Length: 3:01

The photo depicted some deer standing in a shallow river while the wildfire was ravaging through the forest in the background. For the narration, I tried to mirror a dramatic structure often used in documentaries. When documentaries about animals deal with a natural disaster, they often depict it in three parts: the actual disaster, the aftermath where the death and destruction caused by the disaster is shown and the return of life and hope in the affected region after the disaster.

Concordantly, my composition is divided in three parts chronologically dealing with the respective parts. The first part (i.e. the first minute) starts with the scene that is depicted on the photo. Trill and tremolo strings embodies the fires brooding in the background, and as the drums move in and out, the violent and destructive force of nature draws closer.

As the orchestra builds up to a frantic tension part in the second half of the minute, we see the disaster arriving at the scene: The animals flee in horror as the inferno rages around them and consumes everything that is left. A percussive clash ends the first minute, and with the start of the second minute, we jump forward some hours until the next morning.

The fire has moved on, and all that remains is scorched earth. The sun barely manages to get through the smoke clouds, and we see the corpses of countless animals lying on the ground - among them the charred remains of one of the deer from the beginning.

Here, a lamenting elegy for strings and celli accompanies the scenery. The beginning of the last minute marks the return of life to the forest some days later. As brutal and as destructive the fires may have been, life endures. The celli move to gentler chords and a harp enters as the warm evening light shines over the recovering forest. A flute solo underlines the last scene where we see another one of the deer from the beginning, one that survived the disaster, drinking from the very river where it witnessed the arrival of the fire.

A Sibelian tone poem in miniature. It’s a bit disjointed - it needs more flow, and the use of the timpani is a bit monotonous - sometimes less is more! It is way too short, but what little there was I found captivating at times. Much of the writing is very idiomatic and individual moments have real magic. What is needed is a larger structure in which most of the elements already present can be given their natural breathing space to develop more fully. Such a shame that it is so short. Excellent work nevertheless.

By: wobbie

This had a very promising beginning and I saw the picture turned into sound. There is one thing that you and everyone else must remember both as composers and performers, and that is the effect a brief moment of silence can have. I felt that the two main points of transition in this piece were too abrupt: we as listeners were not ready for the change, which happened without warning, giving us little time to readjust. Try it with two seconds of silence to represent the jump forward of some hours and see the difference. In the “hope” section I would have orchestrated it without the cellos or at least have these instruments playing in their higher regions.  It sounded on the recording that the cellos were doubled with the basses. “Hope” doesn’t come with big heavy boots on, and “hope” should have wings. Using the flute in its higher register would also have helped.

By: Judge No. 1 (See Notes)

By: Judge No. 2

General

1. Complexity - Just right. I enjoyed it. A smooth blend of both major and minor.
   

2. Instrumentation - I love the flute. It's remarkable how one instrument can define things so easily.
   

3. Composition - As I said, at the ending, the flute is lingers in (my head). The ending and the part before cracked me (up) in this category.
   

4. Initial Inspiration - Instantly intense. Gradually diminishing. Slowly...
   
   

Specifics

1. Opening - I love the trilling at the beginning. It makes the song very scary.
   

2. Middle - It has such a slow mood to it. At the same time, it's very beautiful, and very insightful.  I was blinded by some of the small things I didn't like about it on how masterfully peaceful the song is. I love it.  I don't know about this. I don't really know what to say, but it didn't spark my interest.
   

3. Ending - Such a powerful ending. Very quiet and serene, but it's also very strong. Almost unblockable.
   

...! Didn't seem (to) much effort to create, since most of the song were string chords. But it shows how something so simple can be one's ultimate weapon.

From the composer of: Abysmal Flames

From the composer of: Affordable Wisdom

From the composer of: Blisters

From the composer of: Fate of the Forest

From the composer of: Forest Fire: A Brief Tone Poem for Orchestra

The second half of the piece was a beautiful portrayal of the aftermath of carnage, though I question its relevance to the provided picture. I wish more time had been devoted to the actual fire rather than the events thereafter. I think with more development the intensity could have been heightened to feverish levels, which in my opinion this piece would have greatly benefited from.

From the composer of: Inferno

From the composer of: Music for Trumpet and Strings

From the composer of: Prelude for Solo Piano

From the composer of: Tell Me About The Forest

• Harmony: The bitonality in your first section is nice and is a refreshing change from the usual, tired triads found in competitions like these. I also enjoyed how you superimposed the major and minor mode. Aside from this, the harmonies were simple. The melodies were sweet but not really tuneful. While this piece creates a mood you really can’t sing it. Tonally speaking, the piece was pretty stagnant, boring and predictable. Staying in relatively the same key area the entire time. In this sense, while beautiful, the piece doesn’t harmonically stand as an autonomous unit. This is a major problem.
• Development: Aside from adding to your drum part, your ideas are simple and seem repetitive and disconnected.  For the first part of the piece, you have a simple skip step melodic figure which you build in the strings followed by this rapidly ascending woodwind motif.  They just occur on the 4^th beat of every second bar.  Supporting lines are simple at best and overall, there is little movement in any of your lines.  You didn't explore the implications of any of your musical ideas, moving from one onto the next.
• Orchestration: Some good use of color. The tremolo strings were a nice
  addition. Also, the brass chords were very nice. The use of harp, strings and flute at the end was also quite refreshing. Overall, the use of instruments was stereotypical and somewhat boring in contrast with Blisters and the more strategic use of color during the imitative section. Good job though.
• Form: As mentioned in the critique on development, the through composed form of this piece is its weakest element. Overall, the ending is brief and unconvincing and the thematic material is weak at best. For an ‘Elegy’ it is a very weak and short moment which constitutes a bittersweet cadence tacked onto the end of a driving and cutting introduction.
• Overall, you have an impressive compositional intuition but it is very obvious that you have not studied classical composition in a deep and meaningful way. This piece works extremely well as a film score but it cannot stand alone as a piece of music.

Musicality [20/20]:

• Nice work! This piece is a joy to listen to and I really enjoy the emotion it evokes. Also, great job on the MP3. VERY convincing.

Relevance [20/20]:

• Again, great job. This piece really felt like being in a fire.

Overall Thoughts [A / Excellent Work]. I'm very impressed.

From the composer of: The Dance of the Clumsy Bear

From the composer of: The Wildfire Suite