Orchestral Ballad

Hi Fred,

You have out-done yourself this time. You do that every time, but this one is special. The theme and your treatment of it is gorgeous, and the sax seems the perfect instrument for it. I like the orchestration, with the strings, harp, trombones, choir and piano; all used selectively but therefore very effectively. The harmony is particularly pleasing and the masterful way you mix chords, creating dissonances, which put the lie to the notion that dissonance must be harsh, is a pure joy. That mixing of chords makes the ending worth re-playing and re-playing. It has a definite sense of the sound ending but the music not.

A question: the consensus seems to be that the top note for the tenor sax, when writing for a standard orchestra, is the second Eb above middle C. I notice you've got it playing a whole tone higher, and I suspect it is capable of higher still. Is that so, and what would happen to the tone if it were (if possible) played higher? I wonder, too, if the baritone, alto and soprano saxes can go higher than the recommended top notes.

I tried this with the device for all staves changed to the Creative hardware synth and that made a big difference in the sound on my machine. I'm really anxious to hear your mp3 version.

all best,
mgj