Thanks Steve. The rest is still to come, this was the first part of the trio.

Jos

Originally Posted by: Fabio Biolcati

I suspect its sub par overall (I'm not talking about trills, here) performance is Notion fault at triggering it properly, as it sounds better in Overture.

Hi Fabio,

It is possible to use the VSL flute (and other instruments) in Notion, without the Notion presets (which are useful to work quickly). When building up the score, don't use the Notion presets, but simple VST instead. When the score is built, put an instrument (VI) in every VST instance and then give every VI an instrument (e.g. Flute I). That will play the flute correctly, but alas some articulations will be missing (to name one: the trills...). But it has the advantage that you can use all the other articulations without interference of the Notion settings.

To have everything played correctly, a DAW is necessary. (Reaper in your case?)

All the best,

Jos

Very good and rich orchestral music.

Well done!

Jos

Hi William,

Very impressive, William. Such expressive music, well crafted and recorded. It has a very cinematic feel, although it's deeper and very colorfully orchestrated. It shows so much emotion and reflection. That is music which appeals and attracts. I can't imagine a music lover who doesn't want to hear this. And I can't think of an orchestra not willing to put this score on their desks. (Although that's another matter as we say, it takes some serious 'elbow work' to enter the inner circle of performed composers...)

Many congrats! Love the piece!!!

Hi Fabio,

Thanks again for the dedication. I'm very honored with it. And it was my honor to help you with the settings. Unfortunately you live so far away that it is impossible (and certainly in these days of COVID) to come together and handle this in person...

I noticed that William made the same remark about the trills. It is simply impossible with the flute you've used to make nice rowing legatos because of the nature of the recording: every single note has an equally strong attack that sits in the way of a nice flow. That shouldn't be a problem with the VSL flutes (with which you can regulate the attacks and releases).

(Sorry for the delay, but my iMac had to be repaired and that took quite some time...)

All the best,

Jos

Hi friends in music,

Here is the first part of my trio again is a smaal revision. The title may sound a bit mysterious, but it really says what this little movement is all about.

More explanation on SoundCloud.

6 Tones of Blue

Jos

Hi Paolo,

Great job and very well performed. More than credible! If you look for a baroque sounding bassoon, the VSL bassoon 2 can come very close (with a little filtering).

Thanks for sharing,

Jos

Hi Jerry,

What a splendid synthesis of electronics and strings! Very well done and very enjoyable.

Jos

Hi Jerry,

The lockdown in Belgium is 'mild'. Recently shopping is allowed again, but not 'fun shopping'. You must be alone and within a reasonable range of distance from home. Traveling abroad is still possible, but only to safe regions. Ski resorts in Europe are closed for non-inhabitants.

Like you said, the weird advantage is, that we all have plenty of time to spend on composing and listening to music (or reading). At the moment, I'm testing Dorico Pro 3.5. Since I write all my music in scores, a good program is necessary. Up to now I've been working with Finale (stopped evolving in 2012) and later with Notion. The latter is good, intuitive in use, but rather limited in engraving and print-out quality. That's where the new Dorico comes in... A crossgrade from Finale is very affordable now and worth considering. But first a thorough test with the free trial.

All the best,

Jos

Very fine and inventive work, Sam. It was a joy to listen! Thanks for the score to follow.

Jos

Hi Jerry,

What an amazing movement. So relaxing and yet never boring because of its interesting and thrilling thematic material and fascinating harmonies. I followed the score to have some more insight in your harmonic magic. How simple the piece might look at first sight, it is probably not so easy to play with the very slow pace and deep emotional content. Maybe one of the best pieces the genre I've heard here so far.

I'm so glad you shared it with us!

Jos

Thanks, Jerry. It's a pity that the piece is so short, it didn't offer enough opportunity to elaborate the thematic phrases (not real themes). But it had to be that way (only 2 minutes) for a purpose... I try to make it up in the coming parts 2 and 3.

Jos

Hi Jerry,

That's weird. The link in your reply works fine on my computer. Maybe you could visit my website. The first part is already uploaded.

Here's the link to the page:   http://www.joswyl.be/trio-for-flute-viola-and.html

Hope this will help.

Jos

:) I guess you're right.

Jos

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

Hi Paolo,

Thanks for listening. Yes, I know about the reverb. It is fashionable today to use more or bigger ambience, but I still prefer the 'natural' setting: small ensembles in small rooms, chamber orchestras in small halls, symphonic music in concert halls or big recording stages. And again, that is always a matter of taste.

Thanks for your advice and comment,

Jos

Thanks for listening en commenting, William.

You're right, the whole tone scale can have an alienating effect: Because of the whole tone structure, it can go in any direction, no chords must be solved the classical way. There are no chromatic or diatonic halve tones either, which implies that traditional melody lines (like we would expect) are totally absent - you mentioned the psychological aspect, which is probably the one of no recognition).
With thanks to the VSL instruments again for the wealth of possibilities to translate any idea in fitting musical phrases! The detailed score here might sound a little impressionistic, but that was not quite my intention.

The second part may have some surprises as well...

Jos 

I really agree with Paolo. A different Guy Bacos, free from any duty here.

To me it's rather strange to depict a tennis game with music. But again, the outstanding result of this composition shows that anything is possible, as long as you have enough skills, talents and technique to do so.

A very pleasant surprise! Thanks for sharing.

Jos

Congratulations, William! Comment on YT.

Jos

Hi MMKA,

As to the sound, a little improvement but ,not too much (to my taste, which is not necessarily your taste of course). You can go on experimenting forever and that could be a good experience, but before you start creating an ambience, think first about what you want to achieve. For that purpose, you can find thousands of good recordings on YT, and for sure in the classical style such as your composition. When you found a type of hall sound that you really like (for such an ensemble), you can try to imitate it (MIR, Vienna Suite, Virtual Sound Stage, Synchron settings...). Try this with both legato and staccato passages, because the difference can be huge. In your piece here, that is quite obvious.

Another issue to work on could be the natural bowing dynamics. If you work with CC1 or CC7 (volume), it can sound quite exaggerated. I always create the bowing with CC11 (expression), if not detailed enough with CC28 (Vel.FX), through automation. I never touch CC7 in my mix, except to set the basic volumes per group or instrument (overall balance).

You can enter the Vel.XF sensitivity or range with the dynamic range scaler (CC30). For higher strings usually between 92 and 0. For winds, that would be far too much and impossible to play.

These are just a few pieces of advice, not things to absolutely imply. Your own experience is the best school!

A good composition always deserves a good performance and that's definitely the case here.

Have a nice weekend!

Jos

Very nice work indeed, although I'm not so fond of the 'ambience'. It sounds a bit thick and loaded. If this is the natural reverb/IR that comes with the Synchron instruments, you could try turning it back a bits. I guess that is why William refers to the VI instruments (without any IR or tail). You can put the VI's in any room/hall/church... according to the size and volume of the ensemble and choose the right amount to reveal the beauty of the music in a 'natural' ambience.

So your work sounds great as music, but the orchestral listening quality could be improved. Of course everything depend on one's taste.

Thanks for sharing,

Jos

Hi Dave,

Great recording. My comment is on YT.

Really enjoyed it!

Jos

Not at all, Paolo. The tiny reverb is just perfect. I was talking in general. The time of huge reverbs and halls is past...

Jos

Fantastic job, Paolo. The orchestra sounds so good and transparent. Even the smallest details are there.

I' listened with great interest and admiration, although I'm not so fond of reverberation. Even with the extra MIRacle, it's never overdone and it doesn't mask the clarity and detail.

Great job (and exercise succeeded!).

Jos