Hi everyone, just sharing with you a composing milestone! My first Symphony, entitled 'Elysium' in 4 movements.
It is musically diatonic, with an early-romantic style, loosely based on the glorification and romanticisation of war and a warriors' paradise.
I have been working on it since around last Autumn, so at least 6 Months on-and-off.
mvmt I. Prelude: Andante- 00:00
mvmt II. Romance: Adagio- 05:02
mvmt III. Waltz: Allegro - Adagio 12:07
mvmt IV. Finale: Adagio - Moderato 18:54
It's on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/ollie-kb/elysium-symphony
and also here https://composersforum.ning.com/music if you scroll right to 'Elysium' Symphony (where you can listen to each movement as an individual track)
Replies
nice to have some activity on this forum for a change -- I thought it was more or less dead, even if Rowy said it's only pining for the fiords. I had somewhat mixed feelings about this symphony. The opening was charming but I'm not quite sure what it expresses as it goes on. It's not really angry or violent enough to be either warlike or a satire on war but perhaps indeed it's supposed to represent a sort of naive idealism in which case I can see what you're getting at. Perhaps you could explain in more detail your somewhat cryptic remarks about the content.
Th slow movement is rather poetic and pretty Beethovenian to me in character although this is disguised by the rather more sumptuous orchestration (i didn't especially care for the cymbals but I find most composers overuse cymbals so I'm hardly impartial).
The third movement has considerable charm and is really quite witty.
The finale starts rather mysteriously, even slightly sinister at times -- a mood which only is completely dispelled with the triumphant peroration. Taken as a whole, it seems to be a little lacking in the drama and large scale contrasts I would associate with a symphony but on the other hand, I suspect that's not what you're about here so again more details on what you intended might be welcome.
Taken as a whole it's perhaps a bit too diatonic for my taste (and surely for the"musical establishment" which would find even my far more chromatic style pretty much unacceptable) but nevertheless, it was certainly an interesting listen, despite certain reservations. There's always something of a feeling of achievement when you complete your first symphony.
Wow, thank you for listening to the whole thing with so much attention and providing detailed feedback. It means a lot!
I feel the first movement is by far the weakest, and definitely a learning curve for me. I feel I rushed through sections without properly developing them. I composed the first movement first, without intentions for it to be a part of a larger work (or indeed having much of an end-goal in mind at all), and then just kept composing, so you were very intuitive to pick up on that. The "naive idealism" is probably my own personality coming through. I'm a happy guy! Haha
The diatonicism, for me, is just a personal preference. I had no intentions of trying to do anything clever, and acknowledge that I am piggybacking on the Western Classical tradition. I just love the fact you can still have something to say within these tried-and-tested frameworks.
Going forward, I think I should be bolder with light and shade, including more contemporary harmonic devices where appropriate. My next symphony will be stronger!
I'd probably agree that the first movement is the weakest -- something I'm often familiar with in my own pieces (the recent 18th symphony is, I think, a rare exception). I'm quite sure that with your next symphony, you'll be able to build on what you've done and I look forward to hearing it. As for tonality, it's entirely a personal choice. Most composers these days-- unless they're writing in a minimalist, cinematic or deliberately populist style -- are rather afraid of "tunes" or anything which smacks too much of diatonism as there is still a strong feeling in that one must take some account of musical developments over the past half century or so. I'd rather leave it up to the individual and agree entirely that there is still plenty to be said within the tried and tested frameworks-- my own stuff is rather a mixture.