LUCIFER & GANDHI - Symph. Orch. (Sosnowski)

[dpc]

Wow, terrific piece with lots going on and the material handled very well. I agree the piano writing and playing is world class and shows an unusual gift in both departments.

The samples detracted from the quality of the writing which makes me want to suggest VSL or something to do more justice to your work.

What's your approach in writing: do you treat Finale as if it's paper only or do you play things in and build it up or - ?

Very very good stuff.

[etLux]

Wow, terrific piece with lots going on and the material handled very well. I agree the piano writing and playing is world class and shows an unusual gift in both departments.

Thank you for listening, Dave, and I appreciate your kind comments!

The samples detracted from the quality of the writing which makes me want to suggest VSL or something to do more justice to your work.

I believe I would have to differ with you on that. Rather than indicting the samples, it is far more likely a case of my inept use of them... lol.

Several factors are involved in that. First, I'm a newcomer to all of this -- I've been working with GPO for only a year; and as I am not a professional musician, I have relatively little time to work with these technologies and learn them properly. Second, another matter of time... even were I to have the skills -- I simply have not got the hours available to devote to extensive fine-tuning. And third, my goal in these renderings is not to replace a real orchestra -- but simply to achieve a reasonably good "first hearing" of the piece.

What's your approach in writing: do you treat Finale as if it's paper only or do you play things in and build it up or - ?

I generally ponder a piece like this for quite some time, mostly on midnight walks in the woods, and build it in my head.

Then I write it down, er, well -- I notate it into Finale. After that I'll set up the GPO sounds, review the piece... I rarely edit more than lightly, as all the scut work is done before I hit the "paper". Finally, I save it as a .wav, convert it to .mp3. That's about it.

Thanks again for taking time to listen, Dave!

My best,

David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[Hermitage59]

David, this is the first of your works I've listened to, and it's ensured i will listen to the others.
The orchestration first.
Clever, articulate, subtle, brash, individual, and most of all, bold.
I was impressed with the clever mix of instrument colours, and although I've been musically wandering around the 19th and early 20th century for my preference, i'm taken with the freshness of this in the way it was written.

It's all too easy to let something written so boldly degenerate into a mess, and i'm in admiration of your instinction for restraint when needed. Just enough without ruining the pace or tonal journey. The piano part is clever, quicksilver and cunning, without overwhelming other bright tonal colours. Your orchestrative 'touch' is excellent, and i didn't feel at any time that you were writing notes for the sake of it, or taking your musical 'eye' off the ball, a complaint that inflicts mediocrity on so much modern work these days that could be polished to a fine degree with some finesse and delicate control.
If there's one instrument that gets all the wrong press in music of this ilk, it's the piano, as writers tend to use it in nonsensical gap filling desperation, so i'll repeat myself.
Not here. A feature without overpowering.

The samples.

I will agree with you, and i wish no ill saying this, that the sample use is not at the same level as your writing yet. You've acknowledged this yourself, and at the same time provided a clue to others of us who wrestle these unruly beasts, attempting to tame them into something complete, and not with a sense of unfinished business. I think we will all benefit immeasurably as listeners, as your skills improve.
I look forward to it with enthusiasm.
I agree with my esteemed and respected colleague Dave Connor about adding another sample library like VSL, but i do so more from the view of an addition to the fine sounds you have now, rather than a replacement.

And finally, as a concert writer who, as i said, enjoys writing in the dusty tonal artifact that is 19th and early 20th century music, I offer my respect and admiration for fine writing in an musical idiom that i can take or leave.
i remained interested throughout, and look forward to listening to more of your pieces.

Outstanding work, David.

My respects and regards,

Alex.

[dpc]

David,

I think you've done very well midi/sample-wise and not misused the process or failed in any way. Things that are well written always sound better regardless of the library. My point was that the baseline of the quality of sounds with go up to another level if you did nothing different in your approach but use better sounding samples. Even so, for the most part it sounded very good and is an excellent example of the virtues of GPO which is quite good especially since it is priced so far below other libraries. As Alex suggested you perhaps only need to augment your samples and simply replace some instruments that are not quite up to the task. Kontakt 2 contains a very good slice of VSL, is easy to use and not a ton of money. Or VSL Opus 1. Your music is too good and too close to containing not a single sonic drawback to not go an extra half mile or so.

Again my compliments on your skills and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing more of your wonderful work.

Best,

Dave

[etLux]

Good heavens, Alex -- thank you so much for taking so much time with this and for your thoughtfully rendered comments and astute insights.

