A few of my tracks

[Jeffrey Hall]

Hi all, I've been meaning to put up a few links to some things I've been working on lately. Hope you enjoy them. I've done everything here with Yamaha and Roland/Edirol synths, effects processors, and computer audio software (Cakewalk Sonar 4).

My original works are all ragtime. Here's one, written for piano in 1995 and finally put together for a small rag orchestra in 2005:
Flag Rag [3:50, 3.5 MB]

Here are a few familiar organ works from the Romantic. I haven't tried to recreate "pure" organ performances, since those already exist in great quantity, but rather to orchestrate them in my own, hopefully pleasing, way.
Gigout: Toccata in B Minor [3:20, 3.1 MB]
Vierne: Chorale, from Symphony #2 [7:10, 6.6 MB]

For the baroque, well, here goes...just did this one last month. There was discussion about registering this piece in another thread. Here's how I hear the tempo and registration, though as above I have used non-organ patches to supplement the organ voices used. No doubt some will find it completely unsatisfying; there are evidently as many opinions about it as there are people who have heard it! I regard it as one of mankind's supreme creations.
Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 [14:19, 13.1 MB]

Feedback on any of these appreciated (don't worry about the whole bunch; it's almost 30 min of music ).

[Mobi]

Hi Jeffrey!
I listened to some of your tracks, Flag Rag and Toccata in B Minor.
Im not any kind of expert in this kind of music as I havent listened to it at all as a matter of fact, but here goes

I really enjoyed Flag Rag, it had a certain happiness in its sound, it reminded me of old movies and I could almost see Charlie Chaplin jumping around my screen . Its really well played and the song is written well too.
Sounds very lively and well mixed.

Toccata in B Minor sounds like a lot of finger work :/ This is very well played and I especially like how it starts a bit mysteriously and transforms into something more powerful towards the end. I like how it gives me a little spooky feeling and makes me think of something horrible that might be happening. Recording sounds awesome and realistic to my ear.

As I said, Im no expert, but atleast theres some feedback
I think Ill have to get some organ music and start listening more to it

[Andrew Roussak]

Hi Jeffrey,

I've just listened to your music - here is a feedback. I chance to be a SONAR-user too, that's why .

Flag Rag - a really nice and funny piece, I really liked it. I guess a version for two pianos could be intereting as well ( no band - just two grand pianos ). At first I thought it was a bit too long ( 3,30 min is a pretty much time for a ragtime , I would say - you can be over with a Maple Leaf Rag of Joplin in a less than 2 min, especially when you you are in a hurry ), but the main theme of your piece is very nice, so that it doesn't sound boring, even being repeated that often.

Gigout - the organ patches are great and your fingerwork too ( played? programmed? ) . Doesn't sound like a middle-class home recording studio anyway, so that you think more of a big thing with a lot of pipes in a cathedral as of a PC when hearing to it. Sorry I am not acquainted with the original , so I can't tell anything about your orchestration.

Bach ( Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 ) - well, one of the greatest composers in a human history -and one of the greatest works of him. Your organ patches are amazing, about the other sounds used - you can for sure find the better orchestral samples nowadays ( EWQLSO, Sziedlacek, Garritan usw. ) . But it doesn't matter that much. The first 2 min of listening I still thought about it - and then I forgot all about the samples and just enjoyed the music. GREAT PERFORMED!!! I saved the piece on my PC. Thanks for it.

Many greetings,
Andrew
www.andrew-roussak.com

[Jeffrey Hall]

Mobi and Andrew,

Many thanks for your replies, and pardon my tardy response; been away for a bit. I will try to "resurface" at this nice forum.

Thanks for your favorable comments on Flag Rag! I do tend to take Joplin at his word ("do not play this piece fast..."), and I usually take Maple Leaf at 3:00-3:30. Two minutes!...I don't think I could move my fingers that fast. By chance, just for fun last weekend, I uploaded a modestly orchestrated version of Maple Leaf; I played in the piano and overdubbed some bass and guitars. Check it out if you like.

