For my first post...an orchestral piece

[Joe Schacher]

http://www.archive.org/details/OWhistleAndIWillComeToYouMyLad

Follow the link and you will find a midi realization and a live recording of my first orchestral piece "O Whistle, and I Will Come to You, My Lad".  There is also a PDF score for those who are interested.  Note that the MIDI realization has some music missing from the middle of the piece (music I added later).

The piece is loosely based on the short (ghost) story of the same name.  Unlike the story, the piece has a rather devious ending.

As always, feedback is much appreciated!

Joe

[Andrew Gleibman]

Very interesting sound textures, but the form is unclear. Seems slightly lengthy or needs more dramatic events / development. I still listened to it only once and intentionally describe my first, probably superficial, impressions. Good work, with great potential!

[Gijs van Beusekom]

Nice piece. The use of instruments is very interesting and your harmonic language speaks to me. I agree with Andrew that it lacks a clear form. I enjoyed the sounds I heard, but I couldn't really understand the piece.

[Joe Schacher]

Thanks for the replies so far. I agree regarding the clarity of form, especially since the form itself is not traditional at all. I will say that I did think about structure when I wrote this piece, so there is a form there...it's just not apparent. Did you find some sections too long or boring? Did the ending seem complete? Would cutting some music make the piece more cohesive?

A couple things I should mention:

1) The live performance is a reading done by student players, and in my opinion is subpar (although it was still a great experience to put it all together). There are some missing instruments (2nd clar, ob, bsn), some wrong notes (especially in the horns) and and overall lack of energy. The ending is supposed to be HUGE.

2) One of my goals with this piece was to experiment with all sorts of orchestral textures, from full tutti to chamberesque. Perhaps I focused too much on that, and not enough on content...i am unsure.

Thanks!

[Joe Schacher]

I understand what you mean about "dated" sound. I think I focused a little too much on different orchestral textures, and not enough on content. The next piece I will post is a newer and much more focused piece.

At least I was able to summon some childhood memories for you.

[James Wise]

It's very good. I have to agree that it doesn't show any clear form, but that said, in this day and age, it doesnt really have to in my opinion. I enjoyed listening to it and hope to hear more of your work.

[Joe Schacher]

hehe - i was thinking more like 1947. There are certainly strong influences there.

Fredrick zinos said:

I am even older than Ray and to me the opening sounds like its 1911 all over again. But there are some really fine moments. Maybe stop listening to other composers and listen to yourself for a while.

[Joe Schacher]

The form, if anything, is programmatic. I don't typically write using classical forms (sonatas, ternary, etc.) Instead, the piece has 2 distinct forces: 'light' and 'dark'. These two forces battle it out during the piece, but in the end, the 'dark' completely takes over.

I usually write dark music, so this was an attempt at writing some music which I thought was very 'happy'. Very tough for me to do.

James Wise said:

It's very good. I have to agree that it doesn't show any clear form, but that said, in this day and age, it doesnt really have to in my opinion. I enjoyed listening to it and hope to hear more of your work.