The Masquerader
Some days I wake up with an idea for a song in my head. Literally, these things come to me in my dreams. A couple days ago this came to me, and so I started working on it before it left my mind as ideas often do (opportunity is not a lengthy visitor). The song in my head wasn’t notes or instruments, but senses and feelings. Opening with a rich bright fanfare, followed by a quiet, ever-increasing crescendo dwelving deeper into a misty forest. And at the center of the forest awaits a spectacular marvel, a masquerade in full brilliance. Therein lies the name.
I utilized the glockenspiel and vibraphone combo to keep an ethereal feeling to the piece, haunting but curious. I’m not satisfied with the opening fanfare bit yet, it needs some more attention. This was my first work with brass instruments and I quite enjoyed using them. The harmonics between them are fantastic! After the fanfare there’s some soft strings and a clarinet with bits of bassoon here and there. The music is pretty simple, which I wanted, the depth lies in the richness of the instrumentationing. This is only the first 1:36, visually it takes you to the edge of the forest’s center.
It’s dark and sinisteresque, but not Lovecraft dark, more like…………………… Shakespeare dark………..
Shakespeare dark with pixies. The trees look millenias old, and moss drapes from their ancient branches. It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Let me know what you think, and as always, keep in mind it’s just a computer generated version, so there are some limitations to the sound quality and realism blah blah blah it’s better than a midi.
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-Travis Conrad