Reve de l'Eua-Original Composition

[npedraza]

Hello everyone, this is a piece that I wrote originally for piano but have arranged for harp, string quartet, flute and clarinet. I have submitted it to a high school composition competition and I would very much appreciate it if you could lend me your ears. Constructive criticism is welcomed as I want to learn and improve as much as I can.

[ajlongspiano]

Brilliant work Nick. Guys come on! He's looking for feedback. Lets get some comments going here.

[ajlongspiano]

bump

[awesom_o]

I would advise you to hone your skills on miniatures, without the use of two things which I consider to be artistically detrimental: midi playback and copy/paste function.

7 minutes is a long time for a young composer. 7 instruments is quite a large ensemble also. Writing well for large ensemble takes an experienced composer, or a genius like Mendelssohn. I don't think that this particular combination of instruments is a strong one. I would like to hear your original version for piano solo!

Work on smaller pieces in order to develop your understanding of structure and the depth of your style.
Study harmony and counterpoint thoroughly! Try to write pieces that are short, but emotionally powerful, and structurally sound. 

You show potential here. Best of luck in the competition, and keep writing!

[npedraza]

I appreciate the feedback. I'm a largely self-taught musician. The only formal instruction I've had is in trumpet. I'll see if I can find a way to record the solo piano and I would like to try and get some formal studies done in counterpoint and the like. But thanks for listening!

[cbreemer]

It's a likeable piece with some interesting harmonies. A bit monochrome though, too little thematic variety for its length. I think the piece would be better without the overlong harp solos (I guess these are the remnants of your original piano writing?) and by pruning some of the repetitions. A contrasting idea would have been nice, if you really want your piece to be that long. If not, make it shorter. Less is often more ! Perhaps replacing harp by piano would make it more interesting.
Should the title be Reve de l'Eua or did you mean Reve de l'Eau ?

[npedraza]

I agree with you about the harp solos. I feel like the pace is broken a bit with the harp. I just wasn't quite sure what else to add, and I ran out of time. I think I will try to rework some things though and maybe I can squeeze some more thematic material out of it. Perhaps this is meant to be a piece for solo piano and nothing more.