201406 Orchestration Challenge Evaluations

8/12/2019 201406 Orchestration Challenge Evaluations

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INTRODUCTION

This PDF compiles all entries received for the Orchestration Online June Orchestration Challenge. The work chosen for

transcription was the rst 15 bars of Reets dans leau, from the rst book of Claude Debussys Images for piano. An orchestra

of the size and instrumentation of that used in the composers masterpiece La mer was allowed. The sole restriction placed

on the challenge was not to score the right hand of the rst eight bars onto the harps. For more details, please refer to the

original poston the Orchestration Online ofcial website.

The timeframe for this challenge was extended by a full month, to allow orchestrators to prepare their entries, then further

extended so that I could subject each score to more extended analysis and commentary. Scores and commentary have been

collected here for perusal by orchestrators, both professional and student.

The collected scores display a wide variety of inspiration, craft, and experience. Some orchestrators submitted scores that

were ready to be performed, or only required a touch of cleanup. Others were still working out ideas, and of course there were

some for whom this might be only their 2nd or 3rd attempt at scoring.

Nevertheless all scores showed a high level of commitment, and all are worthy of study. This is one reason why these scores

havent been ranked. It is not for me to say who might be the more accomplished orchestrator. It is for the reader to decide.Therefore, all scores have been catalogued in the alphabetical order of the orchestrators rst names.

Here is a recommended strategy for reading through this collection. First, you will notice that many scores may resemble one

another in approach, and many of these may be from orchestrators with a lesser to a medium level of experience. Read the

commentaries Ive supplied before each score, comparing some of the advice, and look for those areas which have been

pointed out in the music itself. Also notice that some advice might apply to more than one score, whether its pointed out or

not. After a while, you may notice that stepping beyond these more general approaches tends to indicate a more experienced

orchestrator. Nevertheless, whether the differences between scores are minor or far-reaching, all are instructive.

Please note that the rights of performance and publication of each score remains that of its arranger, and that this compilation

is intended for study purposes only.

Thomas Goss

1 August 2014

Wellington, New Zealand
http://orchestrationonline.com/2014junechallengehttp://orchestrationonline.com/2014junechallenge


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Scoring Debussys Reets dans leau

by Thomas Goss

My main goal in transcribing Debussys opening was not necessarily to capture the exact nuances of the original score, but

rather to dig as deep as I could into the meanings that he was trying to convey. Of course, at a distance of more than a century

this is all subjective, but in pursuing my interpretation, I might have a better chance of opening the door for the listener to adeeper understanding of the music.

The rst question, therefore, is to ask what are the most important elements in these rst 15 bars? The answer for me was:

the mood and energy. The opening 8 bars is a picture of tranquillity - a reection both mental and visual. Debussy is thinking

about water, or remembering the impression which it conveyed to him. This is followed by a surge of energy from bar 9, which

relaxes after a couple of pushes, then settles uncertainly toward the end of the excerpt.

The plan, then, was to orchestrate around these arcs. The choice of instruments and manner of their interaction would all have

to underline the emotional development conceived by Debussy, the actual notation merely an outline for those parameters

than an end in itself.

This way of thinking simplies the opening 8 bars somewhat. There are essentially only three musical ideas here: the pedal

bass of a D 5th (note that I transposed the score into D from D-at, for a more resonant, natural string sound); the centrally-

placed melody; and the arching chordal phrase above. How can these elements be realized orchestrally, maintaing the mood

of absolute calm in motion?

Firstly, the consideration of the chordal phrase. To be completely practical, theres only one section of instruments that can

owingly maintain a soft, subtle dynamic arc throughout their wide range, and thats the strings. As the score-reader will note,

these were divided in two per instrumental group from the violins to the violas - a common enough strategy for Debussy andhis contemporaries. The primary players of each desk were asked to play the chordal gesture, with just a touch of warmth in

the middle of each 2-bar arc.

Harp I was scored to support the phrase in broken octaves, giving just the touch of pluck to each chord. This is part of the

process of illusory scoring - making the listener think theyve heard more than is really there.

The pedal D 5ths were scored to the lower strings, and then adorned by a two-octave downward roll with harp II. Just a touch

of percussion helped to color and punctuate the tone: timpani on a D and alternating tam-tam and cymbal. This carries over

the essence of piano pedal and sustain; but rather than attempt to emulate the piano sound, Im imposing its characteristics

into a different timbre.

The treatment of the melody is what took the most consideration. Solo horn proved not to be enough - what was needed was a

warm center, that supported both the arching phrases and the mood. The solution was to double the horn with the secondary

violin 1 players bowing sul tasto, and to harmonize the melody below with the secondary violin 2 players and violas playing


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sul tasto tremolo. That kept the rst 4 bars from turning into a soaring horn solo, as the last thing the mood needed was to get

pulled outside of itself.

For the repeat of the melody in bars 5-8, I scored an echoing clarinet solo, harmonized by bassoons marked far down

dynamically, and supported by trilling and tremolo secondary string players. I felt this maintained the level of placidity, while

introducing a tiny touch of uncertainty, to be expanded upon in bar 9.

