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  • A Summer Symphony Mvt. III - Summer Pastimes

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    I composed "A Summer Symphony" between August and December 2018, but have just completed a midi performance of this movement. Here is the "program" for this third movement.
     

    @Another User said:

    "A Summer Symphony" – Fond memories of summer days of youth and coming of age in the 1960's.
     
    Mvt. III – Summer Pastimes – In my youth, we boys hung out together every day. We played at war, and hunted for snakes and other critters. We had bicycle races that zoomed around our neighborhood. But most of all, we played never-ending games of baseball. Every day we played baseball!
     
    This form is a sort of lopsided Scherzo. The Opening theme (messing around with friends) is heard in bassoon then clarinet. Next, we have the baseball theme in the strings. At 1:20 we hear music depicting racing bicycles. Unlike a true Scherzo, the initial material is not repeated exactly but developed and expanded. Baseball is just baseball, but when it returns it is in winds, then in brass. Hopefully, the expansion and development of the "messing around with friends" theme depicts activities like playing at war, hunting snakes and critters, and the occasional dispute between friends.
     
    I would appreciate your comments, good or bad. The score is posted below.
     
     
    Score:

  • That is excellent Paul - this entire symphony is a fascinating picture of a time and place.  The way you combine the programmatic elements with symphonic form is so effective in all your pieces.    


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    @William said:

    That is excellent Paul - this entire symphony is a fascinating picture of a time and place.  The way you combine the programmatic elements with symphonic form is so effective in all your pieces.    

    Thank you William. The fourth movement is written and I am now working on a midi performance.


  • Well done Paul! Forgive me for saying this but the beginning sounded more Autumn than Summer to me as the bassoon line kind of reminded me of mischievous Halloween nights but of course the "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" theme brought the piece back to the lazy days of Summer. I could almost hear the cicadas singing along as they so often do in the South that time of year. Congratulations

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    @jasensmith said:

    Well done Paul! Forgive me for saying this but the beginning sounded more Autumn than Summer to me as the bassoon line kind of reminded me of mischievous Halloween nights but of course the "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" theme brought the piece back to the lazy days of Summer. I could almost hear the cicadas singing along as they so often do in the South that time of year. Congratulations

    Thank you so much for listening! I loved your reference to cicadas. These were pre-airconditioning years for my family, so at night windows were all wide open. I fell asleep countless nights listening to the crickets and cicadas. Thanks for reminding me of that. 


  • Hello Paul
    I love the mix.
    Everything sounds fresh, well balanced and the instrument sections sound very natural. The stage depth also sounds as if it were a real recording.
    In summary: Bravo!


    - Tips & Tricks while using Samples of VSL.. see at: https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/vitutorials/ - Tutorial "Mixing an Orchestra": https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/mixing-an-orchestra/
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    @jasensmith said:

    Well done Paul! Forgive me for saying this but the beginning sounded more Autumn than Summer to me as the bassoon line kind of reminded me of mischievous Halloween nights but of course the "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" theme brought the piece back to the lazy days of Summer. I could almost hear the cicadas singing along as they so often do in the South that time of year. Congratulations

    Thank you so much for listening! I loved your reference to cicadas. These were pre-airconditioning years for my family, so at night windows were all wide open. I fell asleep countless nights listening to the crickets and cicadas. Thanks for reminding me of that. 

    I went to school in Tallahassee (FSU) which most Floridians consider to be Southern Georgia and, as a poor college student, I couldn't afford air conditioning so I know what you mean by listining to the cicadas and crickets through open windows on Summer nights.

    I miss the South.  Not the climate so much but the people.  Southern hospitality isn't just a catch phrase it really means something.  Yeah, I miss the people, the food, and the pretty college girls with those cute southern accents.😢


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    @Beat Kaufmann said:

    Hello Paul
    I love the mix.
    Everything sounds fresh, well balanced and the instrument sections sound very natural. The stage depth also sounds as if it were a real recording.
    In summary: Bravo!

    Wow, thanks Beat. That means a lot, especially coming from you, a true master of mixing.  


  • PaulP Paul moved this topic from Orchestration & Composition on