside playing clarinet. That is cool to hear you hear debussy and stravinsky in me, even saying my orchestration sounds “impressionistic” (Daphnis was actually the piece that shifted the way I see and hear music, and has been one of the most influential pieces for me finding my style).

I am sorry you couldn’t hear the ocean in the second movement - that’s alright. I just use titles to be somewhat interesting/more than “Movement 2: Allegro”. I think it adds depth, and is not neccessarily supposed to be programmatic. 

Regarding percussion, I am planning to begin working with percussion in my next orchestra piece. This was my first project for an orchestra, and I literally jumped from writing a piece for cello and piano to this. I did not really understand percussion yet, so I did not include it. I learned how to write for timpani, though! This piece didn’tn even have trombones + tuba until I started writing the third movement, actually. I wrote new unique parts for them in the first two movements with their addition. I wad thinking I would do the same with percussion, but decided against it.

Thanks for listening to my piece! I am planning to get around to yours/comment on it when I get 15 minutes. Very busy these days...

15 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

Great work. At first I was impressed by the number of instruments you have used. Often, the ensembles in minimalism are smaller. However, there is an interesting balance with timbre, in general.

The piece starts with an addition and subtraction of layers. My main concern here is that the bar (or measure) acts as a constant rhythmic cell, with no many linking elements, as happens timidly with brass in 1:10 or so.

The addition of the piano and new rhythms brings freshness in this part.

also, some melodic parts for the flute and horn etc..., are finally contrasting and I like that. I love the harmony by seconds.

 

Hi, thank you for the kind words and comments. I do not understand the rhythmic cell comment, or at least how it is a negative. 

Seconds are really cool... adds so much color and is so simple to add. I have been trying to branch out in harmony more, and the third movement is kind of the direction my style is heading for the next piece. Movements 1 and 2 were written between June and September, with the Time Machine movement being the culmination of my learnings from this piece.