I really like this and the Baroque style is so authentic.  I think you should definitely use the 2nd violin even if you want to move on!  The reason is the character of the 2nd violin is exactly the same  as first whether or not you use different articulations.  Whereas, the 2nd violin sounds completely different and would add a lot to the performance. Though I understand it is more work and sympathize!

I have also been obsessed with Nietzsche, who did go very mad near the end.  It happened in Turin, Italy, and he rushed out of his room when he saw a horse being beaten and screamed at the owner then embraced the horse sobbing.  This inspired the great proto-surrealist painter Giorgio De Chirico whose early canvases depicted deserted city streets, mannikins, statues, bunches of bananas, giant iron artichokes.  And then there is the great Robert Schumann,  who also went mad and kept on hearing the note A...   A! ......... A!!!

Oh, sorry, got carried away there. Yes, Rosza, a fine composer.  He didn't go mad but did some crazy scores, such as the one for the obscure sci-fi film The Power  starring George Hamilton.  It featured closeups of the cembalo being pounded while playing tritones obsessively and people were being driven crazy by psychic powers directed at their brains, eyes bulging out and hearts thumping visibly in their chests before they collapsed dead.      

Thanks Jasen. I remember Battlestar Galactica the show but not the music.  It was probably very good though.  

Thanks Erriko, Anand and  Jasen!  This might be more "proper" with natural trumpets and horns, though I have no sackbutt. 

Of the brass kind that is.      

I did a new mix of this piece using my own arrangement.  I had no sheet music so just tried to remember it - I think it is right.  It uses Dimension Brass and antiphonal piccolo trumpets and chimes - ha-ha!  Every piece of music should have antiphonal chimes and piccolo trumpets.   It was mixed using the Schubert Hall MIR. 

Prince of Denmark's March

That's a fine composition !  Also the performance seems just about perfect.  

We're all mad or depressed!  And listening to Rozsa. 

I've also been in a state of madness and depression.  It's strange I was thinking of Rozsa this morning then happened upon this.  I had not heard it previously.  What masterful writing!  There are echoes of his film style but it is more harmonically complex.  There is tremendous rhythm in it as well.  This is such a powerful recording also - the piano part is extremely difficult and the player is in complete command along with  all the orchestra.    It's an inspiring piece and great to hear.  

Dietz is the real answer as always.

But also you can use a combo of flute 1 and flute 2, or use 1 flute and transpose up and detune down 1/2 step to create two separate sample sets.  The main thing is to have completely different samples on each note.  

Doing this if you have both flutes, both clarinets, both oboes, you can create ensembles of up to 4 instruments each without any problem.  Same thing with any other solos.  Also, the VI humanize settings are very valuable for this kind of thing, making each instrument respond differently.  

Thanks Greg!  I appreciate your listening and commenting!  

Thanks Paul!  I shouldn't have mentioned the dislike!  Though I think you're right about anonymity.  

I like that idea about more trombones.  Hmm....

That's right - strictly in notation, a tenuto line over each note and a slur over them indicates the notes are connected closely but separately attacked.    

If you do this with samples though, you can't just use sustain because it will sound too unifrom. So that's where a long portato, or a performance repetition legato can be good.  You have to check them against the particular passage depending on the speed and length of notes.   I've noticed that the performance repetition articulations for portato are fairly short.  So that is where the repetition legato is useful on slower passages of close repeated notes. 

What I might use is long portato, with a slight break between each note if they start to overlap.  And then create a slight increase in the break to indicate a breathing mark.  That is about how I would play it on horn. 

That sounds really good, especially all the variety between solos and large ensemble.

Wow, that is amazing.  Congratulations!   Can you list the VSL instruments you used?   Has this ever been played live?  What of his compositions have?  Did he write for normal orchestras as well as these huge ensembles?  It's interesting how this sort of sound becomes possible with samples much more practically than with live players.  The cost of putting such a piece on live would be next to impossible to pay.  

The reason for that is it is so expensive to record new samples.  (all those paid musicians!!! )  But it will certainly be done if the Synchron series continues to be successful.  It is quite successful now as it gives people who wish to have the instant playability with a built-in reverb what they want. 

But I totally agree with all the support here for the VI series as it is a means of creating things from the ground up, all based on ultra-pure sounds.  I love that aspect of it.  

The Synchron series is a great step forward for those who want an immediate setup out of the box. 

However the VI series allows something not found in other libraries: the ability to start with the ultimate simplicity possible for samples based on raw sound, and build up an instrument of your own that does only what you need it to do.  It is totally flexible and has nothing in the way of this process, with all the really necessary controls right there on one screen.  The fact that you can do this with all the instruments recorded back to the beginning of the library is unique among sample libraries, and VSL needs to continue this for users who like to work directly with the raw sounds and create thier own designs of virtual instruments.  Other libraries force you to use the design that is embedded within, and all too often end up being limited because of that. The VI series is nearly infinite in possibilities because of the beautiful quality of the samples, the elegant design of the software and the ground-level-up basis of its structure.     

One thing I found worked for a very realistic timpani roll was to strike a single note at the end and either allow it to ring or dampen it by creating a cc7 expression that goes down very fast prior to reverb.  It sounds exactly like a muted timpani hit created by the player's hand on the drum.   Also the loudness of the final hit can be made slightly higher than the roll - a player will often slightly accent the concluding hit of the roll, but the release samples are always the same velocity as the roll.    Doing this I didn't usually need the release samples.

Another thing you can do for timpani rolls is to alternate between velocity crossfade on the rolls, and note-on velocity on the single hits.  This allows an instantaneous alteration of loudness which is also often heard in timpani.

An example is the familiar loud attack followed instantly by a crescendo roll.  To do this you strike the single hit with note-on velocity and allow it to ring, but then instantly switch to crossfade velocity to continue with the roll. If the switch is made after the first note it simply rings realistically while the roll continues making a perfect accented crescendo.   

Thanks littleweirdo, I appreciate it!

On this topic lately mentioned, I would add that the VSL Forum has been for a while almost like a "Schubertiad" - a place and time for composers (known or unknown) to share and perform recent compositions and discuss them. Some sensitive people seem alienated because the climate is not just right. Like if someone was not perfectly polite, the response is "Hmm! I'm going home and not playing with you anymore!" But anyway these posts are a great "heretical" use of the VSL Forum which the people in charge seem to tolerate. Mainly because they are musicians themselves. Re But generally it is a great way to hear new music and performances that you will never hear elsewhere.

Paolo, that is funny, thanks for that info.  

I was thinking that what is happening in English is:  Sack-but(t)  =  Fat-ass 

Sorry, I realized that is crude and not at all in keeping with proper language on the website of a fine company dedicated to the highest standards of musical excellence.  Also, I mean no offense to all the sackbuts out there.  No matter how much weight they have to lose.

thanks Paul.  Yes the transcriptions - he ought to get paid well!!  Unfortunately I am not one of the wealthy composers who can pay for them... 

I also didn't hear this until today.  That sounds excellent - congratulations on that work!   

Also the VSL Cornetto is fantastic! Totally real sound.

Paola I don’t know French but now I am intrigued! What do you mean by devastating?