Fantasy for Orchestra

I'm excited to finally have completed this! EXCEPT for the TIMPANI part!!!!

After weeks and weeks of intensive orchestration study and several attempts at an orchestral work. I think this is my first serious orchestral work.

The material is straightforward. The work is a combination of through composed and ABA' form. The material develops throughout. The ending finishes with the same material as the first -but with a more clear direction to the finality of the material. I may tweak the ending a bit to make it fit my vision of the section. 

I'm happy with the material itself -I'd love to have orchestration tips and tidbits. I'll be tweaking the score up to better the work. Overall, I'm happy with it!

i can't really give any orchestration tips to you since the no. of my finished orchestral piece is 0. I can just tell I love it.

i love the opening section. I love the Stranviskian pizz. bass and nice presentation of the theme.

In the middle section, for me the winds seem overwhelmed in the recording for b.34-37 and b.79-82 by the brass. But I like how the tension is built up here.

I love the winds in b.92 onwards and the strings section in b.97. The build up is great and it's quite surprising for me in b.111 since it's so tonal. The ending is more or less like the beginning and the ending is great as well.

Henry

14 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

i can't really give any orchestration tips to you since the no. of my finished orchestral piece is 0. I can just tell I love it.

i love the opening section. I love the Stranviskian pizz. bass and nice presentation of the theme.

In the middle section, for me the winds seem overwhelmed in the recording for b.34-37 and b.79-82 by the brass. But I like how the tension is built up here.

I love the winds in b.92 onwards and the strings section in b.97. The build up is great and it's quite surprising for me in b.111 since it's so tonal. The ending is more or less like the beginning and the ending is great as well.

Henry

 

Yeah, the brass patches suck. When I wrote those bars, I cringed at the brass. If only I had that orchestra still sitting around to read this for me!

b.111 is a take on the opening horn chord -which permeates the piece really. The ending is like the opening... hence the ABA' form lol. Though, it does have a different sonic landscape with the suspended tones and the imitation counterpoint. I may drop the trumpet down in range -or hocket the part for more variety. Still debating it.

Glad you liked it though! 

As a whole, this is a colorful piece, and rich in textures. Perhaps there's no need of the timpani.

This is a very interesting work. 

Can you explain the mental picture objective you had in writing the work. 

As per the genre I hear many influences ... many from the first half of the 20th century. 

I do think that a judicial use of the tympani can highlight/accentuate some of the dramatic moments in the work.

Mark

3 hours ago, MJFOBOE said:

This is a very interesting work. 

Can you explain the mental picture objective you had in writing the work. 

As per the genre I hear many influences ... many from the first half of the 20th century. 

I do think that a judicial use of the tympani can highlight/accentuate some of the dramatic moments in the work.

Mark

 

 

When I started it, I wanted to create the texture that appears in the beginning. I like static textures that relay an emotional response -which the orchestra is capable of so much more than chamber works or piano. If I were to describe this music, I'd think it is best representative of a daydream -hence why I named it fantasy.

I originally intended this for a competition entry but I don't think it's strong enough for that. I'm going to write another work or two. Practice makes perfect right?

5 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

As a whole, this is a colorful piece, and rich in textures. Perhaps there's no need of the timpani.

 

Thanks, Luis. I'll consider not adding a timp -I definitely want one though. 

As far as the brass is concerned, it sounds like there's not reverb or chorusing on it.  I know that a slight bit of chorusing would go a long way in the trumpet patches to make them sound a bit brighter, and all the other instruments (the strings and woodwinds) seem to have a much wetter reverb.  In fact, the brass seem to be completely dry regarding reverb.  I don't know why this would be happening if you're using Muse Sounds for all of your sounds - they should all be set to the same level of automatic reverb (which I'm not sure can be adjusted actually - but you can download Muse Sound FX off of Muse Hub, including Reverb, Chorusing, Compression etc.)

Regarding the music it is very interesting to say the least!  You have a way of alluding to tonality that keeps your style pleasant and intriguing to listen to.  Thanks for sharing!  

This is really good, I really enjoyed the listen! I think it is a well composed piece and I don’t have anything negative to say.

I do have a couple of thoughts on practicality and score engraving:

• For staves with multiple instruments (eg. Horn 2&4) you should specify how many instruments are playing if there is only one voice (ie at the beginning, and m56 in the Horn Part) if you want both players you should mark “a2”, if just one, indicate which one by marking “2.” or "4." 
• It’s helpful to add reminder accidentals in measures following an accidental. For example, in m12 the Vln1 part should have a B natural marked so the player doesn’t get confused with the B flat in the previous measure 
• In m126, the written high B in the trumpet is a fairly high note, and would be difficult to play quietly 
• M30-42, 75-88, maybe add some variation in the rhythm or orchestration of the brass upbeats? I thought they get a little repetitive. 

Overall really good, I thought it was a fun listen. Thanks for sharing!