First scarecrow (Clarinet and string quintet) (Spitfire & Swam samples)

Hello everyone,

I enjoy sharing here my new composition for solo clarinet and string quintet. As I explain in the notes attached to the video, I have always loved scarecrows.

I had photographed this one at the edge of a field and I took out the photo to make a charcoal drawing that inspired me this little musical page.

The samples are therefore from Spitfire solo strings for V1 V2 Alto cello and BBCSO pro for double bass.

I use Swam for the clarinet.

it is even more difficult to sound a string quintet in the most realistic way possible. This requires the greatest care for every little detail of the midi programming. The goal, as always, is to approach a credible immersion. Even more difficult than orchestra or piano, because here the slightest lack of taste is heard immediately.

The instruments of Solo strings have wonderful timbres but their programming under Kontakt is complex. The game modes are very varied, but not always easy to join. On the other hand, I had to use the solo double bass of the BBCSO pro instead of that of Solo strings because overall I was mixed. On the one hand, I preferred the sound "presence" of the double bass of Solo strings, on the other, I found that some effects such as the Bartok pizz were more convincing with BBC. There is no legato patch for the double bass in solo string and so I finally preferred this mix of the two libraries.

Swam has the huge advantage of being very playable on the keyboard. So the clarinet is reactive and the programming of the various game modes is a pleasure as the interface is reactive.

Thank you in any case for your listening and comments.

Hey Jean,

First of all it!s always exciting to listen to your new pieces! You are always one of the composer in the forum that can easily capture the programmatic scenes that gets close to the level of a literary work or even a poem of sounds. The mood of the piece is really unsettling. The opening pizzicato, harmonics around 1:30, high register yelling in 2:18, the agitation in 2:45, dead silence with bare fifths at the end etc….. For me they are vivid imagination by the scarecrow. He knows that he’s a scarecrow and cannot change that and only accept that, but still he imagines the world of freedom, but once imagining those imaginations are hurting him more and remind himself that he could never escape the fate as a scarecrow, and his imaginations die at the end to stop the suffering……

It’s fascinating you display this much varied timbre despite having a string quintet and clarinet combination! Thx for sharing!

Henry

Always happy to read you! And thank you for the time spent listening to this miniature.

I have the idea of a scarecrow triptych to come.

And I am absolutely delighted to see that my music is ready for various interpretations.

Thank you!

7 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hey Jean,

First of all it!s always exciting to listen to your new pieces! You are always one of the composer in the forum that can easily capture the programmatic scenes that gets close to the level of a literary work or even a poem of sounds. The mood of the piece is really unsettling. The opening pizzicato, harmonics around 1:30, high register yelling in 2:18, the agitation in 2:45, dead silence with bare fifths at the end etc….. For me they are vivid imagination by the scarecrow. He knows that he’s a scarecrow and cannot change that and only accept that, but still he imagines the world of freedom, but once imagining those imaginations are hurting him more and remind himself that he could never escape the fate as a scarecrow, and his imaginations die at the end to stop the suffering……

It’s fascinating you display this much varied timbre despite having a string quintet and clarinet combination! Thx for sharing!

Henry