Intriguing Flirtations at the Court of Louis XIV (My attempt at Baroque music)

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Hi everyone,

Here's a baroque-ish track that I wrote recently, which is a trio (harpsichord-violin-cello) in two short movements. While trying to get it to upload to Soundcloud without sounding like crap, I learned that the harpsichord is a very difficult instrument to compress for mp3 (something about unusually rich harmonic content, apparently). I managed to get it to sound not too bad (but still not great), but if anyone has any mixing/mastering hints that could help it sound better, don't hesitate to let me know!

https://soundcloud.com/davidstiles/intr ... -louis-xiv

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I think that the sound/arrangement/production value nails the Baroque vibe perfectly.

The composition, on the other hand, sounds a bit...modern. The harmony sounds distinctly 20th century.

Overall, the Baroque impression was fairly good. It would probably work quite well in a movie or tv show.

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I really like the atmosphere the intro has...a bit ominous. I agree with herodotus,could definitely see this in a movie or tv soundtrack!

If you have the time,feel free to check out my latest track:http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 4&t=461151
(I don't know if advertising one's own stuff in someone else's thread is generally accepted here,someone notify me if not. :D )
Makes music that sounds like it came out of a game or film.

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Is it weird that when I hear this, I start thinking of a dubstep-y remix? XD

Besides that, dude, this sounds SUPER good. It's been said a few times that this would be perfect for a soundtrack or background music, and I definitely agree. Awesome job man!
I gots me a soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/real_skylake

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Very nice indeed.
I like the vibe, and orchestration/arrangement sounds realistic enough imo.
I'm not an expert in Baroque music but the way it moves, sounds genuinely adequate for the times you took inspiration from
:tu:

Nicely done

Cheers

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Another fine effort, David. :clap:

As to possible film applications, maybe if Peter Greenaway was to make a sequel to The Draughtsman's Contract...:wheee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYMUyjq0yLA

(Based on Henry Purcell's "Here the deities approve" from Welcome to all the Pleasures.)

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No baroque.

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Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Herodotus, I think you've got it right - the arrangement and instrumentation is more baroque than the actual composition. It's more baroque-ish, perhaps, or just meant to remind you of the baroque.

MrLinssi, I don't mind the link to your stuff - check out that thread for my response!

Dragonsongz, I hadn't thought of it in a dub-steppy sort of way, but that's kind of a cool idea.

Laguna Rising, I wouldn't think of myself as an expert in Baroque music either. But I'm glad to hear that you feel it kind of moved that way... that's kind of what I was going for.

rp314, thanks for the film application idea! :)

Unreflected, I'm not sure if you're saying that this isn't really a baroque piece (I agree), or if you do not wish to hear baroque music. :)

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beautiful ambient piece of work.
very convincing strings, enjoyable throughout. :tu:
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DAW [ENERGY XT2/1U RACK WINXP / MAUDIO 1010LT PCI]

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:tu:
'nuff said!

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Really cool. You are talented.

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As far as the instrumentation goes, I think you have managed to recreate the sound of the era. Towards the end of the first movement, there was a passage that reminded me of Vivaldi. The music in the second movement seemed to be much darker in character, and I thought this sounded more modern as a result. I do have a very limited exposure to music from this period, and could be completely wrong :lol:

Whilst listening to this, I kept recalling scenes from Dangerous Liaisons, so maybe it is a good fit for the period in question.

Both movements were very enjoyable and pleasant to listen to (3 or 4 times, as I recall).

Good work :)

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Great stuff, thanks for sharing it!

What instrument library did you use?
A well-behaved signature.

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Simply gorgeous! Another fine composition. :tu:
davidstiles wrote:While trying to get it to upload to Soundcloud without sounding like crap, I learned that the harpsichord is a very difficult instrument to compress for mp3
Unless you are uploading an MP3 at the same bit rate that SoundCloud uses for streaming, your file will be transcoded (converted) to SoundCloud's format. To avoid the degradation of two MP3 conversions, I think you are better off uploading a high quality WAV file.

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Thanks for your comments, layzer, Ayorinde, Hezekiel, seismic1, JerGoertz, and Frantz!

Seismic1, I'd agree that the second movement is more modern - it very likely would have struck seventeenth century ears as strange. And I'm glad to hear that you picked up on the Vivaldi homage in the first part!

JerGoertz, I used three Spitfire Audio libraries - the Sacconi solo violin and solo cello, and the light version of their harpsichord, which they gave out as a gift a couple of months ago.

And Frantz, thanks for the tip about Soundcloud uploading!

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