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Bring A Torch, Jeanette, IsabellaSince Guitarhacker posted a list of public domain Christmas songs, I thought I'd take the hint and do a Christmas instrumental. Somewhere along the line I lost the original MGU file for this, so I'm not sure exactly which tracks I used. I think the string pad came was a SuperMIDI Track, I don't recall which. There's a background fiddle RealTrack buried deep in the mix. The 2976:Vocal Oohs-Aahs, Background Pop3-part Ev 085 didn't smoothly connect the chords, so they were manually crossfaded in my DAW. They've never seemed to work correctly for me, which is too, because they sound lovely,  I originally used Acoustic, Bowed HeldSimple Ev 110 for the bass, but there were some issues with it - some odd rhythms, for example. When I rendered the third verse in D major, there were a bunch of gaps in the audio, so I'm wondering if files are corrupted on my machine. I ended up replacing the track with an arco bass from JABB. The rest of the tracks are VSTis from various places. I tried writing a "real" string trio intro for the intro, but was pretty awful. Toward the end of the Black Friday sales, I picked up a VSTi violin, cello and trumpet from Waverunner (still on sale at this writing), so I figured I should somehow use them. They're really more "ambient" sounds, but rather lovely anyway. The steel string guitar, nylon string guitar and mandolin are all from Indiginus. They're a lot of fun to play, and I figured if I bought them, I should use them. The woodwinds in first and second verse are from my trusty GPO library, with the Waverunner trumpet doubling in the background to give it some heft. Verse three uses the pennywhistle from Embertone, as well as the Jubal flute to take some of the edge off. It's probably mixed so low it's not even necessary. With a mandolin and pennywhistle it was rather shrill, so I got some help from my son to EQ it, and added a 12 string to add some midrange. The strings on that verse are a bit spongy. Mixing was done using Ozone Elements, Neutron Elements and EZMix and some other plugins. As always, comments (both positive and negative) are appreciated.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Really, really liked this David! Loved listening to how you handled the various instruments, especially the winds...thanks for sharing the background info on sound sources... and I specially enjoyed the modulation at each verse. Thanks for this extra special Advent treat!
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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Wow - this is a stunning piece  The arrangement is gorgeous, and it flows so well. Definitely reminiscent of the season. Nothing like a classical Christmas piece. Very relaxing. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Deryk
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Wow!
David , this is beautiful
great job,
enjoyed the listen,
Kenny
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Nice work on this dcuny! Really enjoyed the overall timbres on this. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Joe
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David,
Stunning!!! Absolutely Beautiful.
A wonderful arrangement and an excellent mix.
Thanks for the informative write-up. All those VSTs and libraries make my head spin.
Excellent in all regards.
fj
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Really, really liked this David! Thanks for taking the time to listen! Happy Advent!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Wow - this is a stunning piece Thanks! Nothing classes a song up like a background of vocal "Aaahs".
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Wow!
David , this is beautiful Thanks for listening Kenny, I appreciate it!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Nice work on this dcuny! Really enjoyed the overall timbres on this. Thanks, Joe! I had gotten the Passion Flute during the Orange Tree Samples summer sale, and initially was going to use it here. But it's more of a jazz/pop sound, and I ended up going back to the GPO for the flute and double reeds. They're really lovely sounds.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Stunning!!! Absolutely Beautiful. Thanks! I appreciate the superlatives. Real Life has kept me from being as involved with music or this forum as I'd like. I haven't really had time to listen or reply to other songs on the forum, but I wanted to do something. A wonderful arrangement and an excellent mix. Thanks again! There are a lot of VSTis on the track, but I figured that keeping the same instrument for three verses was probably asking too much from the listener. Usually I over-orchestrate the last verse of my songs. Ironically, I ended up with the last verse too quiet, and ended up having to jigger and fiddle to get a good balance. Figuring out where the acoustic guitar sits is something I haven't quite figured out yet, but I'm working on it.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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This is really beautiful David. Can you give an insight to the title? What does that mean> Great work man. Super mix, and gorgeous use of those instruments.
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Great instrumental version of this song. I've always liked this song. Well done.
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Can you give an insight to the title?
David, here is one version of the lyrics... Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabella! Bring a torch to the cradle run! It is Jesus, good folk of the village; Christ is born and Mary's calling: Ah! ah! beautiful is the mother! Ah! ah! beautiful is her Son! It is wrong when the Child is sleeping It is wrong to talk so loud; Silence, all, as you gather around, Lest your noise should waken Jesus: Hush! hush! see how fast He slumbers: Hush! hush! see how fast He sleeps! Softly to the little stable, Softly for the moment come; Look and see how charming is Jesus, See how He smiles, Oh see how rosy! Hush! hush! see how the Child is sleeping; Hush! hush! see how He smiles in dreams. Wikipedia states "The song title refers to two female farmhands who have found the baby and his mother in a stable. Excited by this discovery, they run to a nearby village to tell the inhabitants, who rush to see the new arrivals. Visitors to the stable are urged to keep their voices quiet, so the newborn can enjoy his dreams."
Last edited by Samuel Davis; 12/04/18 09:03 AM.
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This is really beautiful David.
Can you give an insight to the title? What does that mean
Yeah, that always bothered me. Is "Jeanette Isabella" supposed to be getting the torch, or is it "Jeanette" and "Isabella"? If so, why does it take so many people to get a torch? Are they using "torch" in the British sense of "light", or do they mean the sort of torch carried by an angry mob/tomb raider? So many questions... we may never know!  (I see Samuel has helpfully supplied a real answer). I can't believe you didn't ask if I could "Shed some light" on the title! You're slipping, man! Great work man. Super mix, and gorgeous use of those instruments. Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. 
Last edited by dcuny; 12/04/18 10:09 AM. Reason: Couldn't resist a joke.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Great instrumental version of this song. I've always liked this song. Well done. Thanks! It really is a lovely song.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Nice melody and great instruments in the song.
I can feel the Christmas atmosphere
Sergio
Sergio
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David,
Wow! So complex and delicate - extremely beautiful...
Loved it.
Bob
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Really pretty arrangement and beautiful mix David!!! I don't think I know the song but it puts me in a holiday mood!! Take care. Greg
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Nice melody and great instruments in the song.
Hi, Sergio. Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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