Jesse, Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ would be so proud of this work you have made. Fr. Gerard, SJ, a Catholic Priest and a Jesuit who wrote such poetry in Awe and Wonder…would never hear anyone so vividly and faithfully put to music any of his beautiful words. Thank you. I will share this with my brothers in the order. I hope one day it is done by full choir in a large Church!
Beautiful piece that flows well. Can hear the Whitacre influence. I was curious about the choice of 7 flats (instead of 5 sharps) in the beginning, but I think it’s logical here because 1) you don’t have many accidentals in that first half, and 2) the key shifts from Ab minor to major. My only “critique” would be that it ends abruptly. The entire second section builds to the “bright wings” climax, so having only one quiet measure after the fortissimo left my ear wanting more. A “back and forth” of C major/F (or G) minor chords with a gradual decrescendo might work well here, and give a nod to the beginning minor key section. What was the poem that inspired this piece?
I might change the key signature. Realized afterward that c flat major might not be best! I see what you’re saying with the ‘abrupt’ ending. I’ll try to work on that a bit. I like your idea of a back and forth chord progression. Maybe F minor to that C major. We’ll see! God’s Grandeur is a poem written by Gerard Manley Hopkins. A friend shared it with me a while ago!
A lot of people mention the moments you sound like Whitacre. But these days I can hardly listen to Whitacre, and I listen to your scores and read them again and again every few months. You know God. I can hear it. Your music doesn’t sound like Whitacre. It sounds like your music. It is distinct. It’s better, in my opinion. And the ending is not abrupt. It’s the poem which ends abruptly. You drew it out to be longer. And you recorded it yourself, which is unbelievably good.
@@OW0974 yeah so I record in Logic Pro on a MacBook, so I can have a metronome playing in my headphones while I sing any parts. For the sections with some tempo variations, I’ll turn the metronome off and play a recording of my voice conducting the beat. If I have a hard time following my counting, I’ll just sing through the section a few times without any tempo assistance and listen back to it. Say 3 out of 4 voice lines sounded like they were in sync after the first go around. I would delete the voice that is a bit off and re record it until they all sound like they’re in sync. If I keep the song idea in my head long enough, it kind of solidifies what my exact tempos would be in certain spot and then the ritardandos and Fermatas sync up relatively easily.
That is something that I am still considering. Later in the piece, it changes to A flat major which also has a few flats. My initial thought was going from x number of flats to a different number of flats looked cleaner than going from sharps to flats. I may just end up publishing the sheet music in A minor and people can transpose up or down depending on their ranges, but that isn’t something that I’ve solidified yet!
@@JesseBickel I personally like it with flats instead of sharps. It would help any performers think "darker" when it comes to the tone of the piece. I feel that C-flat major is generally seen as a darker key compared to B major.
Jesse, Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ would be so proud of this work you have made. Fr. Gerard, SJ, a Catholic Priest and a Jesuit who wrote such poetry in Awe and Wonder…would never hear anyone so vividly and faithfully put to music any of his beautiful words. Thank you. I will share this with my brothers in the order. I hope one day it is done by full choir in a large Church!
I love your songs. Thanks for sharing. ❤ A big hug from Brazil.
Beautiful piece that flows well. Can hear the Whitacre influence. I was curious about the choice of 7 flats (instead of 5 sharps) in the beginning, but I think it’s logical here because 1) you don’t have many accidentals in that first half, and 2) the key shifts from Ab minor to major. My only “critique” would be that it ends abruptly. The entire second section builds to the “bright wings” climax, so having only one quiet measure after the fortissimo left my ear wanting more. A “back and forth” of C major/F (or G) minor chords with a gradual decrescendo might work well here, and give a nod to the beginning minor key section. What was the poem that inspired this piece?
I might change the key signature. Realized afterward that c flat major might not be best!
I see what you’re saying with the ‘abrupt’ ending. I’ll try to work on that a bit. I like your idea of a back and forth chord progression. Maybe F minor to that C major. We’ll see!
God’s Grandeur is a poem written by Gerard Manley Hopkins. A friend shared it with me a while ago!
I liked the ending. Very effective emotional response-
A lot of people mention the moments you sound like Whitacre. But these days I can hardly listen to Whitacre, and I listen to your scores and read them again and again every few months. You know God. I can hear it. Your music doesn’t sound like Whitacre. It sounds like your music. It is distinct. It’s better, in my opinion. And the ending is not abrupt. It’s the poem which ends abruptly. You drew it out to be longer. And you recorded it yourself, which is unbelievably good.
Was this by an actual choir or did you multitrack yourself?
Or some other method
Every voice is recording of my own vocals. I’d love to hear an actual choir sing it though!
@@JesseBickel Your songs sound great! How do you time your tempo changes though? I'm also trying to record my own pieces
@@OW0974 yeah so I record in Logic Pro on a MacBook, so I can have a metronome playing in my headphones while I sing any parts.
For the sections with some tempo variations, I’ll turn the metronome off and play a recording of my voice conducting the beat. If I have a hard time following my counting, I’ll just sing through the section a few times without any tempo assistance and listen back to it. Say 3 out of 4 voice lines sounded like they were in sync after the first go around. I would delete the voice that is a bit off and re record it until they all sound like they’re in sync.
If I keep the song idea in my head long enough, it kind of solidifies what my exact tempos would be in certain spot and then the ritardandos and Fermatas sync up relatively easily.
@@JesseBickelThanks for your help!
@@OW0974 anytime! If you ever have any other questions feel free to ask!
why not just B major so much easier to read
That is something that I am still considering. Later in the piece, it changes to A flat major which also has a few flats. My initial thought was going from x number of flats to a different number of flats looked cleaner than going from sharps to flats.
I may just end up publishing the sheet music in A minor and people can transpose up or down depending on their ranges, but that isn’t something that I’ve solidified yet!
@@JesseBickel I personally like it with flats instead of sharps. It would help any performers think "darker" when it comes to the tone of the piece. I feel that C-flat major is generally seen as a darker key compared to B major.