Orchestra Suite Mvt: 1 "The Veil"

Hi! This is my first orchestral piece, so it's probably not very good. I'd like to hear some feedback for it, though!

It's a good entry into the game!

You seem to have very good orchestral ideas.

However, I would allow myself some reservations about your harmonic progressions. Sometimes a static nothing. Sometimes on the contrary, to abrupt sequences.

The harmonic journey remains a little too local for my taste, but the effects are well realized however. Precisely, these dramatic effects of orchestration that are tremolos, or crescendo climax climbs, are the springboards you can use to bring us to very unexpected, very crazy, very daring things that we miss here a little. If you stay on too standardized sequences, it is imperative to check the forced movements.

But it's very encouraging, because you seem to have an innate orchestral intuition.

Hi @Scyther,

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with what @Krisp said. It's a very good first attempt on orchestral piece! Your orchestration is very great and effective for one who has never written for it before. Apart from what Jean has said, I love the clarinet melody in b.6,  and I like your brass passages. They really provides contrast throughout the movement and pushes it to climax. I particularly like the Allegretto passage in b.72.

But I also have to agree with Jean on the shortcoming of this movement. I feel like the melody, harmony and the form don't match your orchestration here. There are many great moments in your orchestration when you push the music to climax like in b.62, 89, the music materials themselves are not too contrasted and distinctive enough to be in a climax. For me the music is mostly in E minor and conventional harmonic progression, but when you want to modulate to other keys like in section B (b.15) to g minor, it sounds abrupt when it only last for a bar 56 when the harmony is less conventional, the moment is still not long enough for me to the next outburst of violin in b.62. I really think you can have more interesting harmony progression and memorable melodic themes to make the music more engaging! Of course these can be personal though and I hope it will not be too nitpicky!

You can check out @Krisp's most recent piece posted here! The orchestration is great and the effect is wonderful, but they are combined with fascinating music contents rather than just effects:

Thanks for sharing your music and joining us! Hopefully you will spend some time here to visit other members' posts and possibly review them!

Henry