[Classical] Perdition (MP3)

bvanoudtshoorn · July 16, 2008, 13:58:24

Him the Almighty Power/Hurl'd headlong . . . /To bottomless perdition, there to dwell -- John Milton

(Although it wasn't inspired by that quotation, it fits well with the track, in my opinion.)

This is an orchestral piece in loose ternary form (you could argue for a loose rondo form, too). There are lots of time signatures all mixed together, and often layered on top of each other. It's scored for a Romantic-sized string section, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, french horn, trumpet, timpani, tam tam, cymbals, snare, bass drum, and harp.

You can download it here (source).

Coverart:

Sam_Zen · July 17, 2008, 01:00:10

A bit too bombastic to my taste, much tam tam indeed.
But I enjoyed the part after ~6:00.

nads20489 · July 17, 2008, 04:12:56

I suppose this song is somewhat bombastic, but I like it. I actually attempted to write a bombastic orchestral song, but I didn't get anywhere with it. One reason might be that my orchestral instrument samples sound bad, or at least enough of them do to spoil the song.

Nothing major stood out to me to mention in terms of criticism. At 4:18, you might be able to make the transition smoother by adding a few more notes of the instrument from the previous section or draw the last note out and just have it fade while the new one comes in. The split second of silence broke the atmosphere you created with the song up to that point; nothing major, but its something you could change rather easily if you wanted.

bvanoudtshoorn, where do you get your inspiration for these epic-type constructions of melody?

bvanoudtshoorn · July 17, 2008, 09:53:58

You enjoyed the silence, Sam_Zen? It's only six minutes long.

Yeah, it is a tad bombastic; but I enjoy writing bombastic music.

Yes, I agree that the transition there is a weak point in the song. :/ I'll take a look at it when I get a chance, hopefully.

Quote from: "nads20489"bvanoudtshoorn, where do you get your inspiration for these epic-type constructions of melody?

Oh, I dunno!

They just come to me as I play piano or work on other parts of the piece. I'll be working on a loud section, and think of a quiet melody, or a quiet section and think of a loud section. That's probably why most of my orchestral work tends to follow a rather predictable quiet/loud pattern of alternation.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Sam_Zen · July 18, 2008, 01:05:53

QuoteYou enjoyed the silence, Sam_Zen? It's only six minutes long.

Right. I think the timer of my player went berserk, in fact I meant the moment, as called by nads20489, 4:18 and after.
So somewhere, it still has to do with more silence.

Nahkranoth · July 18, 2008, 08:26:23

Great track, Barryvan! It could fit easily into some Morrowind-like game or any other RPG with huge wilderness locations. For some reason while listening to this track I can think of nothing but wilderness LOL

Don't remember about transitions but it ended rather suddenly. I was expecting more:-)

mrvegas · July 18, 2008, 15:36:21

Great track. I liked the quiet strings at the end. Good sense of drama throughout and full-sounding orchestration.

bvanoudtshoorn · July 18, 2008, 16:36:47

@Sam_Zen: Yeah, I figured as much.

Thanks again for the feedback.

@Nahkranoth: You know, I've never actually played a Morrowind game, and I hardly ever play RPGs... But I understand exactly what you mean. And yeah, it does end quite suddenly, but that was intentional - I wanted to have a few "surprises", and leaving people wanting more is always good.

@mrvegas: Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you liked the quiet strings at the end - they were actually harder to write than I had expected, given their simplicity.