a piece for Piano which in its intial stages I had brought up here before, but now I feel it is finished: https://youtu.be/ekqplpNC0oA which I ha
A piece of parting from someone you love - it contains some of the most temder passages I ever wrote - I hope you will like it as I do .
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I'm glad you've posted an original work for a change rather than working on material by others, however interesting the results sometimes are. And I think the programme of the piece is very clear with the intermittent sf outbursts and clock persistently ticking away towards the end. But it's the little sub melody from around 2'15" which really elevates this into something special -- that's pure inspiration worthy of Beethoven or Schubert.
Hi Gerd,
Is this a MIDI render? If so, the virtual piano isn't doing it justice, and the MIDI could use some editing. I understand that in some phrases the left hand needs to be emphasized, but overall, the left hand is too loud. It overshadows the right hand and makes the composition sound coarse. If you're expressing the emotion of parting from a loved one (hopefully not due to a funeral), there should be some tenderness, not aggressive banging on the keys.
Regarding the composition, it feels like a piano extract from an orchestral piece, or perhaps you're accustomed to sketching music for easy orchestration. It sounds less pianistic than it should. Of course, I could be wrong, and this is just my opinion. However, if this is one of your few original compositions, I encourage you to keep going!
I've been accused of spending too much time commenting on renderings as opposed to the music and, as I guess this is done using the far from optimal NotePerfomer piano, I didn't want to say anything specific here. But it certainly did strike me that, as an example, the staccato ticking often sounds too harsh and clinical for what is being expressed here. Probably even more use of the sustain pedal might help. I'd be more than happy to provide alternative piano renderings of this (with a MuiscXML export) if Gerd shares my feelings -- of course if he's perfectly happy then there's no need. I won't myself try to comment on what's "pianistic" as often my favourite piano composers such as Faure or Janacek are often regarded as completely unpianistic and being a terrible pianist myself, couldn't play anything properly however well written it was.
Dear David, no it is not Noteperformer (knowing that its piano sound is rather bad), but AriaPlayer from Finale/GarritanPersonalOrch) which I actually find rather good, but I would be more than grateful if you could do something better with it: --> www.gerdprengel.de/Fantasia_Farewell.musicxml Thank you!!
PS: I am glad that the melody at the end of the piece speaks to you - it is also so dear to me!!
Ah, I know of people who generally are quite happy with NotePerformer but avoid the piano. I don't find your Aria piano that bad in tone -- but as things stand, it does seem to lack some expressiveness in places and getting the balance right is always a bit of work as I know only too well!. I'll have a bash tomorrow with the Vienna Imperial to start with to see if it can add anything. That's the piano I used in my recent Nocturnes so if you hate the tone of that, let me know as I'd be wasting my time!
Dear David, I listened to your nocturnos and I like your piano very much, but I cannot quite imagine how that would sound with my piece since our styles are quite different. Would your piano sound really that different than mine?
I can only try, Gerd -- perhaps it won't make much difference. Anyway, it looks like your link is just to a web page and not a file directly as I can't open it. I suspect you should use the file attachment icon here and simply upload the MusicXML directly from your computer?
Fantasia_Farewell.musicxml
I uploaded it here. But clicking on my link with the right mouse button should also work ...
so here it is. There was no tempo marking on your original file for some reason so I calculated the correct tempo from your audio. I deleted all the MIDI dynamics and just let Dorico create them from the score with its polyphonic dynamic balancing which usually does a reasonably good job of separating out the melody from the accompaniment. No changes at all other than one or two extra hairpins near the end where I thought they were really needed. By the way, you are aware than in the bars following on from bar 40, the left and right hand frequently play the same note, especially C above middle C? I'm far from immune to making the same mistake (not that it matters for audio generally speaking)!
Fantasia_Farewell - Fantasia Farewell.mp3
incidentally, there do not appear to be any pedal markings in the score, though pedal may have been inserted artificially as your audio is often quite reverberant. I have not so far added any to my mock-up although I'm sure a few would be helpful here and there.
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