Mirage (For Woodwind Quintet)

Heya, all!

Just wanted to share with you all a piece I wrote and was played live a few years ago and I just got the video!

This was part of a composition workshop I won along with other composers and it was a great learning experience to get feedback directly from the players, I think they did well, we had 2 rehearsals and the final concert.

Score: https://issuu.com/jeduardolopezo/docs/lopez_mirage

(I think I over-notated the accents in my written score...)

So, I especially wanted to share this because it was a great learning experience for me, and to hopefully show anybody that is learning, how NOT to write for woodwinds!

Composition-wise: Pfff... I think I would have totally made a better development now, more harmonic "coherence", and definitely a better sense of structure! Overall I think the composition works better than the orchestration... but it´s all linked so....

So, my learning instrumentation/timbre-wise advice:

-Woodwinds become "tiring" to the ear pretty soon if you don´t separate and blend them, I did this for 4 minutes non-stop.

-Clarinets (and woodwinds/brass) need to breathe, they are not machines! lol
from 3:06 to 3:21 the poor clarinetist is already struggling for his life with my endless ostinato...

-Bassoon and Oboe are similar timbres, but they do not blend with the other woodwinds.

-I think the Horn can actually blend quite well if used properly with the Basson from aound E3 to around middle C?

-It´s OK to use all woodwinds+Horn for Tutti passages! Better to interlock them, if possible for a better "blend" in tutti passages!

-Timbres that blend together in this ensemble:
-Flute & Clarinet
-Oboe and Basson
-Horn

-And of course, all woods and horns works great as solo instruments.

-Writing for a Woodwind Quintet is freaking hard! it has a lof of colors, but so many different timbres and hard to blend well, plus you need to have great counterpoint if you want them to shine trough your composition (I certainly didn´t at that time!).

-Learn all the micro-registers of your instruments, they really give you so many more options!

-Don´t write for samples, work with REAL players.

-Learn to write music, prepare a score and parts for the session!

-There´s so much more than just doubling everything at the octave and unison with woodwinds.

-Find REAL players to work on your music, you learn so much from this, it is invaluable, even if it´s college students, get an ensemble together, organize a concert for them, get more composers on the program, players are usually happy to get a concert together, (sometimes for free if you both are students and you help organize it together, remember players play because they love it, but it´s nice if you can find a way to pay them, even if it´s a symbolic ammount, and also do a party or get dinner for them at the end).
RECORD IT! it´s free material for your social media accounts and personal records, you get a video+recording of your concert, you learn to produce an event, you meet new people. Be proactive! I´ve done this with several colleagues with different ensembles and you learn so much!

Alright, that´s it... I think, hope this helps anybody!

Any critique very welcome!