So much for the opening. For interpreting the mood of the next phrase, bars 9-12, I felt that contrasts were key. There had to

be a radically different texture from the one in bars 1-8, that conveyed the sense of increasing energy, to be checked by yet a

third textural approach from the 16th-note pickup to bar 12. Yet it had to feel natural, not forced.

My answer was to score the rising parallel 7ths to bassoon I and clarinets, which when subordinate to a higher melody, and

played softer an octave lower, have a quite different feel to that in bars 5-8. The top melody was covered by the oboe in its

most controlled register, right in the middle of the staff. This very woody, reedy color was tempered lightly by secondary violin

I players doubling the oboe, and pizz basses tracking bassoons at the octave. Notice - this combined texture didnt require

a contrabassoon, tuba, or bass trombone to work. Taming that low growl down to a mere pluck on the basses allows the

more central timbres of the winds to speak with more lightness and clarity. To underline the tension and borrow some of the

resonance of pianos sustain pedal, tremolo octaves in the second violins were scored in support.

That left the textural lexicon wide open for the very simple and effective sound of strings on the answering harmonic gesture

at the pickup to bar 12. At that point, the very clear and warm sound would provide the relief of the mood of tension built up

before it, and the contrast would be clearly demarcated.

The cascading ligree over the top of the same passage was sauce for the goose. The scoring strategy there seemed obvious,

and indeed nearly every entrant scored as I did: harp, with some support by utes and piccolo. However, I was disappointed

by an almost complete lack of antique cymbals, Debussys instrument of choice for high tinkling notes. All the same, pleasenote the manner in which these instruments doubled or complemented each other...

Harp, of course, played the passage note-for-note transcribed from piano. I doubled this with tremolo primary violin 1 high

above, marked far down from the harp. But note the difference between the two in bar 12 - the harp drops down through

octaves on B, where the violins drop through Bs and F#s. This further interacts with harp II playing harmonics on a C# 4th,

then enharmonically on a D-at 4th, so the resonance of the previous tones can linger instead of cutting off.

Notice also how sparingly the antique cymbals were scored- just a touch of color high above, 2-3 notes at most, and only one

in bar 12. The complementary resonance contributes to the overtones of the other descending instruments so aptly that little

else is needed. One last little touch - the utes doubling harp and violins on just a few introductory notes, held over slightly for

a touch of sustain. Once again, the pianos character of delivery has been reinterpreted to a different timbral scope.


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I felt the remaining bars became mostly a study in dove-tailing phrases and overlapping textures. As Ive mentioned elsewhere,

Im not thoroughly satised with some of my choices here, and with no disrespect to my colleagues, I didnt nd the perfect

solution anywhere amongst our entrants, despite a high level of effort from all. Count that down to my pickiness and search for

perfection rather than anything lacking from anyone. But what I scored at least does the job, as did many others. One section

of interest was bar 15, in which I left those D 2nds out of the melodic line and placed them in the harps, where theyd serve as

a syncopation. Much more effective in my view.

Please have a look over my score, comparing the sections Ive discussed above. Theres an audio track of a mockup made

with Sibelius 7.5 sounds in the blog post for the evaluations of this challenge. [please link] Then move on through our entrants,

and consider the choices they made, the motives they followed, and evaluate for yourself how well you feel the job was done

by any or all of us.


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{{

2014 TIRITIRI MATANGI MUSIC (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved

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Alex Kindel

An excellent score, like some others just about ready to put out on stands. Intriguing limitations of timbres, like no violins,

violas, oboes, trombones, or tuba, and only one horn.

I like the sensitive, careful scoring of brass and strings. The cellos would sound especially good from bar 9 if they were solo

div. in three - very much like La Mer. Also, putting a stopped horn at the root of a chord with muted trumpets is going to sound

elegantly wicked at bars 12-13.

A few cautions. Probably clarinet 1 will get a bit too penetrating up there on an E in bars 4 and 8. The Ds in bars 2 and 6 will

be hard enough to manage at p, but E6 from a leap of a 6th will hit a bit hard instead of owing up.

Matching utes and clarinets in harmony will give you a very square-tone type of timbre up there. It works great, but wears

away at the ear quickly. Some kind of contrast will be wanting, which is why maybe it might be better to have a wider range of

tonal colors with the winds and strings that were omitted.

Neat solution to the slurring of repeated notes in bar 14. Many other entrants muffed this. But I think youd want to nesse that

bit a little, so the bowing matches in both upper cello parts. The overlap of bowings may not be as natural and imperceptibleas this score seems to want.


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Flute I

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Clarinet II in B

Bassoon

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Reflets dans l'eau

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Alexandre Lunardelli

Okay, so you use a wind-based approach for the opening chordal passage, varying the start of the phrase between utes and

clarinets in bar 1 and horns in bar 5. The horns are more secure, but will dominate the opening of the phrase unless carefully

balanced by the conductor. It might even be better to mark them pp. But then you have the problem that the horns are also

used for the end of the melodic gure in bars 3-4 and 7-8. So the lack of differentiation in timbre may confuse listeners as to

function.

