OK, I really like this piece, it reminds me a bit of something J.S. Bach
would write, in fact, the beginning sounded hauntingly like one of his
fugues (I can't sort them out in my head right now, I don't remember
which one). I always love the idea of repeated interlocking measures
like this, and I think the composition is very enjoyable. However, there
were some things that I would critique a bit. First of all, this sounded
like a 4/4 march, so it didn't have too much of the flowing ebb/swell of
water, even though you had ascending/descending scales behind it. I
think it might sound more fluid and rolling if it were in 6/8 or 3/4 time
(although suggesting this now is bad, sort of a pain to try to rework a
different time signature into a piece.) I love the way the instruments
come in over time and build on the power of the piece. However, when
the the saxes come in, they were much too loud at that point to me... it
was too-jarring a step... I would swap them and the much softer-but-
powerful horns that come in next, have the horns come in first at that
point, THEN have the saxes add on top at the next entry point (where
you have the horns come in now). THEN I would add the drums and
play it out for another 16 measures with everyone together, the piece
is actually a little too short, methinks. Just as it gets going, it dies
away again very quickly. You have really wonderful melodic twists and
turns in there (I like the last measures where stuff relaxes and settles),
but they all rush by quickly. Let your ideas dance on our ears a little
more before it goes away, this is really good stuff! This is sort of like
the Moldau by Smetana, letting the stream build to a river, then relax
again. Definitely something I could really get into playing in band,
though I am a biased ex-clarinettist and would prefer your sax parts
being recast to the mellower clarinets. :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis
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