ALEX BARTHOLOMEW: Gorgeous, even serene arrangement! Good job! ♥

What an interesting arrangement Alex. Some quite imaginative approaches, quite jaunty (thinking of the boom-ching style towards the end). I love how everyone has their individual realisations... Thank you for sharing.

You're great at writing for all the instruments. Nicely done!

Welcome back, Thomas! Look after yourself!

@OrchestrationOnline

7 ай бұрын

Cheers, Noel!

CROSSING FINGERS, THOMAS ♥♥♥♥

Very nice, lots of great ideas. Things I like: the opening clarinet & bassoon chorale (but why switch to flute for the flourish?). The counter-movement against the triplets. The 'walking' pizz. below the 16ths figuration in section B. The big sweep from below just before reh.C, very nice. The winds in section C. But watch out for wrong harmonies (cello, m.18), and you can't just use any timpani notes. Most 'non div.' instructions are guaranteed to be ignored by a real orchestra as soon as the double stops do not involve open strings, and it's meant to be piano anyway. Also the big chords in viola/cello before and on rehearsal mark C will be divided. It's not a solo concerto. (after hearing Thomas's commentary) Yeah..., maybe I agree with Thomas, after all, to avoid too many big jumps in the cello parts. A pro wouldn't blink, but players in a student or community orchestra definitely would struggle a bit. In my own (community) orchestra I sometimes rewrite parts in order to *better* realise what the composer might have intended. I love that challenge. @Thomas: get well soon!

I liked the smooth start to the Allegro section and the way it builds. Given that, I felt the sixteenth-note antiphonal section just after sounded a little thin by comparison.

THOMAS: I think having folks indicate which notation ap they are using is a great idea for next year. And in Alex's arrangement, what would the effect of having the low F as pizz in the cello followed by bowed and slurred notes in the first full measure of the Allegro section be?

@andrewerusher2289

7 ай бұрын

Re: your pizz / arco suggestion for the cellos: the sound might work, but the section would almost certainly do it divisi - half play the pizz, the other half play the rest of the bar - because there's not enough time to make the change from pizz to arco smoothly. I'd suggest maybe double basses play divisi high and low Fs (or add a bassoon), and the cellos just play the arco figure.

Nice work Alex. A couple of dissonances which I found jarring: middle of the first full bar of the allegro; 2nd bar of B (I think this is just a typo, and you wanted the bassoons playing C & E?); the timpani part on page 5 The switch from Bassoon to Trumpet on page 3 was perfect. 2 bars before C, I suspect the Violas and Cellos will play divisi anyway. Triple and quadruple stops are not so easy to play up-bow (though it is doable), and it's too fast to retake and play a downbow on each beat. Thomas queried the viola chord at C - I think making the top 2 notes C and E would help here. Oh, yes, the flute motif 4 bars before B was another lovely touch. Well done.

Alex: The is an unusual arrangement - a little idiosyncratic. It has a strong basis in the Classical period, but with a few flourishes and colourful touches reminiscent of a generation or two later. Do I hear Johann Strauss Jr? 😊 You keep a strong sense of rhythm (but Thomas is right about your heavy reliance on the first violins). Your textures are delicate and the colours are warm, if ‘organ-like’. Although, there might be a couple of typos upsetting the harmony, I don’t think the mockup quite does justice to your work. Very enjoyable. 🎉

Nice score Alex! Maybe missing a tempo change after the intro. Well done !