Symphony no.9 - Op.76 no.1

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I uploaded anything. Unfortunately, I've been suffering from a long-term illness, but that hasn't stopped me from continuing to compose and last summer I finished my 9th symphony. I would now like to share it with you movement by movement. 

About the symphony: 
As I usually compose rather freely, this symphony also has motifs that were created “on the way”, so to speak.
I made more of an effort to create recognizable structures that deal with various more or less fixed motifs.
Harmonically, I let myself drift (as is usual for me). 
I'm always a little embarrassed that I can't say nearly as much in terms of technical content (although I do study and educate myself) as other members here.
as much as other members here, but that's the way it is. I'm constantly working on my music theory knowledge and understanding of melody and structure, so I'll be able to say more about it in time.
I will explain the movements and figures, as well as my inspirations for each movement, as best I can.
Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any.

Since I don't want to make 4 individual posts for each set, I will post set 1 & 2 here, and then 3 & 4 soon.

As always, a short feedback is enough for me, I don't expect extensive analyses (there are too many and too long works for that). 
But if you still want to do it in detail, I am of course all the more pleased, but for me the mere sharing of my music in the foreground. I hope you like it. 

The symphony is divided into 4 movements.

1st Grande Preludio ~ Moderato impensierto 
    -> I had a rather fantastic image in mind here, so as always I was thinking in images when I created the piece.
       I usually approach the first movement of a symphony very openly, a tiny idea is usually enough to get me going, and then I just start writing.

1st Movement_ Symphony no.9 - Op.76 no.1 - Partitur.pdf

2nd Toccata - Allegro tumultoso
    -> For this Toccata I was very inspired by RVW's 8th Symphony, movement 4, and interwove it with my own style.
       One of my rarer attempts to write a moving movement, which I usually find very difficult. 

2nd Movement_ Symphony no.9 - Op.76 no.1 - Partitur.pdf

SOON then

3rd The tale of the longing for completion - Andante con dolore
    -> For this toccata I was very much inspired by RVW's 5th Symphony, movement 3. Incidentally, one of the most beautiful 
       pieces I know personally. I love to create emotional and dramatic harmonic images, hence this movement.

4th Passacaglia - Andante con moto giusto
    -> Once again, RVW was my inspiration, but I tried to write my very own passacaglia without any influences.
       As it is my first, the piece must inevitably be seen as an experiment. I think it has its weaknesses but also its strengths.

The orchestration is as follows.

2 flutes
2 alto flutes
1 bass flute
2 oboes
2 English horn
2 clarinets in Bb
2 bassoons
1 contrabassoon

2 horns in F
2 trumpets in Bb
2 tenor trombones
1 bass tuba

Timpani
tubular bells

I. Violins (14)
II. violins (10)
Violas (8)
Violoncello (8)
Double bass (6)

I used the samples from VSL Synchron Strings Pro, Synchron Brass, SY-ized Special Edition 1&2

See ya'll soon

Your symphony reminds of the 20th century English composers: Britten, Williams and Delius. 

This is a lush orchestration with many lovely undercurrents running through the piece that creates a rich tapestry of texture and color.

I enjoyed the work immensely.

Mark

Hey Nicolas, thanks for sharing your work with us. Great job on completing a piece of such a large scale! I like how fluid your embellishments are within parts of the chord. However, it does not look good on paper and I have some other questions and suggestions for you as well:

Your instrument list indicates 2 alto flutes, but there's only one part to be played throughout the manuscript. This second alto flute player could be swapped to a Piccolo player because I noticed you have the flutes playing above a high A in some places. While not impossible for an experienced flute player, it is highly unstable and they will not be able to sustain it 9 times out of 10. Especially that high D flat around 4'24" in the first movement.

You also note in your description that there are only 2 Horns in F while there are sometimes more than 3 notes in the sheet music. I would highly suggest using 4 horns on two separate staffs as it gives you more depth and force if needed.

The manuscript you provided is in concert pitch. It might not bug other people, but it bugs me immensely. There are WAY too many ledger lines in some of these parts. The instruments' ranges that are not tuned in concert pitch tend to line up on the staff very nicely and do not require so many ledger lines. The Horns in F should be in treble clef - the performers should not be reading ledger lines above the bass clef.

The manuscript does not indicate a2 or divisi in any part. 

You desire to expand these instruments' boundaries and capabilities, but some of the things you are asking for are just not possible. If you're going to write for such a large orchestra and plan to write very difficult music, then you need to meet the challenge and study scores of some of the great orchestrators - Ravel, Mahler, Liszt, Bruckner, Scriabin, Holst, and many more.

I'm leaving 2 links underneath that are great references to use when questions about notation and instruments arise. These books are massively beneficial to contemporary orchestrators and composers. 

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Dictionary-Music-Notation-Pocket/dp/0882847309

https://a.co/d/0dPZYay

Thank you again for sharing your music. I hope these comments find you well and that you do not take offense to them as that was not the intention.