Robert,

I really like the backing you've created for this. As the song developed, your performance got stronger and stronger. By the end of the song, I found myself really immersed in the sound and your singing.

For what they're worth, and because you asked for critical comments, here are some thoughts that occurred to me as I listened....

The first time through, I thought the vocals sounded slightly too out front. The second time through, though, I didn't hear this. I like the way you've set the refrain "Falling, Falling, Falling into the west" against the music.

While I wasn't quite sure how to make sense of the lyrics, from the prosody perspective of word-syllable strength being aligned to music-rhythm strength, your setting is first class. Your lyric imagery is really excellent and the words have some very strong internal sonic links (for example: the long 'i' sound in "high sighing pines"; the alliteration in "fortune favours a fool" - just to name two of the many). Your consideration of the juncture between words is also top notch. From what I can see, there are no consecutive words where the end consonant on the first word is the beginning consonant of the second word (such lyric events can sometimes be a challenge for singers to sing properly). Your attention to poetic detail is outstanding. I get the impression that you're very experienced at writing poetry and setting words to music.

All in all, I really enjoyed the musical journey you took me on!

Regards,
Noel


MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024