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The Emperor's Funeral March The Emperor has died. As the Royal and flamboyant funeral march goes through the streets of his kingdom his citizens mourning his death. I am way outside my comfort zone on this one. I have been working on this song for a long time. It has taken more twists and turns than a road going up a mountain. I thought that I should just post it and have you all have a listen. BiaB style Drought Rooty Americana Ballad supplied the RT guitar and RD drum tracks. BiaB style Hrporx44 orchestra supplied the MIDI backup string track using Kontakt - Amadeus - full string ensemble and Solid State Orchestra, i.e two tracks Tempo - 60 BPM I am playing the following: Via my keyboard controller 1-the kick drum - Ujam - SE Drums - Act Arena Action 2-the staccato strings - Kontakt - Amadeus - full string ensemble 3-the choir - Eastwest - Symphonic choir - full choir Via My breath and keyboard controllers 1-the French horn - Kontakt - Kirt Hunter's Virtuoso French horns and Kontakt Amadeus - Fhorn 1; i.e. two tracks 2-the Swam trumpet 3-the Swam English horn 4-the Swam Oboe As always all comments are welcomed. The Emperor's Funeral March
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Mario,
This is excellent. The strings gives it an almost Nutcracker feel & flow. Great use of the breath & keyboard controllers. You have a magical touch with them.
This was a great listen.
Bob
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Hi Mario! I think the boundaries of your comfort zone have expanded! The drums and staccato strings wonderfully illustrate the March feel. I wouldn’t have expected the tremolo guitar, but hey that works really well - gives the impression it was a modern monarch with modern ideas. And those tenor voices - icing on the cake.
Overall, a wonderful instrumental.
Andrew D
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Wow, Mario. So this is what a 'one-man-band' can do when he goes out on a 'band-in-the-box' limb. Very interesting layers and dimensions. Loved that steady kick under it all.
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The king is dead: long live the king. Certainly the king of the forum, Mario. An ambitious and successful work.
Laurent
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Mario, you made me think of Ennio Morricone on this one…symphonic and orchestral, but relying on unconventional voices..loved it.
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
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Mario,
This is excellent. The strings gives it an almost Nutcracker feel & flow. Great use of the breath & keyboard controllers. You have a magical touch with them.
This was a great listen.
Bob Thanx Bob. There is no magical touch just an understanding of MIDI. I still am a novice at those controllers but I am willing to try different things and BiaB makes it easier.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Hi Mario! I think the boundaries of your comfort zone have expanded! The drums and staccato strings wonderfully illustrate the March feel. I wouldn’t have expected the tremolo guitar, but hey that works really well - gives the impression it was a modern monarch with modern ideas. And those tenor voices - icing on the cake.
Overall, a wonderful instrumental.
Andrew D Thanx Andrew. This was an experimental piece, one where I was trying new things. I'm glad that you liked it.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Wow, Mario. So this is what a 'one-man-band' can do when he goes out on a 'band-in-the-box' limb. Very interesting layers and dimensions. Loved that steady kick under it all. Thanx so much Beth. I'm not so much a 'one-man-band' but just one who like to mess around with different genres and instrument emulations. I'm glad you liked it.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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The king is dead: long live the king. Certainly the king of the forum, Mario. An ambitious and successful work.
Laurent Thanx Laurent. Yes it was an ambitious song that I wasn't sure how it would be received. I am glad that it is getting some likes.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Mario, you made me think of Ennio Morricone on this one…symphonic and orchestral, but relying on unconventional voices..loved it. Thanx Tom. Yes I do like to mess around with different instrumentation and I'm glad that it worked this time. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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This is a gorgeous work, Mario. Very Morricone soundtrack-like. It's a great arrangement and a real demonstration of your varied musical talants.
Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕠-𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥
Well, Mario, you've certainly orchestrated a magnificent departure for the late Emperor! What a journey this piece has been, indeed, more twists and turns than a mountain road – I can only imagine the adventures you had bringing this funeral march to life. It's clear you've poured a lot of heart and soul (and a whole lot of virtual instruments!) into this, and I commend you for venturing so far outside your comfort zone.
The instrumentation is truly impressive – that BiaB foundation provides a solid base, and the layering of the Amadeus strings with the Solid State Orchestra gives it a real cinematic feel. Your dedication to controlling so many instruments via keyboard and breath controller is frankly, astounding! I can picture you conducting this epic score in your studio.
Now, about the "funeral" part... While the craftsmanship is undeniable, I couldn't help but feel that the Emperor might have been a tad unpopular! Maybe he had a penchant for ridiculously high taxes or an unfortunate habit of wearing socks with sandals. We may never know.
Perhaps the strings and choir, while beautiful, are just too celebratory for the occasion. Maybe dialling them back a touch and letting the French horns and mournful reeds (Swam instruments doing a lovely job, by the way.) carry more of the emotional weight could bring out a stronger feeling of pathos.
All in all, a fascinating exploration of sound! This piece is a testament to your ambition and technical skill. IMO you've not quite created a dirge, but more of a send-off party but you did say "Flamboyant" so a large grain of salt.
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Beautiful, especially the wonderful Oboe melody.
Love it.
Well done!
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Wow, Mario. What an incredible composition, beautifully orchestrated and deftly played.
The majesty of Ravel's Bolero, but the genius of Mario. Did I say "incredible"? Worth saying more than once. Incredible!
DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Wow, really well done, Mario!
Great attention to detail, it's obvious you spent lots of time on this and it paid off big time.
Your best yet I think!
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Great job, Mario, I always love listening to you put those Swam samples through their paces. Lot of work, but it paid off!
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Mario
Very well put together
Well played
Good mix
Good music
Enjoyed the listen
.fj
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Wow, you clothed the emperor with a beautiful piece of music. Mario, this is fantastic really --really! I was intrigued with the dirge beat in the intro, and every piece you added since then is perfect. What a great effect you have created. Love the melody too. So well constructed and mixed. Early on when listening, I was thinking it would be cool to have a doppler effect like we were standing in one spot while the processioin passed by, but what you did was... breathless. Never loved a funeral more.
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This is a gorgeous work, Mario. Very Morricone soundtrack-like. It's a great arrangement and a real demonstration of your varied musical talants. Thanx Chay for this very encouraging review. I was way out of my comfort zone on this one.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor.
It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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