"Achilles" Overture score and parts

[William]

I have a long standing project to get all my scores in some kind of printed playable form (instead of moldering pieces of paper on the floor) and completed this piece in score and parts, and while doing so decided to re-mix the VSL performance with a few tweaks -

Achilles Concert Overture

[PaoloT]

Great piece, William! Both the epic and lyrical parts are very effective, and there is a very visual, very narrative sense of musical flowing.

Thank you for the score!

Paolo

[Macker]

Love this piece. It covers a great breadth of character, including strength, stridency, gentleness and reflectiveness.

There is little justice in showbiz when so many dreadfully bland, trite or inept pieces get tacked onto films, videos and games, while some of your works have lain around mouldering on the floor! I guess it's pretty much a lottery as to who gets their feet under the table as a composer these days.

[William]

Thanks Paolo and Macker, I appreciate your listening!  I've noticed .how it is so helpful to have a VSL performance when preparing a score, and I am getting to the point where I have to have one!  I can't stand generic MIDI note checking sounds, and so I am gravitating to using normally the detailed VSL sounds even for just checking typos and errors in the notation.  You just don't see all of them, but you instantly hear them.    

[Jos Wylin]

Fantastic score again, Wiliam. I love the orchestration and the chords at the end. Simply wonderful. You can clearly hear your experience with concert bands, but with a more symphonic approach, it sounds extremely well! What a pleasure to hear such good music here.

And I agree with your statement: it is a gift to have the VSL instruments to work with while composing. It's such a big comfort to hear everything in the right sonic perspective. And yes, it helps to correct mistakes and sonic misfits e.g. (orchestration unbalances). I work with Notion and they have the London Symphony Orchestra built in, but in a very low quality version (loads extremely quickly). That is OK for entering notes, but immediately after, I swap to the full VSL setting to hear the real thing...

I've said it before: What would have happened when Mozart had such a wonderful tool...?

Jos

 

 

[William]

Jos, thanks.  I think Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann would have used VSL.  However, Mahler would have gone beyond, and actually worked at VSL.   Because the company  would have realized that he was trying to control every nuance of orchestral performance - as one can see from his scores - and he would appreciate all the capabilities of both VI and Synchron.  And so they would have offered him a deal he couldn't have refused. 

[Jos Wylin]

:) I guess you're right.

Jos