A DELECTATION OF WOOLGATHERING - Symphony Orchestra (Sosnowski)

[DDW]

Hi David,

This is my first opportunity, I believe, to respond to one of your own listening posts since my own involvement in the forum began in earnest several months ago. It's an honor to finally have the chance to do so.

And a pleasure it is, indeed, to be able to comment on such a well-crafted and thought-provoking piece. The rhythmic and melodic interplay between the soloists occurring throughout was a definite listening highlight for me (and I always love strategically-placed lush string section major seventh chords, however brief -- I dug 'em!). Your composing chops -- imagination, practicality, and execution -- are without question top-notch. I'll be listening to this several more times throughout this evening as I do some of my own work.

Delectation is delectable!

Danny

[Garritan]

David,

Speaking of www.dictionary.com, one of the definitions of delectation is "a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction". There certainly is a feeling of extreme satisfaction listening to this latest work of yours.

First technically, this is superb. The writing is first-rate as is usual from you. You have a Midas touch when it comes to using Finale. Your realizations directly from the Finale score always amaze me and rival the sequenced and tweaked renderings. (What is your secret? Pray tell?)

And the orchestral colors you use are brilliant and varied like the fall foliage beginning to burst this time of year in New England.

I am in awe of you, my friend, not only as a composer but also as a person. The integrity and care you continually show on this forum reflects in your music and all you do. You regularly keep giving of yourself and sharing your unique gifts. You inspire confidence, patiently helping many individuals (I hear privately from a number of people) and instructing and advising. People come away better from knowing you. From this vantage point it doesn't seem there's much to regret. Rather there seems to be much to celebrate in the people you have helped and encouraged and in the music you bring to the world. The flavor of that is sweet indeed.

Delectably yours,

Gary

PS: Good thing you made it perfectly clear that your delectation concerned woolgathering meant pondering many things rather than just focusing on those wooly friends.

[etLux]

I really like how you interweave so many instruments in the melodic structure and each one is as clear as if one were sitting in an orchestral hall and able to focus on each and every instrument at will. BRAVO! You have definitely gathered more than wool in this piece .

Oh, did I forget to mention that I really liked this piece?

Richard, my friend, you have made my day with your generous
comments about the clarity. Both in the writing and in the rendering,
I spend endless hours working to achieve that.

Thanks, Richard!

My best,


David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[etLux]

Terrific work, David!

You have a very distinct style.

Jeff, that's one of the kindest things you can say to a
writer. Thank you.

I'm not sure if it's the rendering or your unique compositional skills, your work seems to embody so much space.

If you look at the score, you'll see a considerable amount
of "white space". That's no guarantee of creating a sense
of openness and transparency; but it's definitely contributory.
(Copland knew this. That's who I stole the idea from... lol.)

Space is also created with contrasts in density of texture.
That is, one can define a larger realm by moving from very
sparse or even solo textures to lush, dense textures than
one can with more modestly contrasting densities.

And then there's line... Line is what you draw the walls on
the room with. Longer, flowing lines that move across range
create far broader spaces than short, cropped, narrow motifs.

I admire the way the voices just hang there... then merge together. A subtle dance (or conflict) between isolation and uniform.

The basis of all harmony is conflict and resolution. It's the
singlemost fundamental principle. You can probably toss
every harmony book, traditional or modern, based on that
single thought.

Though line trumps chord the way I write, it remains equally
true.

Outstanding work!.. as usual

Bravo!

~Jeff

Jeff, thank you for your abundantly kind comments -- and
also for giving me an excuse to muse about some theoretical
points!

All my best,

David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[etLux]

David,
of course your style, this is very cool!

As I listened, I found myself thinking... what's coming up next?
Dan

Thanks for listening, my friend.

Dan, just between you and me? Quiet, now, no telling;
I don't want this to get around -- but: Half the time,
I don't know what's coming next, either... lol.

All my best,


David.
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[etLux]

I like it a lot and thought to post here to say that.

Very well made (compositionally as well as orchetsrationally).

The rendering also is rather realistic, however I am little dissapointed by the trumpet (which is featured a lot...) and also the ammount of reverb.

I dont' knwo if you were looking for any feedback, but that's my feedback. If not I do appoligise and hope that I have not offended you.

It is a wonderful work and I wish that I could hear it live from a real orchestra...

Hello Nikolas,

Thank you for such fine and generous comments.

And the feedback is of much value to me!

First, may I ask, Nikolas, on the reverb -- what troubles you about
this? This is very important to me. It is common knowledge around
the forum that my hearing is not the greatest; so comments in this
regard are of tremendous help to me. Too much reverb? Too little
reverb? Or some element of the reverb?

On the trumpet, if you take a look at the score, you will note that
it is scored very low in terms of dynamics -- basically, a gentle
piece. In that regard, the purer sound typical of the trumpet in
softer dynamic ranges was what I wanted, here... not the brash,
heroic sound that unjustly stereotypes the instrument.

However, I admit I would have preferred the more harmonically
rich JABB trumpet in some places. Alas, a defect in Finale 2007
does not presently allow me to use the JABB trumpet.

Thank you again for your comments, Nikolas; and thank you in
advance for any help you can give me in regard to the reverb.

My best,

David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[wrayer]

Nice piece. I love the transparency of the music, the delicate and tantilizing teases of tonality interspersed with non-tonal sections. I am reminded of Debussy often as I listen. The way he teased the harmony by extending the harmonic structure to its heights. Nicely done (as usual). This piece definitely needs a live performance. Since I am a trumpet player I watched the trumpet part and 'eek' you take it up to a high Eb - yes I know that is well within the range of a classical performer, but there very few who can also give it the delicateness required not to overpower the musical line. Definitely playable, but by a accomplished player. I also enjoyed the string writing, since I too, play violin, I was intrigued at the effects you created to keep the feeling of delicate interweaving. A truly enjoyable 'wool-blend' here, Mr. Sosnowski.

[valhalx]

David,
Another masterful work, indeed. Your musings on autumn matters is clearly evident in the ample lines and colors. As in your previous works, detail abounds and one is compelled to listen numerous times to take it all in. Your predeliction for line over harmony clearly shows and provides the listener with an elegant structure to ponder. BRAVO, my friend. A superb work!
Bill

[rpearl]

David,

You've done more than gather wool - you've knitted whole cloth! It's a lovely fabric, in design and content. I really like the way it moves from the autumnal/elegaic to the more atomized/scurrying (sp?) sections; the orchestration is indeed masterful in this regard. The only thing that doesn't work for me are the downward glisses - they are very hard to realize in a computer generated score (at least they are for me, so I gave up on 'em...).
So, the only solution is a live performance. Win the lottery, hire your own resident orchestra,record it, and voila! If only it were that simple. This really does deserve to be in the hands of players - but then that's been true of everything of yours I have heard.

All the best,

Ron

[etLux]

Ah, home at last - time to pour a glass of claret and enjoy some wonderful music!

David, this is a great listen. There's so much going on here to keep the attention without being cluttered or over busy. I love the sense of transparency and clarity - and the white space that shows up in the score! Gorgeous flute writing (especially around bar 79) and I like the way the strings support rather than dominate.

Regards, Graham

Wow, such endurance, back for another listen! Seriously,
thank you, Graham, for taking so much time with this little
piece.

I appreciate especially the comments on clarity and trans-
parency. (I like white space, by the way -- sometimes less
really is more.) That's something I work very hard to achieve.

My best,

David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.