Lets look back at the wind-based approach again. Some extra marking might be needed, like delicatissimo, to make sure

that the parts are played sensitively. Its a great idea, but inherently problematic as each group within the winds will have to

adjust the quality of their tone to the preceding group, and the very rst group is extremely low utes against clarinets in the

sweet spot of their chalumeau register.

The projection of the clarinets may cancel out the utes, EVEN IF they reduce their dynamic level, especially in complex

voicings. Oddly, bassoons are a better mix in that register with lower utes, because of some similarities in overtones working

together rather than against each other.

The other difculty is that even though in other places the wind voicings are intriguing, the use of the winds overall may cancelout the signicance of individual wind solos carrying the main melody. A conductor would probably have you go back through

this and mark up all the solos, and mark them AS solos, like I solo etc.

It might be safer to differentiate the winds in different ways, such as:

use of mutes (rare) on the accompanying winds, no mutes on melody winds

using different winds in different ways, i.e. clarinets and utes on the chords, double-reeds on the melody

using one or two specic wind instruments of a highly characteristic timbre to carry the melody (like english horn)

In general, I like the strings on the rst page. Nice effects and counter-rhythms here and there. The harmonics in the harp

would need to be marked up considerably to be audible, like at least mf. Nice gliss, though.

The second page is ne for the most part, but a few things to consider: rst, do you need contrabassoon doubling the basses?

Even if played softly, they will add weight to the bottom end, which is already heavier because of octave doubling. Also, you

have utes and clarinets doubling the harmonised melody at bar 14 in octaves. Do you want that much power in the context

of the surrounding music?

Finally, the violins would need to be slurred the same as the winds in the same bar. Even if you intended the phrasing to be

smoother, the repeated notes would still mean an interruption in bowing.


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19/195

Andrew Graham

First, lets look at the opening: you have strings covering the chordal passage, well and good. Harps and glock play the melody

over the cor anglais and oboe. Interestingly, you have clarinets harmonising over and under the oboe in bars 3-4/7-8. Interesting

idea. You should hear that live, and you will see what the reality is: an opening of the audiences ear as the overtones switch

positions. Cool effect if thats what you intended.

The tricky part is a doubling of cellos+bassoons+trombones on the low D 5th. That is a thick thick tone, as all players are at

the same dynamic marking. A softer tone might be cellos p, bassoons pp, trombones ppp - but then you dont really need the

trombones. Probably bassoons would be enough to double in this case.

I like the stacking horns, though. Neat idea. All very playable and supportive of the strings, in a more controllable register than

some other entries using horn in this section.

The following passage for all winds and harp will have a piquant tone when live: intonation will be tricky, but not impossible.

Some overtones will ght a little over the top, others may ring out a bit.

Not a whole lot to say about the last page, except dont worry about mallet choice here for timps. Theyll come up with the righttone, I think - otherwise, youre better off with a cello or double bass tremolo.

But the very last detail is worth discussing: all the strings playing sul tasto, but the violins playing sul ponticello. That will be one

strange sound, warm but nebulous below but glassy on top. The timbral difference may divide the sense of a unied harmony

here in ways you dont expect. Still an interesting touch, and it would be cool to try out. I myself would mix things the other way:

putting sul pont. on the bottom, then arranging the sul tasto tones above it in on notes that sat on the overtones.

Oh, almost forgot to add - the slurring in the strings in bar 14 is really strange. You have one slur covering three notes, two of

which are the same and cannot be played under one slur unless its a portato or slurred staccato. As Ive mentioned in other

entries, these notes should be slurred in pairs, and not have a slur mark covering repeated notes.

Reflet dans l'eau

Debussy

2 Flutes (Piccolo)2 Oboes (Cor Anglais)2 Clarinets in A3 Bassoons (contrabasson)4 Horns2 Tenor TrombonesTubaTimpaniPercussion: Triangle, GlockenspielHarp IHarp IIViolin I

Violin IIViolaCelloContra Bass


20/195

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23/195

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24/195

Aubrey Mills

One thing I want to caution you on: some winds have better abilities to fade away to nothingness, and more convincing pp than

others. For instance, at bars 13 and 15, you have some nicely voiced brass and wind chords. In practice, what youll nd here

is that while the horn, ute, and clarinet can fade all the way down to nothing, the trombone and especially bassoon will still be

sounding. This is one of the reasons why conductors substitute bass clarinet in the rst movement of the Tchaik 6.

Also, in bar 9, you have the oboe starting on A6 at pp. This is a beast of a note to play, and incredibly hard to get to speak at

pp. Most likely, youd hear a squeak. Dont worry about dropping it an octave, as the overtones on double-reed instruments

infer higher partials.

