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  • Twilight of Shadows for String Orchestra and Piano

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    Hi all!

    The short version: This is my new piece for string orchestra and piano, Twilight of Shadows. Reality and fantasy blur in the twilight as this dramatic work evokes haunting lyricism, a passionate tango, a wobbly circus waltz, and a romantic Parisian cafe.

    Looking forward to any thoughts you may wish to share!

    Twilight of Shadows by David Carovillano - PLAY

    The long version: Originally, this piece was part of Acclarion's (classical accordion and clarinet duo) album Shattered Expectations, and one of our biggest "hits" in live concerts (you know, rivalling Justin Bieber fame with this one).

    Anyway, this new version for string orchestra and piano was originally started right when VSL released the Synchron violins 1 many months ago. I put it aside until all the sections were released and started working on the piece with the intention of it being my first Synchron test piece. After a while, I got tired of waiting for the remaining sections and then of course, the Synchron player, so I put the piece aside. Eventually I returned to it and decided I'd put it together with chamber strings. I feel the piece better fits that library, anyway.

    As for the production, both me and Becky spent a lot of time on this one, only because it seems to really push the virtual instrument limits, in terms of the espressive playing and rapid string passages, among other things. We did some different things with the mix and mastering that we typically wouldn't. This is one of those pieces that ultimately begs for a real ensemble, but we did the best we could. Anyway, if you've read this far, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!

    Cheers,

    Dave


  • Yes, chamber strings were a good choice for this, more intimate, more introspective. The harmonic language is a bit beyond what I normally prefer, but in this context, it seems to work well. Also, the way you move in and out of the more daring harmonies is very impressive. 

    You should be very proud of this one. The integration of the different elements to serve your narrative is very sophisticated. Normally I can come up with one or two things that suggest improvements but not this time. This is so personal and original, that it should not be tinkered with. Congratulations!


  • Dave and Becky,

    What a great piece! What I like the best is the fact this could only have been written by someone who intimately knows and loves the accordion. I can hear it in every bar. And yes, the strings and ambience are spot on. Amazingly passionate performance...and I don't mean "for a computer realization..." I mean "amazingly passionate performance"...period. I found myself thinking of Toots Thielemans..even as a Jazz Hall of Famer, you could always hear his roots. I can hear yours in this recording. A+

    Tom


  • Thanks Paul and Tom, I really appreciate your comments!

    We've since made some slight eq adjustments, mainly affecting the lower end, but I'm not going to bother re-uploading the new one on soundcloud (but it will go on my site eventually).

    Paul, for my duo, Acclarion, it's always been a delicate balancing act between music that's "instantly digestable" for our often non-classical audiences, and music that goes a little deeper. As much of my training was surrounded by avant-garde, highly atonal music, I must confess that sometimes, I lose perspective on what listeners may consider harmonically adventurous.  That said, over the years, we've definitely abandoned most of our academic/atonal works in favour of classical transcriptions and pieces like this.  It's kept our audiences much happier than our early concerts did :) lol

    Tom, the accordion has been the constant in my life for exactly double the length of time I've been with Becky, so I suppose, it will influence me to some extent...it may start haunting me soon, since I haven't opened the case to play it in 9 months (since our daughter, Aria was born).  Anyway, what's interesting, is while the piece was written for accordion (and clarinet) it is only playable on a (much rarer) free-bass accordion, as the left hand part would not be doable on a standard "stradella" accordion.

    All the best,

    Dave


  • I love it!  The combo of twilight mood with the more "passionate" rhythmic material is very appealing. 

    Your music is so good any commentary about acoustics seems tacky.  Though the acoustics are good, all I do is listen to the music.   


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    @William said:

    I love it! The combo of twilight mood with the more "passionate" rhythmic material is very appealing. Your music is so good any commentary about acoustics seems tacky. Though the acoustics are good, all I do is listen to the music.
    I'm blushing! Thank you, Bill.

  • Did I hear it correctly that you've used the louder velocities of the solo violin to play relatively quiet for the sake of expressiveness (of those samples) ? If so, that did reach the point, although sounded just a bit strange to me. If not, nevermind :)


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    @crusoe said:

    Did I hear it correctly that you've used the louder velocities of the solo violin to play relatively quiet for the sake of expressiveness (of those samples) ? If so, that did reach the point, although sounded just a bitstrange to me. If not, nevermind :)
    But, did you like the music? 😉

  • Oh, I'm sorry, I've missed the entire point of posting! :)

    Yes, I did, and all that non-linearity in the composition, it was to the point with the piano gluing everything together (compositionally). Sounded quite imaginative and lively. 

    Who of you two wrote the piece? I'd vote for two composers, somehow the piano part makes me thinking that.


  • No, just one composer...me (Dave). thanks for your comments...sharp ears. Incidentally, it was the J.B. violin layered over chamber strings...obviously gluing them together in terms of reverb, and timbral qualities is difficult, but to get the level of expressiveness I wanted, it was something worth trying. Dave

  • Thanks for the clarifications! That's good to know.


  • PaulP Paul moved this topic from Orchestration & Composition on