Symphony in C

I hope I'll be forgiven for something of a re-post.  I originally posted this here about five or six years ago (and received some very helpful feedback), but with a very poor audio mock-up that did the piece no favours.  I've since made some small revisions to it, and have used it as a test case for the NotePerformer plug-in, which I've just recently started using with Finale.  As I'm starting work on a new orchestral piece, I thought it might be helpful to solicit feedback on the revised version of this old one.  Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

This is quite an accomplished work!  Written very idiomatically for the orchestra and using some well established classical orchestral idioms (mannheim rocket).  I don't think you wrote the brass parts for natural horns however which is fine since you're still sort of mimicking the capabilities of natural horns.

I do have to say that the last movement is my favorite.  It just seems the most gracefully conceived.  The first movement is a great introduction but it's too bombastic and overblown although it has its more charming quiet moments.  The second movement reminds me of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony slow movement but only at first.  It's character in of course totally different.  The third movement is pretty cool too.  You've managed to create some interest and variety between the different movements.  Great job!

I think this rendition is quite good.  My only complaint is that noteperformer can sometimes be quite shrill in the tutti sections but I guess all patches have a risk of doing that.  Btw - this is my first time hearing this symphony of yours so my impression is totally based on this version - maybe you could put a link to the old version?

Thanks for sharing this accomplishment!

Hi, I really enjoyed your orchestration.  It was well balanced and made good use of the various sections.  Very lush strings indeed!  And very nice dynamic/rhythmic/sectional contrasts.  I heard a few hints of Brahms along the way.  Yes, the last movement is quite majestic. 

Mark

Wow, this is quite an accoplishment! I love how clean everything is; no superfluity, as if every note has its purpose. A nice, upstanding work of Classical-style structure. It reminded a lot of Mozart, particularly his later symphonies. I enjoyed the finale most, as well, for the same reasons Peter describes above.

The score is in remarkably good shape. Just a few things to note. I would change the trumpet to Bb, since C trumpets aren't as commonly found. Also, to notate a drum roll on the timpani, it's conventional now to use tremolo markings rather than a trill. Aside from that, I didn't notice any glaring mistakes.

Congratulations on completing a successful-sounding symphony! And thank you for sharing.

Best,

Jörfi

Thanks to all of you for listening! 

Quote

Btw - this is my first time hearing this symphony of yours so my impression is totally based on this version - maybe you could put a link to the old version?

This is the rather rough-sounding audio mock-up of the earlier version (I can't find the original score at the moment, but the changes were mostly a lot of small alterations to the orchestration, dynamics, articulations, etc.): http://hep.bu.edu/~slinden/Music/Symphony_in_C.mp3

Quote

I don't think you wrote the brass parts for natural horns however which is fine since you're still sort of mimicking the capabilities of natural horns.

That's right - personally, I don't see the point of adhering to artificial restrictions like using natural horns, even when writing in this style.  The important thing, for me, is writing parts with the [i]character[/i] of natural horn parts, even if those parts aren't technically playable on a natural horn.

I do also take your point about the first movement being a bit too bombastic, but it is meant to be a C major "trumpet and drums" style symphony.

Quote

I would change the trumpet to Bb, since C trumpets aren't as commonly found. Also, to notate a drum roll on the timpani, it's conventional now to use tremolo markings rather than a trill.

I thought that trumpets in C were still standard in the orchestra, while B flat trumpets predominate in wind ensembles, jazz bands, etc.?

And yeah, I'm in the habit of writing timpani rolls as trills from reading scores of classical works, though I know that's not the standard anymore, and I should probably re-train myself.

Again, thanks to everyone for your feedback!

Edit: Do these boards not use BBCode anymore?  They're not parsing my [QUOTE="Name"] syntax.  Oh well, I guess I can fix it.

46 minutes ago, Aiwendil said:

I thought that trumpets in C were still standard in the orchestra, while B flat trumpets predominate in wind ensembles, jazz bands, etc.?

Lol well, this started me down a rabbit hole. I had no idea that C trumpets were considered "orchestral" and B-flat band instruments. I'm still not sure what the correct answer is, as it looks like all C trumpet players learn the B-flat trumpet first (and therefore are used to transposing). I'll just retract my comment altogether.

46 minutes ago, Aiwendil said:

Edit: Do these boards not use BBCode anymore?  They're not parsing my [QUOTE="Name"] syntax.  Oh well, I guess I can fix it.

They do not. To quote somebody, highlight the text and a "Quote selection" button hovers beneath your selection. If you click it, it pastes it into your response (like above). You can also @ somebody, which will notify them of a mention if they have notifications turned on. @Aiwendil

Oh, and I forgot to mention... I feel like there's too much reverb on your current rendition (the YT post). May I ask what software you use to mix?

The audio is straight from Finale, using the NotePerformer and Waves IR-1 reverb plugins.  I take your point about too much reverb; I probably should set IR-1 to a dryer mix.

1 hour ago, Aiwendil said:

The audio is straight from Finale, using the NotePerformer and Waves IR-1 reverb plugins.  I take your point about too much reverb; I probably should set IR-1 to a dryer mix.

I see. I highly recommend Reaper as a free, downloadable mixer. And if you have $50 to blow, Valhalla produces some amazing plugins to get that orchestral sound just right.