# A Pastoral Hymn, arranged for Orchestra



## mediumaevum (Mar 24, 2011)

Hi,

I've spent quite a lot of time writing a hymn and arranging it for orchestra (with solo instruments too).

I did use virtual instruments (VST) for this composition, but I did my very best to make the instruments sound as real as possible, pushing the instruments to their limits - in terms of realistic string sounds, especially for the solo instruments as these are the most difficult instruments to sound like real instruments.

I'd be very very grateful if I could get some feedback/comments/critique.





Here's how I did it:

For all the instruments, including the solo instruments, ie. violins, I used the MIDI-CC 1 & 11 (Dynamics/Expression) settings (included in most VST's).

I drew individual curves - by hand - for each and every note so that each individual note gets treated in their own unique way, creating - at times - more expressive ways of playing the bowed instruments. It's quite time-consuming, but I think it pays off in terms of better sound. I also combined with different patches of the same instrument, ie. dynamics and sustain patches, where I can take full control of the dynamics and expression of each note, though such patches are really time-consuming to get right so I only used them at specific moments in this piece.

I also adjusted the notes by manual humanization so that each note has importance and doesn't sound "MIDI".

Of course, all virtual instruments have their limitations compared to a real orchestra, but I'd like to know what you think of the dynamics in this piece as well as the overall composition and arrangement.

Thank you in advance.


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