MIDI WORK

SCORE

COMMENT

CLASSICAL & ORCH.

To The Queen of England

8.30

Interesting harmonics. A bit too many plain long notes… Big mistake: no reset (or default controller values) at the beginning - so the first time I listened, the balance was completely off and wrong. People, when will you finally obey Wendy Carlos' dogma: "you have to control every parameter there is"... But the music is good... interesting turns, pleasant pace.

Death at Genoa

6.50

The percussion sounds not exactly classical… interesting beginning, but somewhat idealess in the middle part; repetitive and without appeal in some places. Rhythm keeps the piece alive, but steady repetition of notes tire the listener. Not talking about the (non-existing) use of MIDI (another violation of Wendy Carlos' dogma) - where is the reset/controller initialization?

Suite #1 Dmaj

7.90

ok, here at least we have an initialization of pan and volume… The harmonic structure is simple, but with a few nice surprising turns. The tempo variations keep the pace interesting. Style adapted from post-baroque / pre-classical. The first movement gets a littla annoying after a while... Surpise, when the 2nd movement began - the harmonics now are quite more interesting and "contemporary"! Then the 3rd movement, with pizzicati in addition to the strings. 4th movement: the piece seems to get more mature, the more movements there are... nice structure of the theme, varying in several of the voices. Overall comment on the piece: a bit too simplistic, but the composer has a gift that will develop into something.

Doublin

9.50

as always a first look at the controllers… none of course… but the music makes one forget this fact. Very lively, with great attention to detail. Velocities take the "interpretative" part. See, although I did not find any controller #11 here, I liked that piece a lot! Yeah, this is Irish. Very cheery, upbeat, lovely runs, great sense of harmony, thematic development... great work! Volume could be a bit quieter - my headphones started to vibrate and resonate... :) --- I just read the composer's comment... Wagner? Maybe I missed that theme... well, something from the "Flying Dutchman"?

The Hubbard Saga

9.40

Interesting construction, nice spatial effects with the pan controller. Fabulous and unique harmonies and thematic development. Never monotonous. Could need some tempo variations. The MIDI interpretations does not really justice to this work - could need some "expression", although much attention has been paid to careful velocity settings . But I assume the live performance on October 2nd was a smashing hit! That change between "major" and "minor" gives this composition a very interesting "flavor".

Trio

6.50

simple accords, unisono in some parts was a little boring. Some good ideas, but they need more work, more elaboration. There is potential, but the musical ideas could need a little more phantasy and imagination. The piece ends suddenly, "without a warning".

Adagio Interlude

7.50

Promising. Very smooth and elegant, well balanced. Not too many surprises, however; it stays in its same "mood" during the whole time. These slow long notes desperately need "expression" and interpretation!

War March

7.90

ok, here we go! There are a few MIDI controllers in that piece! But the drum roll sounds like machine gun (maybe its on purpose?) - needs desperately some variation of velocity, note length, and timing in order to sound "realistic". Is not exactly classical, more on the "easy" side. A simple theme is being repeated constantly, with variations of instrumentation and pace. Tempo is adequate, from the confident marching in the beginning, through the battle with the gun shots (these actually bring the piece more into the cinematic category)... to the melancholy near the end.

Romantic Suite 3

This guy is nuts! Way too many expression controllers there! This should be made illegal - that there are more #11 controller entries than notes… I refuse to grade such a piece! a technical problem: for some reason that MIDI used soundfond bank 1 - did not play first, after I loaded in it Cakewalk, until I changed to bank 0 - the author did not pay good attention to compatibility before uploading the MIDI to the contest...

Lost Memories

8.70

is not exactly classical, more "Easy Listening", or "Pops". But nicely done! Not much thematic development, often just a repetition of phrases, but with a few interesting surprising turns. Simple harmonies in the beginning, later turning more interesting. Well instrumented and well balanced sound.

Battle of Magic

8.00

drums, and marching. Powerful arrangement. Not classical. Sounds a bit "commercial". Where are the controllers? Same velocity everywhere… no interpretation. Sudden, unexpected end.

Haunted

7.50

again drums. What is it with this marching space-movie music? Sounds a bit like heavy metal and the Royal Philharmonic. Not classical. Similar to "Battle of Magic"… not much musical content, but well done musical arrangement.No interpretative midi. Talking about a sudden end... !

as usual, in the classic category, the composers do not care for any interpretation (e.g. MIDI controllers, note lengths, etc…). Why not? Structure, harmonic content, and thematic development are not everything there is to music… music lives through interpretation! And MIDI is an interpretation. Otherwise, one might just have a look at the printed score... Long notes should not just being played at constant expression, but with a varied one...

