Wow Mudcat, just listened to it the first time and I'm blown away. No empty platitudes here, I loved it. I loved the common theme that you expressed through several different styles as the piece progresses, and I see how it would lend itself to obvious evolution in successive movements. I'm gonna go back and listen a couple times, but I didn't want to forget my first impressions. Here goes:
- My first observation was that your first three sections seemed to perfectly represent a trip across the globe from India through Egypt to resolution in a style musically reminiscant of the great Romantic composers of Eastern Europe. I could hear sitars and a female trio singing distinctly Hindustani chords behind that first section. The second section felt Egyptian in that it seemed to rely on an unheard percussion section to add to the dramatic intensity which was building. Perhaps some cymbals and a synth Egyptian flute behind it? The third section was the masterpiece, obvious room for a rock organ to create the chord wall you need to bring it all home. Just first impressions, these could be all wrong.
Also, right before the 3:00 mark in the video it seems like you almost rush the transition. How about a melodic interlude, a la "This Song Has No Title" by Elton John? That sort of flute on top of your piano part might give you the chance to take 8-12 bars to "set the stage" as it were. You could then reprise it at the end, a single note dangling off the final piano key, fading away behind your 12-stringed guitar? Again, just one man's opinion.
Thanks for sharing Mudcat, I'd write more but I would never be able to do it justice without listening at least a half dozen more times.
ld:
