A Soldier's Diary

Hi all,

It's been a while since I posted.  A Soldier's Dairy is a work composed over the last 4 months.  It is a very long piece - 9 minutes.  The work is in narrative form, in that - the structure is a bit free flowing; although, I worked hard to maintain balance with the relative rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic motifs integrated throughout the work.  I worked on this composition with a new Mentor (finally found one).  So this is the first complete draft - 95% or so done.  The engraving still needs work as does polishing off chord note placement etc.  My objective here is too create a work that flows with interesting and effective transitions.  Each segment represents a moment/time in a day for the Soldier.   For me - the work is best experienced as a "Movie Score".  I would appreciate al comments. 

There's nothing musically to criticise about this work (from my viewpoint). All excellent, the orchestral balance, the harmony and progressions, the duration of episodes. The brass scoring and integration is accomplished. The quietening down from bar 281 for the ending, the lyrical, restful ending added a final touch of balance for me....(you obviously know what the soldier had diarised here but to me he finally sat down to enjoy a cigarette and a rest.)

It didn't seem too long a work but it was engaging throughout and a pleasure to listen to.

Thank you.

PS. Oh, and both rendering and score presentation are as good as it gets 'professionally'.

Quinn,

Thank you for listening to my work and your review.  I appreciate it!  I am pleased you enjoyed the work and more so - that you used your imagination (as the story unfolded in the music) to create your "diary" as the day developed to it end.  I really like your final picture of the soldier enjoying his cigarette after one hell of a day.

Part Shostakovich Tenth Symphony… part Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije Suite… part Stravinsky A Soldier’s Tale.

Very well orchestrated and thematically structured. 
Nice work!

53 minutes ago, BipolarComposer said:

Part Shostakovich Tenth Symphony… part Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije Suite… part Stravinsky A Soldier’s Tale.

Very well orchestrated and thematically structured. 
Nice work!

 

Thanks for the review and very kind comparisons!  I worked very intensely on this one ... it's wonderful to know the hours spent resulted in a enjoyable listening experience.

Mark

 

Hello Mark @MJFOBOE,

I like how good you depict the scenes and create the mood in this piece. The orchestral colour here is effectively and adequately used. I particularly like that Maestoso theme in b.149 and the ending which is the A major version of it. I am the same with @@Quinn that the piece doesn't seem long at all-- 9 minutes don't seem long in itself for me, and the piece is full of events and colour which makes you forget about any time issue. You will count the time only when you are bored like attending a class I guess haha.

Thx for sharing!

Henry

Very nice!

I enjoy the episodic nature of this piece, represented by key changes.

I didn't find the transitions jarring.

Think the drum rolls really help to evoke the military connection.

I'm guessing your drum kit has a standard layout on the stave, since there's no percussion legend? 
Always find your scores very useful, since I'm still a novice when it comes to scoring!

P.S. You'll be pleased to know, I've used lots of oboes in my latest work! Including a rare bass oboe.