I like the majestic riff at the beginning and the gradual swell in energy and volume over the first minute of the piece. The melodies and sound design are beautiful as always with you, Papkee. The return to the pitter-patter piano riff at 1:15 or so was very gracefully phrased, and the middle section of the piece strikes a great balance between a sense of wonder and a sense of anticipation. The stop-start transition at 2:36 actually works rather well too, and the final climax at 2:42 is characteristically orgasmic. The mixing is not perfect here - I wanted to hear a bit more of the shakers during the final minute and more of the woodwinds in the places where they came in (:45, notably). Otherwise, this is a top-notch track, Papkee. By all means, keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.75/10

This is masterfully composed, very emotional, I think this entry's gonna stay in the back of my mind for a while, eve, after ADM :D

This is a great composition. I feel like the slow strings in the intro could use a bit more attention to their articulations as they swell in. It gets better at 50 or so seconds. Volume leveling could use a bit more sensitive touch prior to that swell also.

Still, for rushed work, this is a masterpiece.

I would like less work on the ascending 1:28 cello/violin. I think it's violin. It's sticking out just a bit hard in the right channel. When panning like that it's hard to keep a solid balanced sound.

The forte section at 2:53 sounds pretty balanced by comparison. I would like just a bit more clarity of moving parts there, perhaps move french horn into the left channel a bit more, and reduce low mid reverb resonance.

I also think the small piano outro could have been cut and replaced with a final stinger of either the piano in octaves or the entire ensemble.