Very certainly -- and I clearly acknowledge and recognize this: My technical abilities are most definitely lacking.

And while I likewise agree that there are many fine sample products out there -- I believe I will be continuing with GPO (and definitely GPOA when it is released). [More on that below in my response to our esteemd colleague Dave Connor.]

May I again note my appreciation, Alex, for your detailed and helpful input!

My best,

David.
www.DavidSosnowski.com

David, this is the first of your works I've listened to, and it's ensured i will listen to the others.
The orchestration first.
Clever, articulate, subtle, brash, individual, and most of all, bold.
I was impressed with the clever mix of instrument colours, and although I've been musically wandering around the 19th and early 20th century for my preference, i'm taken with the freshness of this in the way it was written.

It's all too easy to let something written so boldly degenerate into a mess, and i'm in admiration of your instinction for restraint when needed. Just enough without ruining the pace or tonal journey. The piano part is clever, quicksilver and cunning, without overwhelming other bright tonal colours. Your orchestrative 'touch' is excellent, and i didn't feel at any time that you were writing notes for the sake of it, or taking your musical 'eye' off the ball, a complaint that inflicts mediocrity on so much modern work these days that could be polished to a fine degree with some finesse and delicate control.
If there's one instrument that gets all the wrong press in music of this ilk, it's the piano, as writers tend to use it in nonsensical gap filling desperation, so i'll repeat myself.
Not here. A feature without overpowering.

The samples.

I will agree with you, and i wish no ill saying this, that the sample use is not at the same level as your writing yet. You've acknowledged this yourself, and at the same time provided a clue to others of us who wrestle these unruly beasts, attempting to tame them into something complete, and not with a sense of unfinished business. I think we will all benefit immeasurably as listeners, as your skills improve.
I look forward to it with enthusiasm.
I agree with my esteemed and respected colleague Dave Connor about adding another sample library like VSL, but i do so more from the view of an addition to the fine sounds you have now, rather than a replacement.

And finally, as a concert writer who, as i said, enjoys writing in the dusty tonal artifact that is 19th and early 20th century music, I offer my respect and admiration for fine writing in an musical idiom that i can take or leave.
i remained interested throughout, and look forward to listening to more of your pieces.

Outstanding work, David.

My respects and regards,

Alex.

[etLux]

Thank you for your further input, Dave!

I should make clear that I do understand your perspective and agree with it -- a good workman should use good tools.

But Dave, I am what is politely known as a "plodder"... one step at a time... for me, there is no other possible course: as I have little native talent in this area, my only saving grace is dogged, slow persistence.

In time, I hope, I will conquer more of the technology; but I can guarantee you it won't be quick... lol!

As my skills improve, I will surely look further.

Thank you again for the kindness of your comments, your suggestions, and your encouragement.

All my best,

David.
www.DavidSosnowski.com

David,

I think you've done very well midi/sample-wise and not misused the process or failed in any way. Things that are well written always sound better regardless of the library. My point was that the baseline of the quality of sounds with go up to another level if you did nothing different in your approach but use better sounding samples. Even so, for the most part it sounded very good and is an excellent example of the virtues of GPO which is quite good especially since it is priced so far below other libraries. As Alex suggested you perhaps only need to augment your samples and simply replace some instruments that are not quite up to the task. Kontakt 2 contains a very good slice of VSL, is easy to use and not a ton of money. Or VSL Opus 1. Your music is too good and too close to containing not a single sonic drawback to not go an extra half mile or so.

Again my compliments on your skills and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing more of your wonderful work.

Best,

Dave

[Hermitage59]

Good heavens, Alex -- thank you so much for taking so much time with this and for your thoughtfully rendered comments and astute insights.

Very certainly -- and I clearly acknowledge and recognize this: My technical abilities are most definitely lacking.

And while I likewise agree that there are many fine sample products out there -- I believe I will be continuing with GPO (and definitely GPOA when it is released).

May I again note my appreciation, Alex, for your detailed and helpful input!

My best,

David.
www.DavidSosnowski.com

You are most welcome David, and i can asssure you, you are not the only one challenged by the complexity of using samples!

regards,

Alex.

[etLux]

You are most welcome David, and i can asssure you, you are not the only one challenged by the complexity of using samples!

Indeed!

When I started this a mere year ago, I still had hair... lol!

[Hermitage59]

Indeed!

When I started this a mere year ago, I still had hair... lol!

That's from hanging around with maj7ths too long.... .........