James,

What you have sounds like a great opening for a very dramatic piece of music.

How much do you know about classical 4-part harmony? If you want to get rich, full harmony, this is the best tool in the tool box. Also, have you read any books on orchestration? Rich and full harmony also requires an understanding of how composers use 4-part harmony across the ranges of the different orchestral instruments.

One book on orchestration that I highly recommend is by Adler. It's called "The Study of Orchestration" and is found here.

I'm also a fan of Walter Piston. His book called "Harmony" was one of the best treatises I've ever read on 4-part harmony. This link is to the original version of the book. I found this much easier to read and to understand that the latter versions which had additions by Mark DeVoto.

Walter Piston also has a book on Orchestration but I have not had the chance to read through this.

(The above books are not for beginners. They all require a well developed understanding of music theory.)

Hope this helps,
Noel Adams

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