AElfwyn's Saga - Orchestral work in progress

 
Hi folks,
 
This one is a work in progress that I started last year in Sonar, and I've spent the past two weeks completely re-doing it in Cubase (I wanted a fresh start on it anyway, and demo'ing Cubase seemed like the perfect time to do that). Unlike a lot of my stuff, which is hybrid orchestral, this one is a rare full symphonic piece (aside from the opening bit), and has proven to be quite challenging - but also very educational. 
 
https://soundcloud.com/amicusaudio/aelwyns-saga
 
Libraries used (in no particular order)...
 
Strings: Albion ONE (all spiccato/staccato/sustain strings parts), 8Dio Anthology Strings (prominent legato string parts), Sonokinetic DaCapo (sordino-ish quiet string parts)
 
Brass: Hollywood Brass, NI Symphonic Essentials Brass Ensembles, Kontakt Library's included VSL patches
 
Woodwinds: Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, Halion Symphonic Orchestra, Miroslav 2 CE
 
Percussions: Kontakt Action Strikes, Hollywood Percussion, NI Symphonic Essentials Percussion, Halion Symphonic Orchestra, Albion ONE Darwin Percussion (Easter Island strikes)
 
Other bits and pieces: Epic Worlds, Era II, Ethera 2.0, Sampletank 3 Alan Parsons Grand Piano, Albion ONE Stephensons Steam Band
 
Plugins Used: not too many -- Nimbus reverb by Exponential Audio over entire mix, a couple instances of TRacks5 Opto Compressor & one instances of Master EQ 432
 
Midi work done entirely in Cubase Pro 9.5, then mix was exported to wav file, edited in Sonar Platinum, and exported as an MP3 file for upload to Soundcloud.
 
As mentioned, this is a work in progress and there is more to be done -- I am not finished adding percussion highlights and accents, and I have some more woodwind parts that needed to be added in. But this is the overall shape of things right now, and I think it gives a decent snapshot of what I have in mind. I'd be grateful for any comments.
 
Thanks,
 
Rob
 

Lovely ethereal intro, good tension and release into the percussion/rhythmic section. Suitably epic horns and strings, beautiful transition to the uplifting themes. Excellent.

Sounds pretty good from here!   All of the libraries seem to blend well together to form a nice, cohesive piece.
 
About the only negative I would have is that you used Cubase.   
 

stevec
Sounds pretty good from here!   All of the libraries seem to blend well together to form a nice, cohesive piece.
 
About the only negative I would have is that you used Cubase.   
 

Thanks, Steve. Appreciate the feedback. In my defense, I did edit the audio in Sonar :)

What a really great start! Feels like something that would fit well in a top end game, like Witcher 3 or Dragon Age. Beautifully done, though I would listen to Kuusiemi as well, he knows his s**t.
 
If the opening vocal from Era II or Ethera?
 
Regards,
Dan

Makke
Good job. I liked the melody lines and orchestration.
Well done dynamic arrangement and mix.
Sounds good.

Thanks, Makke. Appreciate the comments.

Amicus717
That is Ethera at the beginning, one of the phrase patches. I tried the Vocal Codex from Era II in a few versions of this music, too, and it worked pretty well. However, I tend to prefer the more natural and cohesive sound of a recorded phrase, if one is available. The various legato vocal libraries (I also have Realivox Blue and a few others) are great to have and you can do cool stuff with them, but I find they have to be carefully used. Depending on the notes or intervals you are using, they don't always sound entirely natural - at least, to my ears anyway. 

Thanks! Very true about Blue and others. I have many of them as well, and now it looks like Ethera is on my radar, lol...
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Really liked this. Absolutely a great start. Was I hearing a Basil Poledouris influence here and there?

FreeEarCandy
Really liked this. Absolutely a great start. Was I hearing a Basil Poledouris influence here and there?

You are indeed! The opening theme (after the ethereal intro) was influenced by his Conan score, to some extent. 
 
Thanks for the comments :)

I enjoyed that, sounds well done with a lot of thought and effort.