What I like about your rst page is its variety of elements. Instead of repeating the same bits, you assign them variously around

the orchestra. Good for you - that is classic early-20th-century French technique. You forgot to assign dynamic markings to the

harps and percussion. In Sibelius, that means what youre hearing is an mf dynamic. But bass drum and tam-tam should be

at p or pp. Two things about that page: rst, double-bass pizz will not last 4 beats at mm=88. Maybe 2.5 or 3. Also, the horns

at mp will cover the harp part unless the balance is better indicated.

Two last things to think about. On the second page or system rather, you show slurs and ties in your double bass part. Is thatstill pizzicato? Because if it is, you should take all that out. Furthermore, the basses are playing the A7 interval an octave lower

than indicated in the original score. That will be problematic-sounding. The cellos would do this better an octave higher.

The other issue is the harp part at bar 14. I cant read what that means. The lower voice should have been dropped here into

the bass staff. If you were to run the harp pedaling plugin, you might nd that the pedal changes here are nearly impossible to

negotiate. So watch out about giving intensely chromatic or harmonically ambiguous music to the harps. When you have two

harps, then split such sections across the harps according to tuning.

In the future, you should decide very carefully who is playing which part in the winds and brass, what is divisi in the strings, and

mark them completely throughout the score, even if this is just an exercise. For example, bars 12-13 in the utes are a simple

cut-and-paste. you as arranger have to assign the parts more clearly, with a2 or with a two-voice layout.


25/195


26/195


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29/195

Brian Monroney

Some great ideas in this score, with a few danger spots. First the risks, then the rewards.

I like the idea of the double reeds inside the single reed harmonies: cor anglais and oboe taking the middle voice. Great idea.

It will be a little tricky to tune, but not too weird for pro players.

3rd horn in bars 3 and 7 may upset the ne balance of the wind parts, at least in terms of extreme delicacy of tone. But I like

how you alternate contrabassoon and tuba.

No marking on the rst few notes of bassoon, probably you mean 1. More than this would be too buzzy.

Pianissimo on a clarinet C6 and D6 is a stretch, especially coming after a leap of a 4th or 5th in the opening bars. Make the

utes do their part for king and country, thats their job to play soft up there.

I have my doubts about extreme high oboe notes like F6 being under control, especially after a leap of a 6th in bar 8. The leap

upward from F5 to D6 in bar 4 is tricky enough.

Slurs in string parts bars 5-8 are better broken into shorter groups of notes, rather than long sweeping phrases. Tell the string

players how you want them to bow, because these long slurs convey nothing other than legato, which you could have put in

as a text marking.

Cool bits: call-and-response trombones and trumpets in the rst 8 bars; lower double-reeds in bar 12 answered by brass in

bar 13; how you keep it simple going into the end.

Lets discuss the voicing of the brass in bar 13: tuba+3 horns+trumpet will give you a round sound with a tight high end. The

player wont need any markings on how to blend - they should get it right away, especially at pp.

Bar 14, you need to not slur repeated notes unless they are marked with articulations. Only in piano, mallets, and harp does

this work.

Nice score, youd better keep submitting entries because this was a nice piece of work.


30/195

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets in A

3 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Triangle

Bass Drum

Tam-tam

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass


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31/195


32/195

Byron Luce

Very cool score. Needs a bit of cleaning up, but a lot of it works pretty good. There were some errors here that a lot of other

entrants made, so lets knock those down rst.

There were long slurs covering notes and rests. This means nothing to a wind player, who mostly wants to see where you want

them to breathe. Slur smaller groups of notes, and never over a rest. Also, very high clarinet 1 part to be playing a convincing

pp. Finally - 90% of entrants got this wrong - you shouldnt slur over repeated notes as in bar 14. Those notes should be paired,

or have articulation marks like portato or slurred staccato.

Now lets talk orchestration. Some great ideas here, some of which are characteristic of impressionist-era scoring. A good

example is that bite by horns and trombones in bar 4, punctuating the string chords above. By the way, you need to add

tremolo slashes with the beams page of the Sibelius keypad instead of just writing tremolo in text. By the time the player gets

to the word trem. with their eyes, they will have already played the notes.

Bar 9 is pretty heavily layered for Debussyan orchestration. Youll get a thick, oozy tone there with all those lower double-reeds

merging with the lower brass. Even with everyone at pp, the sound is going to be pretty damn heavy. The breaking point comes

with the sfz at bar 12, which may well swamp the quadruple unison of clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, and violin 2. The endingsnot bad, though.

Anyway, please enter the challenge again! This was a great read, and Im interested to see how youll take on the next few.


33/195


34/195


35/195

Christopher Paul

Okay, so rst off, this score is very thought-provoking. You do some things here that really break with the source in very

compelling ways. On the other hand, there are some simple but necessary tasks that you need to sort as a matter of course if

youre an orchestrator. Lets cover those rst.

The immediate impression I get from the score is lack of slurs, making the notes all seem detach. Also, none of the wind or

brass parts are marked for how many are playing on a part (1, a2, a3, a3, etc.), so its hard for the score-reader to absorb

what kind of balance or texture youre intending.

