Northern Lights for Strings and Winds [Upcoming Releases]

the last few months haven't quite unfolded as i had hoped, yet there's been many positive developments on the music front. most notably, i'm happy to report that i've passed the 300 compositions milestone over the course of the summer.

here's a work in progress titled « Northern Lights » that's mostly complete, though it still needs some tweaks here and there.

the original composition was actually written for solo acoustic guitar around the end of 2012, but i already knew at the time that it would serve as a foundation for a prog rock instrumental. the bulk of that rearrangement process took place in january 2015, with several refinements added afterwards, in a sporadic manner over the years.

in september 2022, as i was toying with the idea of integrating more instruments of the symphonic orchestra into my compositions, i began looking for a piece that would provide the proper context. « Northern Lights » seemed perfectly suited to that purpose, yet as the process was unfolding i decided to change tack completely and turn it into a work for a small orchestral ensemble, which is the version presented in this video. it is currently orchestrated for the following instruments :

string octet + contrabass
wind octet (2 oboes + 2 clarinets + 2 flutes + 2 bassoons)
celesta
harp
percussion

i hope you enjoy the new music !

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painting credits :

« Aurora Borealis » by Frederic Edwin Church, 1865 (public domain)

[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederic_Edwin_Church_-_Aurora_Borealis_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg]

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