Big, sweeping, playful and well-designed stuff here, Dan.
 
Loved the roll into the drum part at 3:00 or so, and the strings hitting on the beat part..

kakku
You are really good. The song was great again. The melodies were uplifting and played well.

Thank you Antti!
 
Regards,
Dan

No crits here Dan. Except maybe the ending dragged on for about 10 seconds too long but that's just personal taste.

Wow, this could have come from "The Lord Of The Rings".  The change at the two minute mark was a pleasant surprise.  Keep it up, Dan.  I wish that I could help you, but you are a master.  Word.

MGC59
Dan,
Another stellar performance! Your mix, changes and arrangements are like a giant field that keeps blooming continuously, getting more colorful each time!
Great dynamics, melody anf feel!
Awesome!
 
Mark

Thanks Mark! I think I've finally learned how to properly level a mix to keep headroom for dynamics. Last few songs have been much better in the end. First, you learn how compression works and start squishing everything, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan

stevee9c6
Breathtaking Dan. These are virtual instruments? I'm just curious as it is so beautiful. You should be scoring shows/movies.

On this one, yes, these are all virtual instruments. Mostly EastWest Symphonic Orchestra and Hollywood Orchestra. Vocals are Blue from Realitone and Jenifer from 8Dio. Tin whistle is from Ilya Efimov. Drum kit is from BFD3. And, finally, the solo violin is from Chris Hein. There are a few other odds and ends in there as well, but I can't remember them all at the moment, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan

Yeah, I liked this track a lot. Really, really nice. Builds very smoothly and naturally, and I thought the various transitions -- as the piece widened out and got more complex -- were exquisitely put together. I got a chill when the female voice drifted in around the 1:25 mark. Gorgeous. Strong melodies and counter-melodies, and the orchestral vibe at the end was great. 
 
Also, the mix sounded really polished on my monitors, smooth with a nice overall gloss to it. 
 
If I were to offer up any minor points of criticism, I thought the harp at the beginning sounded a bit too mechanical, and the string solo at the very beginning was a bit uneven in tone. But minor points, really.
 

CSW
Awesome..... Dan,
 
How long on average does it take you to finish a composition like that?  Do you also do the artwork for the tunes?
 
Craig

Each one I do takes me, roughly, 40-60 hours. I only have time to work on these on weekends, so it takes me longer because I have to step away from it during the week. On the other hand, because it takes me so long, I tend to hear things I don't like after being away from it for a week, which makes me a little more objective. My songs tend to go in several directions before I finally am happy with them.
 
Mixing is another 12-24 hours. This one was actually easier to mix than most because the stuff that's hardest to get right, kick and bass, doesn't really exist in this song. I mixed all of the strings into one bus, then all of the horns into another bus. After that it was much simpler.
 
Regards,
Dan

thepogue
yea....your work is always so polished and well fitted. This type of music is right up my Irish alley but has to be done right to draw me in. This is a gem for sure and I've got nothing to add except high marks. 
 
BTW what the hell do you use for the fvox?....wow just unreal.
 
Best tune I've heard on here in a long long time!!!
 
A+++++++++++++++

Thanks Tom! The first solo vocal is Blue from Realitone. The duet is Blue and Jenifer from 8Dio.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Easily would fit into a Corrs set. It would even sound good if you were drinking Coors. with Enya.
 
Dan, I appreciate most of all your composer's sensibilities - you find the sweet spots in the arrangement to add and subtract the little motifs - ending up in a most pleasing whole.  And then, your mixing skills are some pretty considerable icing on the cake.
 
Very well done and conceived! Glad to know you are a weekend warrior, there's hope for me!
 
One small idea would be the harp at the very beginning, I listened on headphones, it has some upper frequency crispy wispy artifacts going on. Or, more likely with your mixing skills, I need new headphones.
 
cheers,
-Tom