But now lets discuss the big differences here between this entry and most others. The opening chordal phrase doesnt swoop

over three octaves, but essentially pulses in place, maybe rising up an octave at most. That is a very cool variation on the

original, and I especially like the horns/oboes/utes in harmony, with just a tiny bit of support from violins and violas at the start.

I have to say, though, that the treatment of the second iteration isnt quite as strong. I can see that you wanted to state the

melody with oboes, cor anglais, and trombone now - a nice color. But the utes and clarinets in unison puts too much support

on the upper line of the harmony. Just the clarinet would sufce, or maybe two in harmony.

One last comment about the rst page. You use the contrabassoon as the root of the low D 5th. Actually, you might get a

cleaner, clearer sound with just 2nd bassoon on the root. That low D is well within the range, and easy to play by bassoon.

Contrabassoon would be more appropriate for playing an octave below whatever root might be used, rather than tuning 5ths

with the bassoons.

The second page is pretty good, though it seems to lose a bit of focus on the last 2-3 bars. Maybe thats just the lack of slurs.

But I really like the handling of the cascading gure in bar 12. Piccolo stays in its sweet spot, while bassoon, cor anglais,

bassoon, and french horn ripple downwards slightly, in keeping with the previous arrangement style. Nice.

So anyway, next time, maybe a little clearer on some of your intentions, but keep at it, because this was a really nice effort.


36/195

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets in A

3 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass


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37/195

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38/195

Dallas Crane

Dallas breaks the mold here, as he says with a Gil Evans-type ensemble. Not sure if the string parts were intended to be solo

or section. Ill assume one instrument per staff. Also, curious why vibes wouldnt have worked as well as piano, so we could

escape completely from the source instrument. But its still a great take on it, and very fun to score-read.

Cool effect of pizz bass kicking the attack of the bass clarinet. There will be some complementary overtones at work here,

lling up the middle register, but still that low tone will stand out a bit. p might be a better dynamic for the b.c.

Alto sax takes the melody. This will also stand out quite a bit from the strings. Trombone could have also worked here. The

responses are missing from bars 3-4 and 7-8. Those would have sounded cool on muted brass.

Nice idea to have gradually strengthening strings. I see how youre setting up the most Gil Evans-ish passage of all, bars 9-12.

Of course that would work well with brass trio, sax and b.c.

Good on you for slurring bar 14 correctly. Seeing the last bar, I feel again that vibes might have been more convincing than

piano, but its still a cool arrangement. You should throw a few guys together and try it out!


39/195

Copyright 2014, Dallas Crane Music.

Flute

Bass Clarinet

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Alto Saxophone

Trumpet in B

Trombone

Tuba

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Double Bass

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40/195

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41/195


42/195

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43/195

Daniel OFlaherty

Some fun stuff in this score, and a lot to talk about. First, the picky stuff...

Theres an unravelled, unnished feeling to some of the notation, especially the slurs. The two most common bugaboos of this

challenge are in evidence - long slurs covering passages including rests instead of being divided into smaller groups for bowing

and breathing - also the very familiar problems with Bar 14 of slurring repeated notes. Ill cover the whys and wherefores in the

main Evaluations posting, hopefully tomorrow.

More pickiness: the bass clef in the cor anglais in the second page; the reversal of voices in the clarinet part in bars 2 & 6; also

writing triads in the clarinets; several bars of piccolo with slurs that trail off without starting on a note; and so on.

The general critique I would have here about the orchestration itself: its not that it doesnt work, because it mostly does work

ne. However, its very very thick, which doesnt suit the source music too well.

For instance, in the opening, every bass instrument is holding down the E 5th. Even at pp, that is a very solid, chunky sound,

especially with contrabassoon, tuba, bassoon, and bass trombone all on the low E.

There are a lot of passages that would sound great, with just a little bit of underbrush-clearing. For instance, bar 9: lose the

2nd oboe and the contrabassoon, and youve got a nicely balance chorale. Difcult to tune but still worth a crack.

Or bar 13: lose the trombones, and youve got a silky smooth voicing down there. Or cut the bassoons and lower strings, and

you get a calm, solemn tone.

All that aside, this entry shows a lot of promise, the kind that could really shine with a lot more score-reading and attention to

certain coloristic effects as they look on the page. I like the energy here, and also the audacity to score it in E! Now why didnt

I think of that?

Get ready for the next round, because I want you in it.


44/195

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets in A

3 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Triangle

Bass Drum

Tam-tam

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass

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45/195


46/195

David Estornell

Nice work. Some great bits here, and some effort in balancing things. First, the picky bits.

A lot of entrants got these same errors: slurring a passage over a rest (bar 1 clarinets and elsewhere); forgetting to mark how

many players to a note or passage (clarinets again); and slurring over repeated notes (bar 14, nearly everyone just cut and

pasted without noticing).

As for notation, just mark 1. or I on the rst player in a part, and a2 to unify them. Your marking of the horns is very clear,

but somewhat overhelpful.