I realized, that in the past two contests, I was much more "critical" with music this classical domain than in the others… with the result that the grades in this category were worse than in the others… This time I tried to overcome my bias a little.

CINEMATIC

Journey in my Dreams

7.80

solo instrument in the beginning, then orchestra kicks in. Somewhat far-eastern flavor, judging from harmonics and scales. Didn't we have a similar piece in one of the previous contests? Good instrumentation, well done interpretations, even without "expression". After a while the repetition of the main theme sounds a little repetitive, although it gets varied in several parts.

Twilight Journey

7.60

Is a little repetitive. Could well be in pop/rock.

What a Fool I Was

8.50

nice spatialization of the instruments, causing an interesting echo effect. The strings at the and are a bit too far left (the right half appears almost muted).

Ants and Fairys Dance

7.90

keeps repeating the same phrase. Sounds interesting, but not heart-warming (not that this would be necessary…)

Willabum's Final Adventure

8.30

interesting and colorful instrumentation, captivating harmonies. Sounds a bit too cheerful (until just before the end) for the sad occasion - Willabum's death...

The Market

8.10

Middle-east, Osama bin Laden goes shopping… ok, I agree, that was a tasteless remark on my part. The imagery is painted well; however, a real Arab market has much more chaos in it, more turbulences. This market sounds more like as if there is a single Camel in an air-conditioned Los Angeles shopping mall...

Midnight

8.70

is a bit slow, lengthy, and repetitive. Nice arrangement, but the musical ideas need to be elaborated more. The first listen makes this music just sound like a repetition of a simple theme, with slight variations. But during the second listen, it is clear that there is more behind it...

Emerald

8.90

Nice dreams you have! This part of the "Fantasy Suite" seems a bit more lively than the second one.

Brave New World

8.30

Aldous Huxley sends his greetings… The music could need a little more development… stays in the same mood for long time. Gets faster towards the end.

Duke Nuke Play

8.40

I don't know that PC game (yes, I know, I am a moron)…but this music would make me want to play it!

POP - ROCK

Hypocrite

7.30

quiet guitar and solo instruments, does not begin like a typical rock piece; more like a folk piece; melancholic; faster middle part provides good contrast to beginning;

Turn Off That Awful Noize

7.50

piano + e-guitar, turning into techno.

Dreaming Away

7.50

piano beginning sounds not like pop/rock at all… pleasant interpretation, good flow, nively grooving.

Let's Play

7.20

quite original variations!

Blow by Blow

6.50

quite repetitive, although some very unique use of pitchbend controller.

I am definitely not a fan of "music" that relies on a constant repetition of the same rhythm pattern. Therefore, I might not be very objective in my reviewing of pop/rock category… however, some pieces transcend the boundary of this category and have implemented very original ideas.

COUNTRY - WESTERN

Pass the Jug, Jethro

8.60

hey, I like this kind of lively ol'fashioned stuff. There is some "action", and the rhythm / pace carries one away easily... good use of pitch bend controller in the fiddle!

JAZZ

Hobble Skirt 1914

8.80

now that's my kind of topic for a song!  :) Nice honky-tonky piano arrangement in ragtime style. Very innovative use of midi (brief shouting), without overdoing it.

AMBIENT

River Harp in China

8.20

harp glissando. Pentatonic in the main theme, yes, this sounds like China mainland. Beautiful Debussy-esk parts. Tempo variation keeps the piece interesting, despite a lack of key change.

EXPERIMENTAL

Sunny Day

8.10

piano solo at the beginning, later accompanied by strings. Repetition of the theme is kept interesting by a variation of instrumentation.

Knight Time

8.30

Unique and original composition, fast paced, tonal, pentatonic.

OTHERS - UNKNOWN

Roving Song

8.50

plucked strings, then comes some "horse riding", has a unique Wild-West feeling. Very funny changes, tied together by an interesting rhythm texture. No boredom here while listening!

Frame Work

7.70

original experimental piece. Fast pace, once in a while tonal interludes, but where is the context? Sounds like some kind of free-style jazz, with unusual instruments. Interesting ideas, definitely not a "sugared bonbon"… pleasing on an intellectual level, not on an emotional one.

Bless Manhattan

7.80

piano and string orchestra. Slightly melancholic mood. A bit simplistic - could need some more "development".

Fantasy for Organ

8.40

Organ does not have "expression" (nor does it need it). The combinations of the instruments for organ is a great idea - on my soundfonts (4MBGMGS), however, they just sound like three different instruments. Nice tempo variations. Well done harmonic sequences.

TOTAL AVERAGE

8.02

ok, this time I was very mild. Next time, I will try to keep the average around 5.0  :->>