Theme for Cariad (soundtrack and organ fugue)

[jeanette_c]

Hey hey, today I release two pieces which are closely connected:
Theme for Cariad:
https://youtu.be/niUZMYIfWEI
OGG version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o4awk2vd8va1v ... cariad.ogg
And a four part organ fugue: Fugue for Cariad:
https://youtu.be/Qmp7owQzteM
OGG version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/86mnd1v6jtnjr ... cariad.ogg
In case anyone is wondering: cariad is Welsh for beloved.
The theme for Cariad is a kind of soundtrack, a string quintet. I used the VPO (virtual player orchestra). It is a good collection and the best free orchestra in SFZ format I know, yet in this instance it falls short, being so very exposed. I suppose an even better volume automation might still get it closer. Still, I tried to really work on my string arrangement skills and none course worthier than love.
The fugue for Cariad uses Aeolus, which eliminates any questions of sound. Great organ! It is a four part fugue, reminiscent of the baroque style. Only, I cheated and it would take two players, since the piece makes heavy use of all three manuals at the same time, which is certainly not historic. Still, it is the first four part fugue that I have written and again I'm very happy that I was inspired to juggle the voices by her.
For the theme I used jconvolver/fconvolver with an impulse response of the Concertgebouw, very little else in the way of production. A touch of EQ and compression on the final master to glue the instruments together.
If nothing else both pieces radiiate a bit of festive spirit or something to relax into with a cup of something hot in your favourite comfy spot.
Best wishes, Jeanette

[Impostor]

The theme for Cariad is a kind of soundtrack, a string quintet. I used the VPO [..]in this instance it falls short
The fugue for Cariad uses Aeolus, which eliminates any questions of sound. Great organ!

I like the string piece very much! The organ piece not so, but that's due to my aversion to organ sound in general.

[folderol]

Nice work on these.

[psyocean]

Serious theme, like ancient European picture art. A love go to gallery with art of Netherlands and Holland, German too... Here moods in music like that

[Philotomy]

These are both excellent. That organ sounded immense, and I love the very baroque flavor of the piece. I enjoyed the string piece as well.

Speaking of strings, do you have any recommendations for commercial string collections that will work on Linux? I have the VPO collection. I also have some pretty good strings that came with my DAW (Bitwig). It's the orchestral strings collection from Orchestral Tools. However, it doesn't have some stuff I'd like (e.g., I'd love a really good solo cello).

[jeanette_c]

Hi @Philotomy , many thanks for your feedback and praise.
I know of many good string libraries, but can't tell you if they will work on Linux, either natively or through some kind of windows emulation. Perhaps you can ask on the samplers and samples sub-forum or take a look there, there are some lists of libraries. DecentSampler could be a way forward, though I'm not up to date with the libraries for that program.
Good lubck and best wishes, jeanette

[Rainmak3r]

The strings piece is truly beautifil! I was particularly struck by the changes at about 1:42 and 3:34. I think you do make a good use of VPO, taking advantage of the different articulations that it makes available (I did hear tremolo and pizzicato too, especially on cello and bass). Considering you play the keyboard, you may want to look into Expressive Strings too:

http://www.schristiancollins.com/vi-orchestra.php

I've been curious about it for a while, as the demo sounds gorgeous and very flexible, although I suspect it's made more for people that actually play the parts (with dynamic articulation changes tied to keyswitches), whereas I need to score them as I'm useless at a keyboard (and in fact I modified the VPO SFZ files for my own needs).

I enjoyed the organ piece too: the sound is quite believable, and it does feel like an organ fugue you could hear from a baroque composer (well, maybe not THAT baroque composer, but it certainly fits the bill )

[Basslint]

Liked them both, also appreciated the organ fugue