Now, some commentary on the orchestration approach, once again with some cautions rst. You probably dont need to

double tuba and contrabassoon so much. That is a thick, heavy anchor on your harmony, even at ppp on the tuba.

For oboe I, you score a leap of a 5th from B5 to F#6, and then a leap of a 6th from A5 to F#6. This is really hard to tune, to hit

without squeaking, and to get at pp.

Also, Id break up the slurs over the strings in the opening passage into groups that can be bowed and have a logical senseof organization, like every 4 semiquavers. You get it right in bar 7, but it should be everywhere like this (and note once again

the bowing over rests in bar 5).

All the same, the general approach in the opening is solid. I like the call and response between the winds and strings, and the

way you catch the end of the last phrase with the winds. Adding the trumpet at bar 5 is probably overkill - or maybe lose the

horns?

I also like the pulse on timpani, though p is a better marking than mf. The roll at bar 13 needs no crescendo in the rst place,

but going up to f may swamp the boat. Watch out.

The harp scoring is very well done. Just the right amount of commentary and icing.

Nice bassoons at the end. The end would be great if the slurs were cleaned up, also in bar 13 where the violas should be in

two groups of 16ths, not one.


47/195


48/195


49/195

Dave Nedwek

You start with a powerful idea: a terraced series of phrases in the strings, ascending through the sections every two bars.

Above this, you score winds pretty much along the lines of the source scores chordal passage, then trade off with trombone

and piccolo trumpet. Nicely conceived.

This allows a steady slow pulse of tremolo strings throughout the opening, and for a fairly direct approach otherwise, though

the end effect seems subtle.

Some cautions on the wind scoring: Im seeing some very high oboe notes: probably unnecessary to double the utes up

there. Also leaps of 13ths in both ute and oboe. Maybe no leaping is indicated, and instruments could trade off?

Also, Im having a hard time reading the winds because of no slurs or indications of how many on a part (a2, 1, etc.). Its like

a sentence with no punctuation - you get the meaning but not the nuance or ow.

Harps are simply scored, yuss! (fanboy st-pump) You want to watch out about offbeat syncopations between harp lines - they

just dont have the same accuracy as when both players are playing the same syncopation on different notes.

I like the ugelhorn part, that is cool - bugle a pistons, as Debussy would have called it. But Im a little doubtful about rst horn

hitting a high F# at p like it was nothing. Maybe a lower inversion would work just as well at bar 12?

You got the idea of tying the repeated notes in the winds at bar 14 instead of slurring them, which is one way of xing the

problem. But you slur over those repeated notes in the strings, which doesnt work. Otherwise, the ending works pretty well.

Nice score, Dave.


50/195

Copyright 2014

Piccolo

2 Flutes

Oboe

English Horn

Clarinet in A

2 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

Horn in F

Piccolo Trumpet in A

Flugelhorn

Tenor Trombone

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Bass Drum

Cymbals

Tam-tam

Triangle

Harp 1

Harp 2

Violin 1

Violin 2

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass

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51/195

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52/195

David Orvek

Powerful take on transcribing sustain pedal effects by holding the ends of phrases instead of letting them go, and having

different colors and sections overlapping.

I also appreciate that you used a variety of instrumental approaches throughout the rst 8 bars. Horn 3 in bar 8 should probably

be slurred in couplets or across the bar.

Tuba + trombone 3 unison from bar 3 is probably too strong. Pick one or the other.

Harp part playable, not always natural. I felt you could have gotten more secure and clean execution out of each aspect if they

were spread over two harp parts. Harp 1 play octave melodies, harp 2 on chords.

I love the simplicity from bar 12. Thanks very much for slurring notes correctly in bar 14.


53/195


54/195


55/195

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56/195

Ernest Moreno

This was a nicely colored effort - I appreciated the sparseness of the orchestration. There are some odd slurs here and there;

not sure why, as they dont seem to be cut-and-paste leftovers. For instance, the utes and piccolo in bars 1-8 have slurs over

other slurs, which makes no sense to a wind player. Bar 4 in the clarinets has three slurs over one phrase!

What was most interesting about this entry was the extreme restraint on using strings. A few other entries gave the chordal

phrasing to the winds, but supported it with more static textures in strings. Here the strings are limited to a few touches

throughout.

Another interesting feature is harp tremolo for the rst 8 bars. What you may not realize is that this effect is extremely weak - at

least compared to the way most composers think it should sound. You have D-at fth tremolos an octave apart in each harp

part. Since the harpists will be playing these with one hand, youd get a lot more sound with both harpists playing tremolo in

both octaves.

You can get a more rapid tremolo if one pair of strings is tuned to ats and another to sharps, and then the harpist alternates

between them. In this case, that would be Db-Ab, C#-G#. But the general effect of harp tremolo is still so weak that its hardly

worth doing unless this were a solo. So Id recommend leaving well enough alone.

You chose to stay with the original key of D-at instead of using my altered version in D. This means the harp will sound better,

make little difference to the winds and brass, and be quite a bit harder on the strings. But I guess since the scoring is so light,

it doesnt really matter, though you take away all the great natural harmonics inherent in the key of D.

