The City of Gold (full orchestra)

This is a piece for full orchestra that I wrote for a school project. While it's a few years old, I haven't had the chance to get much feedback on it. I don't have access to anything but Musescore, so please excuse the poor midi quality. Essentially it is meant to depict a king looking out on his kingdom, and the middle slow section is the birth of his daughter. Anything is appreciated, including anything about instrument ranges and abilities (I am most familiar with string instruments and percussion... leaving only every wind instrument).

Firstly, this is an excellent composition music-wise if you were still at school. It's grand, is succinct and has a triumphal end. As you observe, the musescore sounds do it no favours, their system doesn't help the up-coming composer at all. Sure, you can write the notes down but achieving orchestral balance is nigh impossible without faking the dynamics.

I can't know how you started this composition - whether you wrote a short-score first then arranged it or tried to write straight into score. The scoring basically works but there are a few issues. I haven't looked at every note so I haven't checked if all instruments are within their official range but I couldn't see any errors among the bits I looked at. Please appreciate that to study the score in detail would take a fair bit of work especially on a computer because it's impossible to see the entire page in one go.

Here are some observations - there may be more but it's a start:

Bar 60 Fl 1. You don't mark the dynamics but it'll never be heard on its bottom C. It needs to go up an octave and the middle C given to Clarinet 2 which then makes a nice dovetail for the woodwind.

(Have a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the woodwinds. The flute is very weak in its lowest 5th, good for solos or with everything else pp. Oboes are the opposite - course in their bottom 3 notes, weak above top C. Clarinets can handle all dynamics through their range except at the very top, say above the high E (written). Bassoons are coarse in their bottom couple of notes, weaker in the top octave (which can nonetheless be gorgeous for solos.)

Bar 77. I noticed that the "Perc" line changes pitch. Is the player still on "claves"?

Bar 106: Again Fl 1 will be obscured. Double it with Fl 2 and Cl or Ob. 

Bar 122. The woodwind layout needs reorganising. Strings dominate so for a start I ask if Fl 2 is necessary?

Letter i. What "Perc" instrument is playing here?  

Bar 150 Double Bass part. It would be better doubling the cellos at the octave - give a strong bass - or doubling the timps. I was a bit curious about the harmony here, the timp part doing a rolled A flat against the tonic note C heavy in the bass? This suggests you wrote straight into score. It would sound pretty thick and muddy in a live performance (or even on a piano mock-up). If you want that effect, fine. The alternative is hammer out the A flat or give the timp C. There's nothing else in the harmony that "goes" with A flat.

Bar 152: Trumpet 1 hits top C. Fine except it's a B flat trumpet so the player would play D which is out of the official range...possible and all right in context! 

About the end few bars - there are no dynamics shown. I've assumed forte - but the dynamic would affect the scoring (or should, to get the best out of it). Musescore doesn't help. I'd expand the 4 horns to a full chord. The bass has many Cs so I'd go with H1 &3 on G & C; H2 & 4 on E and low G.

However, these are just my views. I'd have scored a few parts differently - (LOL but wouldn't we all) but you're the composer so you have the final say.

Anyway, just some thoughts and hopefully others will pick up on parts that I've missed. 

2 hours ago, Quinn said:

Firstly, this is an excellent composition music-wise if you were still at school. It's grand, is succinct and has a triumphal end. As you observe, the musescore sounds do it no favours, their system doesn't help the up-coming composer at all. Sure, you can write the notes down but achieving orchestral balance is nigh impossible without faking the dynamics.

I can't know how you started this composition - whether you wrote a short-score first then arranged it or tried to write straight into score. The scoring basically works but there are a few issues. I haven't looked at every note so I haven't checked if all instruments are within their official range but I couldn't see any errors among the bits I looked at. Please appreciate that to study the score in detail would take a fair bit of work especially on a computer because it's impossible to see the entire page in one go.

Here are some observations - there may be more but it's a start:

Bar 60 Fl 1. You don't mark the dynamics but it'll never be heard on its bottom C. It needs to go up an octave and the middle C given to Clarinet 2 which then makes a nice dovetail for the woodwind.

(Have a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the woodwinds. The flute is very weak in its lowest 5th, good for solos or with everything else pp. Oboes are the opposite - course in their bottom 3 notes, weak above top C. Clarinets can handle all dynamics through their range except at the very top, say above the high E (written). Bassoons are coarse in their bottom couple of notes, weaker in the top octave (which can nonetheless be gorgeous for solos.)

Bar 77. I noticed that the "Perc" line changes pitch. Is the player still on "claves"?

Bar 106: Again Fl 1 will be obscured. Double it with Fl 2 and Cl or Ob. 

Bar 122. The woodwind layout needs reorganising. Strings dominate so for a start I ask if Fl 2 is necessary?

Letter i. What "Perc" instrument is playing here?  

Bar 150 Double Bass part. It would be better doubling the cellos at the octave - give a strong bass - or doubling the timps. I was a bit curious about the harmony here, the timp part doing a rolled A flat against the tonic note C heavy in the bass? This suggests you wrote straight into score. It would sound pretty thick and muddy in a live performance (or even on a piano mock-up). If you want that effect, fine. The alternative is hammer out the A flat or give the timp C. There's nothing else in the harmony that "goes" with A flat.

Bar 152: Trumpet 1 hits top C. Fine except it's a B flat trumpet so the player would play D which is out of the official range...possible and all right in context! 

About the end few bars - there are no dynamics shown. I've assumed forte - but the dynamic would affect the scoring (or should, to get the best out of it). Musescore doesn't help. I'd expand the 4 horns to a full chord. The bass has many Cs so I'd go with H1 &3 on G & C; H2 & 4 on E and low G.

 

However, these are just my views. I'd have scored a few parts differently - (LOL but wouldn't we all) but you're the composer so you have the final say.

Anyway, just some thoughts and hopefully others will pick up on parts that I've missed. 

 

 

Thank you! I found all of this very helpful and have made changes accordingly. The only thing I kept is the trumpet you mentioned since I really like the high sound. I got rid of Fl. 2 in bar 122 but I'm now wondering if Fl. 1 is needed since it is playing scales like the strings... or to have Fl. 2 double those same scales again?