# Sinfonia Concertante



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I haven't uploaded any new music to my Soundcloud account for around two years, so here's a new one.

I am composing a little Sinfonia Concertante for five guitars and orchestra (2(/picc).2.2(/bcl).1-2.0.0.0-3perc-Celesta-5 guitars-strings(min. 8/6/4/4/2)) for a performance by my school in September next year. The third movement (scherzo) is something I completed last month from sketches to finished orchestration on the Sibelius software program thingy and I'm currently working on sketches for the fourth movement (adagio) and orchestrations for the second movement (allegro moderato).

My whole idea for the piece is something of a symphony and something of a concerto. I want to feature the five guitarists (who will need amplification) as soloists, an ensemble in their own right and integrated into the orchestral textures rather than the virtuoso solo parts one would expect in a concerto.

The third movement is a scherzo and my intention was to take the word "scherzo" and look at its original meaning ("joke"). So for this movement I've somewhat jokingly parodied two very famous pieces of classical guitar repertoire, see if you can pick them. 

Please give feedback and I'll update this thread and my Soundcloud with more movements as they are finished! Thank you so much.


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## aleazk

I will wait until you post the full piece. What's that percussive effect at 0:17?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

aleazk said:


> I will wait until you post the full piece. What's that percussive effect at 0:17?











The playback system is attempting guitars rapidly strumming open strings, bongos and string tremolos.


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## Vasks

I like the piece but it sure doesn't sound like my Sibelius. My Sibelius 6...I know, I know I need Sibelius 7...has much better instrumental sounds. Your tacky sounds do an injustice to your piece.


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## aleazk

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> View attachment 58244
> 
> 
> The playback system is attempting guitars rapidly strumming open strings, bongos and string tremolos.


Haha, it sounded so weird with that playback that I was curious to know what it actually was.

Anyway, I liked it. As usual, you deliver enough and well placed orchestral color and imaginative developments to hold the attention and make the piece engaging. I wait for the full piece.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Vasks said:


> I like the piece but it sure doesn't sound like my Sibelius. My Sibelius 6...I know, I know I need Sibelius 7...has much better instrumental sounds. Your tacky sounds do an injustice to your piece.


7 _does_ have better instrumental sounds if you have about 40GB of space, otherwise it switches to "general midi basic" which is what you're hearing here....


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

aleazk said:


> Haha, it sounded so weird with that playback that I was curious to know what it actually was.
> 
> Anyway, I liked it. As usual, you deliver enough and well placed orchestral color and imaginative developments to hold the attention and make the piece engaging. I wait for the full piece.


Thank you. 
Working on the second movement's orchestrations, I've been putting a lot more attention to the way I write for wind instruments. My wind writing in this movement I actually think is a bit dull and the orchestration overall is string heavy. But I suppose it comes out well anyway.


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## aleazk

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Thank you.
> Working on the second movement's orchestrations, I've been putting a lot more attention to the way I write for wind instruments. My wind writing in this movement I actually think is a bit dull and the orchestration overall is string heavy. But I suppose it comes out well anyway.


Yes, what caught my attention was not particularly the orchestration as a whole or in its "intricacies and technical mastery", but the fact that somehow some of the color effects worked for me and I found them well placed. I think you have a good ear for that, and I guess that's why "it comes out well anyway", as you say. I was just giving a "general ok" to your timbral intuition.

I guess that as you progress in your technique, studies and practice, you will improve those aspects you mention.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

One thing I do like about this movement is its sense of "flow" and how one section or idea doesn't drag on for ages before a sudden change.....in the second movement I've been working on how to make alterations between the guitar ensemble sections and the full orchestra sections not end up sounding too "choppy."


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Hey I think the second movement may very well be in some kind of slightly altered sonata form....


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## aleazk

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> One thing I do like about this movement is its sense of "flow" and how one section or idea doesn't drag on for ages before a sudden change.....


Haha, are you accusing composers of doing that more often than not?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

The second movement. It's loosely in sonata form, the main rule I broke was having the two subjects in different keys, I keep them centred somewhere in the C minor vicinity (but with chords which function slightly differently to standard tonality). The reason for this being that harmony is something I was exploring in this movement, particularly the effect that different types of harmony can have. You'll hear triadic harmony, polychords, cluster chords, quartal harmony and different treatments of dissonance. The concept of varying levels of perceived relative "tension" (based on the amount of dissonances used in any given chord/harmonic implication) has been used to structure the piece and is somewhat based on/inspired by the classical sonata form model.

I accidentally titled this as the third movement on the Soundcloud page, whoops, its meant to be *movement II.*


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## tdc

Nice pieces, I enjoyed them! That said I tend to agree the actual sounds generated by the software you are using don't really do these works justice. I also think in the Scherzo there is a little too much dynamic range between the loud and soft parts of the piece.



ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I've somewhat jokingly parodied two very famous pieces of classical guitar repertoire, see if you can pick them.


Definitely heard the _Concierto de Aranjuez_ quote in there, is the other one Albeniz _Asturias_?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Correct, tdc!

I've got the first movement finished and I'm working on the last movement at the moment, I will update them when I have time. Or alternatively I will get a recording of the live performance and upload that in its entirety later in the year.


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