One possible trap I see is the differentiation in tone between the accompaniment gure in the winds and the oboe melody -

especially with the cor anglais dancing over and under the oboe. You havent marked up the oboe part, but it should be p dolce

espressivo or even f poco. There simply has to be some difference here, or the melody will get buried under a mass of wind

tone. This is why in situations like this, orchestrators tend to use different sections for different functions.

Also, as other entrants did, you score the rst bar in the utes very close to other winds. This proximity to the clarinets will

tend to bury the utes in their rst octave, no matter what your playback is telling you. Two bassoons actually might have been

better here on the lower phrases, as the overtones are complementary rather than competitive with lower ute tone. You might

also try spreading the harmony by dropping the middle voice an octave.

The second page is very cool in a Gil Evans sort of way with all that muted brass. Are you aware of the extreme shallowness

of tone of muted horn, though? Theres nothing delicate or subtle about it, unlike mutes trumpets and trombones which can

play exquisitely, especially in a French style. This shallowness is also a feature of muted tuba, which is a surprising rather than

subtle tone. Tubists can play remarkably softly without mutes, and some dont even own one.

Two last things about page 2. Firstly, as Nicolas Kingman remarks above, you cannot have a at and a natural on the same

note! The A-at should be marked G#. Actually in a passage like this bars 9-12, two harpists would want to split the duties,

with the rst playing the melody and the second the chords. That would make such repertoire much quicker to learn and more

secure to perform.

The other thing is that massive tutti in the winds on the last bar. You could mark that pi p, or pp, or even pppp, and it would

still sound like a high school wind band playing. Only one wind player on a line is the way to go when youre scoring delicate,

unaccompanied wind melodies.

Here youve got at least 4-8 players (you dont mark a2, but there are intervals which suggest two on a note) on the same

note, plus bassoons two octaves below. This is going to be massively beefy, plus you have the awkward sound of two parallel

wind lines at two octaves apart, which creates a problem of its own in intonation. Plus you have doubling by the strings, but not

of the bassoons. So Id recommend massive cuts here, removing some or all of the winds, or integrating the texture without


57/195

doublings.

Now I know that it sounds like Im picking apart your score, but actually more worked here than didnt, and it would be a very

cool read for an orchestra. With a few problems xed, it would be something worth playing. So good work, and keep at it.


58/195

{

{

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets in A

3 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Triangle

Bass Drum

Cymbals

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Harp I

Harp II

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

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2014/06 Orchestration Challenge Composed by Claude DebussyTranscribed by Thomaas Goss

arr. Ernest Moreno

Reflet dans l'eau

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59/195

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60/195

Felix Burghelea

So this score is a pleasure to read, not only because Felix is showing huge growth since the last challenge, but also because

the intentions are clearly scored and conceived. This score could go to the stands right now (with minor corrections), and Im

saying that as both an orchestrator and a copyist.

The minor errors are mostly a few places where dynamics are missing from entries, or the part is marked a 1 instead of just

1 or I. Also (I should have mentioned this in other posts), harp harmonics should be written an octave below where theyre

meant to sound, with a note about this because the harpist wont believe that you got it right for once. ;-)

Lets talk about the good bits instead. I love the wholly original manner of transcription in bars 1-8: ngered tremolo in the

violins behind a trilling, pointy bounce of winds. Its not Debussy, but it is Felix, and it is worth a play-through by an orchestra.

The tiny, simple but effective ligree by glock is a great way to say much more with much less.

Another nice bit of scoring: bars 9-12, with the heavy brass chorale snipping the nose off of phrases with an fp, answered by

low winds. Nice and easy natural contrast. The conductor might cut the glock here, because the scoring is so clear that the

harp+viola harmonics (very nice color) will more than sufce.

The string slurs are ne in bar 14 (another winner!), but the oboes should really match up in terms of articulation here, or

the two lines will stand apart instead of merging. A doubling intended to blend cannot be two separate things. But I like the

uttering violins in bar 15 supporting the rising line in viola and double-reeds. Nice touch.

See you for the next round.


61/195

Piccolo

Flute 1,2

Oboe 1,2

Cor Anglais

Clarinet in Bb 1,2

Bassoon 1,2

Horn in F1,3

Horn in F2,4

Trumpet in Bb1,2

Trombone 1,2

Trombone 3&Tuba

Percussion

Glockenspiel

Harp

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

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Contrabass

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Claude DEBUSSYorch.Felix Burghelea

Reflets dans l`eau

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div. con sord.

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pizz.


62/195

Picc.

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63/195

Picc.

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64/195

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65/195

Graham Plowman

This was a very cool entry. I enjoyed your willingness to take a few liberties, from the added opening bar to the reduced

harmonies in the opening chordal passage.

There were a few interesting touches, and its worth pointing out the consequences of some of the decisions - not that they

were wrong! But they will have an effect on the outcome of certain passages.

