I wrote this air last week for an orchestral suite I've been working on. I'll post the whole suite for critique when it's done, but I'm curious to hear any comments or feedback on this movement. It might be a bit on the schmaltzy side. Obvious influence from the air from Bach's 3rd orchestral suite.
You need to be a member of composersforum to add comments!
Replies
Wow, this is really good! Structurally very simple, yet full of melodic beauty.
I didn't find the accompaniment boring; it's background material, as it should be, and the melodies take central stage. You could, I suppose, add more variety to it, but keep in mind that the more variety you add the more it draws attention to itself and the less it will stay in the background. Keeping it simple the way you have it keeps the focus on the primary melodic material without distraction.
Just to be clear -- speaking purely for myself, I didn't find the accompaniment boring initially and agree entirely with David that simplicity can be very important. The question is a whether no changes over a span of five minutes works and it looks like opinions differ here. I hardly think that just something like changing to triplets (or whatever -- just one idea) in the background towards the end would make it harder to follow the main melodic thread.
It wouldn't, but it would introduce a new element that may draw some attention to itself. I'm not saying it's necessarily bad; one could argue that it's actually a good thing because it can add freshness to what's otherwise a relatively static accompaniment pattern. But that depends on the composer's intent.
Keeping it this simple can be so annoying that you're not even interested in the melody. But I don't want to nag. The OP can write a good melody; you need talent for that. As for the rest - harmony, voice leading, counterpoint, orchestration - you can learn. Right now, all he needs is a sound and honest advice.
Again, I appreciate the opinion, but - while I certainly would never call myself a good composer - I did not write this very simplistic string accompaniment because I didn't know any better. It was a choice - perhaps a bad choice!
Morning Steven
I like this piece, very reminiscent of Handel. The melody floats above all and there are contrasting sections to keep the interest.
I'm rehearsing the Berenice overture and it has an air with a broad wonderful theme but very simple accompaniment. Handel often used repeated string notes in his accompaniments.
It is a matter of taste.
I tried a version with a little more variation in the accompaniment, but I'm not sure it accomplishes much.
Air - alt.pdf
Air - alt.mp3
In my opinion, when comparing the two versions, I agree with you. I feel the changes are negligible, and either version satisfies the listener.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next