The Gigout is 95% played (it's one of the easiest French toccatas). I did take the liberty of punching in some retakes to correct a few splats, and I corrected a few split notes in the MIDI before doing the audio capture, but otherwise the whole arranged track from initial performance to MP3 was a one-afternoon effort.

BWV 582 -- Andrew, yes, Garritan is probably next on my list of things to get for my studio. I've been quite happy with the piano and organ patches I have in my sound modules, and since I've mostly been doing keyboard works, I've been content with what I have. But I'm getting into orchestral stuff now, so I'll be looking for (and saving up for) some of these samples. However, as you say, I also enjoy the existing patches for what they are. You're most welcome re the Passacaglia, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

[Andrew Roussak]

Hi Jeffrey -

nice work again with MAPLE LEAF RAG! Sounds really funny and had put once again that wide .......... smile on my face! I guess you are right concerning the speed - "...never play ragtime fast at any time!!!.. " - Scott Joplin , School of Ragtime. I have to admit I am almost unable to do that. The 2 min version is the last piece on the ELP's album Works Vol.2 ( rec. 1977 ). It is fully orchestrated , Emerson plays there an instrument which sounds a bit like clavicembalo - don't know exactly what it was. I believe I usually tend to play it a bit too fast as well - and I really liked your version as one can more clearly hear all the details of orchestration, chord progressions etc. I guess also ,it sounds more authentic anyway as when being played fast.
You have slightly altered the voicings in the last part, as I could hear ( in the turnaround bar of the repeat and somewhere else in the last 4 or so bars, not sure ) - for me ,it sounded unexpected and lovely . GOOD TASTE, MAN!!!

About GARRITAN and EWQLSO - I like and use both of them, Sziedlacek is also great. Working with such samples is although little bit tricky. If you want to get a really authentic sound of orchestra, you must actually record each voice ( cello, viola etc. ) separately, that is - in fact you have to produce an orchestral score beforehand. If you just play it from keyboads, then it sounds like keyboards. I uploaded three of my pieces here and in the classical forum, all of them were recorded with the use of GARRITAN and EWQLSO. You may check if interested...

Best regards from Germany,
keep on rockin' ( swingin', raggin'.... )
Andrew

[Krummhorn]

Hi Jeff,

Don't know how I missed this thread - my appologies for such a tardy reply.

I had always taken most 'rags' at a pretty good clip especially when doing these at my organ concerts - guess it was due to the v-e-r-y dry acoustics of my particualr parish. I really enjoyed your relaxed tempo - I'll definetely revisit this when I do these rags in the future.

The Gigout & Bach were splendidly done as was the Vierne. Nicely orchestrated which gives a new appreciation for Vierne's music for me.

[Jeffrey Hall]

Kh:

You hardly need apologize for tardy replies when I myself have been the same. Thanks for your comments re the Vierne. I love to play that one as an Easter prelude -- I've always thought it conveys the image of the whole morning nicely.

Andrew:

I am not familiar with EWQLSO or Sziedlacek, and will look at both of them. Thanks for the tip! On all my orchestrated tracks, I do build the whole score. I play everything in on the keyboards but as you say, it usually doesn't sound right when the various patches are applied. So there's a lot of work with the MIDI durations and velocities to try to make the individual tracks convincing. I also usually do the audio capture of every track separately for maximum flexibility in the mixdown. (For the Passacaglia & Fugue I had over 6 GB of audio before bouncing it all to the final track.)

Good ear on the Joplin! I mixed up the harmonies exactly where you noted. In the final four bars, it was to emphasize Joplin's use of chromatic lines. I noted this very thing on my Web site writeup -- here are the final four bars:



Note the chromatic inner voice in blue. So on the repeat, I just altered the original bass line starting at the B flat to march it all the way up the chromatic scale to the tonic in the last bar. I'm delighted you heard it, since I think it worked well!

[magic_production]

Yes I Like It Wery Much!
You Make A Great Job!