One of these was the decision to have unaccompanied bassoons carry the low D 5ths in bars 1-8. This will work ne, no

question. The thing to remember is that the overtones from these exposed notes will give a shine to the upper winds, and will

coarsen the overall texture, no matter how quietly the bassoons play. The biggest risk I see is one of intonation, in the risk of

any slight error diminishing the harmonic clarity there. But its still an interesting take. The low double bass D in bar 6 certainly

stabilizes things.

One place I do question is bar 5, where you have ute I doubling the piccolo. Did you perhaps intend for the utes to be playing

the harmony to the piccolo line, but accidentally scored it wrong? The thing is that the piccolo goes from very weak on the

rst F to nice and shiny on the following E, whereas the rst ute is playing up to its top B, a very hard note to control at mp

diminuendo.

Another part that might not work so well is the unison of ute and oboe in bar 4. Lower notes will be oboe dominant with the

ute barely audible, upper notes becoming more blended but still not at their ideal unication of timbre, which only starts at

around G at the top of the staff, and with some players high C.

The melody is intriguingly scored in bars 2-3: bassoon, cello, and harp. You may have hit the wrong clef selection in Sibelius

- high cello parts are scored in tenor rather than alto clef. All three parts are scored with tenuto markings, but the presence of

the slur over the bassoon and cellos means that these will be pussyfooted as light portatos. If thats what you meant, then good

on you. If however you meant for these to have a light emphasis, then accents would sound better, even at pp.

The second half was pretty cool. I felt that the little semiquaver brass offbeats in bars 10 -11 were neat in principle, but in

practice might sound either awkward or invisible. That high B rst trombone in bars 12-13 is screamingly high. Eminently

playable at mf and up, but not too effective at pp. Bar 14 cor anglais part is probably unnecessary, as it will clash strangely

with the clarinets lower down, and disappear as it rises.

One last word here - this was another of many entries that left a slur over the entire melody in bar 15 (bar 14 in other scores).

To reiterate: one cannot breathe or bow over repeated notes without some kind of indication of a separation of emphasis.

Otherwise those notes just sound like theyre tied together. The best thing to do there is to slur in pairs of semiquavers.


66/195

{{

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

Cor Anglais

2 Clarinets in A

3 Bassoons

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Triangle

Bass Drum

Cymbals

Tam-tam

Harp I

Harp II

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass

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67/195


68/195

Guillermo Buendia

Superbly intricate textures and subtle balance schemes. I can see exactly what youre intending to do here, and it requires no

sound clip for reference, for all its complexity.

Student orchestrators who study this score should be aware that even though these are very misty textures, theyre not

essentially the approach of the period nor the original composer; rather, theyre more cinematic in nature. But thats okay,

because this challenge is not to score in any particular style, but to interpret the source material in your own way.

Having said that, I felt there were moments at the beginning where the divisions amongst the strings got a little too spread-out

to be effectively performed. This score would be much easier to record than to perform live. There are so many divisions that

the outer desks, who are playing complex and often rhythmically intense passages, would have no leader to which to turn to

keep them on track.

Furthermore, the texturing becomes so thickly layered in places that its difcult to feel the direct meaning of the musical

quanta. A good conductor would have their work cut out for them, no mistake!

There are a few touches that may not work out as you intend, especially amongst the winds. For instance, you indicateuttertonguing a trill in the utes. This is very difcult to play, because trills and tremolos require a certain type of control to

assert pitch and tone, which I feel would be challenged by buzzing the tongue. Perhaps a pro utist out there could elaborate?

Anyhow, I feel like you wanted a soft bit of ambiguous tone there, but what youll get is a wild little whistle. One last word on

this: utter-tonguing should be marked with tremolo beams on the stem, and a marking of z. on its rst instance.

Also, Im not too sure that the upward-sloping phrases in clarinets and oboes will be as subtle as you intend at the ends of bars

4 and 8. Youve got 64th-notes at mm=88 to the 8th. That is hellishly fast. The average player might just ick through a series

of similar note and make the best of it, without really playing exactly what youve written; or they might attempt to get it right,

and put too much tension and force into the phrasing, making it sound too loud and potentially like a train wreck.

Bar 12 in Harp I presents a great deal of problems. Indeed, I dont see why you didnt give Harp I the existing right-hand part

plus Harp IIs part put together in some way, and then give Harp Is left-hand part to Harp II. You must understand that a harp

cannot play pianistic passages like this. Its better to treat it like a big guitar, or like one hand of a pianist.

The rest of the harp writing is pretty good, though certain effects will not be audible with such richly layered orchestration -

another good argument for this being a recorded score rather than a performance.

In general, Id say you should really watch out with huge divisions in the strings against subtle passage-work in the winds. Theproblem is that the strings will be so spread-out that the winds cannot help but play too loudly to balance, even with a lot of

work by the conductor. Its a simple matter of projection. Even winds that can go down to niente may still be pushing a certain

amount of vibration across the concert hall. Bring that up to piano, and they might ring out compared to a string texture that

thinly spre

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201406 Orchestration Challenge Evaluations

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