Symphony 1, II Love in the Ruins of Time

[mgj32]

Also at www.soundclick.com/mgjacobs

[adrianallan]

I think you've achieved some nice sonorities with the harp and I'm sure this will grow on me with more listens.

Unlike some other scoring software Notation Composer does not automatically lower the double bass notes by an octave. So I think that you have the double bass notes an octave higher than you intended. They should look like they mainly have lower ledger lines or near the bottom of the stave to sound right - at the moment your DB is often higher than the cellos.

I will have another listen to all of it before long

cheers

adrian

[mgj32]

Hi Adrian,
Thanks for the listen. In Staff / Tranpose...instrument key, the double basses are set to sound an octave below written. Could it be that the setting doesn't carry over to different systems? If so, we may have discovered a bug.
You are absolutely correct that the double basses sound above the cellos on occasion, however. In these places I didn't want to give the DBs a note or two of the cellos' phrase. I suppose slurs (which I leave for last, since in most cases I don't have a sound font that will make them worthwhile) would make it clearer why the cellos sometime out bass the basses.
I once would have worried more about such matters. But the fellow who does Music in the Afternoon, on West Virginia Public Radio, seems to have a penchant for playing solo (with piano) pieces for the DB and tuba, both of which are surprisingly smooth at the top of their range. (WVUPubcast.org , starting at 1 PM EST).
I haven't got around to transposing the clarinet, horns or violas yet, either. I intend to, but once moved on to something else, I forget.
all best,
mgj

[rrayner]

MG,

This is a very nice piece of music. I enjoyed listening to it on SoundClick. I hope to have some time soon to view your score in Notation while I listen again. I'm interested in analyzing with the score to see the voicings and the interplay of the various instruments. Keep up the good work.

Ralph