Reviews for Toccata

[JeffHeim]

excellent work!

It's a real pleasure to hear live works on NG for a change. Wonderful! Who were the players? They sounded quite professional! The recording quality sounds great, too. Judging by the natural ambience, this was recorded in a large hall...where in Opole, Poland was this recorded? And are those voices near the end?

As for the piece itself, the thematic material was clearly introduced and developed very well throughout the piece. I liked the temporary switch to 6/8 time in the middle; mixed things up a bit. I listened to its entirety and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

robomanus responds:

The players are my friends from Music School, where I'm learning too :) The recording was made in concert hall in Music School in Opole. The voices in the end are my friends, but they are singing, no playing :D That was my idea, because I don't have choir, but I want it, I command my friends to sing. The strings were playing and singing at the same time, so the effect is: choir with strings. But there is no choir :D I will use this trick in my other pieces, 'cause I think it's something new. Thanks for comment and share this to your friends. It will be very helpful. :D

[SFaPiL2]

Impressive!

Forgive me robomaus but I can't review your work because I have the technical knowledge that Sentinel94 has so I'll just limit my review by saying that this was a fantastic composition that gave the impression of there being more instrumentalists.

The composition felt very dramatic and I could picture it in a movie (perfect starter music with the credits and a fly-by scene through some snowy mountains and forests with a scene where someone is being chased)

This is what I pictured:
<0:00-0:22> Title screen (black screne turns white with snow)
<0:22-0:44> A 1940's car is being chased in a road in the middle of a snowy forest by some soldiers wielding rifles. (maybe some camera shots from the forest with some deer staring at the cars)
<0:44-0:57> Dramatic moment where a rifle shot manages to hit the car's tire and make it lose control.
<0:58-1:02> The people in the car decide to run in the woods (mother, father and child).
<1:03-2:02> The chase continues by foot with the soldiers shooting at them
<2:03-2:07> The mother trips and falls on the floor and the father tries to help her get up
<2:08-2:22>... the child doesn't notice and keeps on running, but when he sees that his parents aren't behind him he runs back only to see the soldiers got them... he hides in the bushes only to see...
<2:23-2:34> His parents are executed by the soldiers...
<2:35-2:56> Very dramatic moment where the child starts to cry hidden in the bush (in the meanwhile the soldiers are arguing about where the child might be)
<2:57-3:04> A shadow appears through the bush where the child is hiding and he stays silent fearing that the soldiers caught him.
<3:05-3:15> The child finds a way to sneak past the soldiers but then they heared something and the chase continues...

etc.

Very, very nice job ^__^. Oh and the chorus in the end is very good as well (was that the surprise you were talking about?).
10/10
5/5

robomanus responds:

Yes. That was this surprise. The instrumentalists were singing :) There was no choir :D thank's for comment

[Sentinel94]

Quite Well Done

I commend you for using only 8 players and actually choosing to place an oboe in such a small arrangement. For anyone who reviewed before me or listens to this, and who is not that well oriented in the ensemble world, the oboe is an impossible instrument to tune. There's an old joke: How do you get two oboe players to play in tune? Shoot one. I felt that this had a good sound and balance throughout 99.9% of the piece, but there are a few places where some instruments speak out a little more strongly than others, where personally I would've had them quiet down a little more. Part of it may just be the player, I know, I've done it in large ensembles and quartets, trios, etc. Around...4:54 I believe, there is a crescendo on those strings. The note is played well, but the tricky thing with crescendos is timing. Really, I personally feel as if they rushed a little too much into that crescendo. It should be a little more gradual, and then about a measure, or if you have the luxury, two, measures from the end of that crescendo, bring it up so that it's almost like an instant step up or two steps up in dynamics. They're very little things though, and I had to rack my brain just to think of them, so overall, it's a job well done.

robomanus responds:

Oboe :D Everyone has got problems with this instrument. In a low scale it's very disturbing. Higher it will always be heard. A flute is more quiet, so the oboe wins sometimes. But the fact is, that this is small group, and there is only one of each woodwind, so it's hard to make it sound good. Thank you for your opinion. :D

[EmperorCharlemagne]

Impeccable.

Delivered on nearly everything. Great use of the economy of instruments. It sure didn't sound like only 8 playing. Shows the marking of true skill.

Loved the Slavic feel to it as well.

I would try criticize, but I fall short of finding things to point out. At the very beginning a few of the instruments sounded out of tune to eachother, and I think a heard a mistake or two. That's it, though.

Everything else was masterfully done. One of the best songs I've heard on the AP for quite a while.

[Deathroad]

Untouchable

When I review something, I try to point out the good and the bad. But in this case... where's the bad? This is perfect!

Like any great piece of art, this is untouchable. 10/10

robomanus responds:

The bad is, that the performance has some mistakes. But where they aren't? Thank you for your opinion. :)