A professionally produced piece of work, but lacking in content. This sounded rather like a backing track. There was just endless repetition of a pop-style rhythmic base. The introduction of a strong melody would have helped.
3 years 2 months 15 days
Rather a bland piece which plods along pleasantly without making much impression either way. I would question some of the cadences as well as some of the vocal contributions. Quite nicely produced, but not much magic here.
3 years 2 months 15 days
Quite haunting, with a good grasp if what to do with a small string unit.
Nice harmonic progressions. Economical whilst actually evoking an atmosphere.
3 years 2 months 15 days
Rather cliched, but well done, nevertheless. It sounds a bit heavy for a sports track - more like The Scorpion King Returns! Neverthelss, shows a highly professional approach to a familiar genre. Enjoyable.
3 years 2 months 15 days
A first class piece of sound-design. Very atmospheric - no wonder it features on a Zomba library CD. Shows an ear for colour and a sense of imagination when evoking an atmosphere.
3 years 2 months 15 days
Lovely sounds,imaginatively 'orchestrated', highly professional production values, but the music itself loses focus at times - too much concentration on texture at the expense of content.
3 years 1 months 22 days
A thoroughly professional job (did you have an orchestrator or did you orchestrate it yourself?) - tells the story well - who needs the film?!!
3 years 1 months 22 days
A beautifully crafted movement with a real understanding of string writing - it really should form part of a concert work.
3 years 1 months 9 days
A well-scored and punchy genre piece - a professional-sounding job which would be welcome in any production music library,I would have thought. Very impressive indeed.
3 years 17 days
An original take on Shakespeare! Vrey slick and professional, although I can't help feeling it's a touch overscored in places. Nevertheless, a most impressive offering.
3 years 17 days
Rather densely scored, but attractive nevertheless. I think it would be much improved were the chattering piano removed after the opening. This sounds like transcribed synthesizer music - too much going on - too many lines - too dense a texture.
3 years 17 days
The opening catches the style well without being too 'over-the-top'. From there on, however, it deteriorates with rather unimaginative, predictable harmonies and cliched choral writing.A pity, because there's good stuff in there at the opening.
3 years 17 days
The basic ideas are fine, but I feel the 'ethnic-rock' style is a very big mistake and totally wrong for the subject. If I was watching the film, I would turn the sound off! The oud music and the flute works for me, though.
3 years 17 days
This is a lovely cue - in its simplicity it works very well and would allow the picture to 'speak'.
Very sensitively done.
3 years 17 days
Very expressive and superbly played -a moody track but with positive overtones - very satidying.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Great fun - really pushes the pace forward - first rate playing with an inventive drum part. A polished job.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Lovely melody - expressive playing - beautifully harmonised, avoiding cliche. A most satisfying track.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Works very well - fulfills the brief (one can imagine the scenes without the pictures)- lively and inventive. First rate.
2 years 11 months 23 days
An attractive, inventive track - great fun.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Unpretentious and effective with pauses to allow the 'picture to speak'. Beautiful
2 years 11 months 23 days
Very attractive - catches the attention and keeps it. Nice one Mick!
2 years 11 months 23 days
Dark undertones and metallic percussion track helps to maintain uneasy feeling. Works well.
2 years 11 months 23 days
This would work well on a travel show, I think, - the Latin percussion adds a dash of exotica.
However the repeated phrases might just as well work in a drama.
Intriguing.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Very simple but effective and well scored. Unexpected key shifts suggest unease in the story line.
Haunting and memorable.
2 years 11 months 23 days
This works very well indeed - those hornet sounds and repeated phrases evoke the images well. A most successful track in my estimation.
2 years 11 months 23 days
Quite atmospheric - transports the listener to an exotic, faraway place.
The Vienna Symphonic Library is OK for what it is, but I'd rather have the Vienna Philharmonic!
However, a very satisfying track.
2 years 11 months 14 days
An excellent track, well-constructed musically and imaginitively scored with some interesting and varied textures. Most satifying.
2 years 11 months 14 days
This works very well indeed and accurately captures the Jewish sound-world of the film without becoming mawkish. Hold the interest throughout its span.
2 years 11 months 14 days
Very much 'X-Files' to start with (that sampled whistling track!), but works very well with some very accomplished arranging. Interesting, inventive and well played - well done!
2 years 11 months 14 days
Very professional and intriguing from the start. This track captures the attention with its brooding atmosphere and inventive scoring.
2 years 11 months 14 days
Given the first rate professional forces involved this really should sound more impressive than it does. The basic material is somewhat predictable and, please forgive me, a bit commonplace. A triumph of fine orchestration over content, I'm afraid.
2 years 10 months 6 days
I like this very much - the 'loom' sounds are just right and the sampled voice works well with the instrumental music - an intriguing track which holds the interest.
2 years 10 months 6 days
A thoroughly professional track that really 'does the business' so to speak. I would have liked it to have lasted longer as it was just getting really interesting (some great sax licks).
2 years 10 months 6 days
As always, Elizabeth's work represents the very best in this genre - sensitive, imaginitive, highly atmospheric - and, when put to picture, without ever drawing unwarranted attention to itself. Perfect!
2 years 9 months 23 days
'Does what it says on the tin'- gives a feeling of spaciousness and grandious, whilst being musically satifying.
2 years 9 months 23 days
Works very well indeed - musically an interesting cross-genre piece.
2 years 9 months 23 days
An absolutely gorgeous track (although much credit must be given to the first-rate performance by Marcia Crayford) - simple and unpretentious.
2 years 9 months 23 days
A meditative piece which made a great contribution to the Tv series for which it was written. As usual, Elizabeth hits the nail on the head with the simplest means.
2 years 9 months 23 days
Very 'John Adams' - works well.
2 years 9 months 23 days
A bright title sequence piece with a touch of uncertainty - reflects the subject matter of the series.
2 years 9 months 23 days
A very successful titles sequence piece evoking the sea (you don't need the picture to see the image) - skillful mix of live instrument and electronics
2 years 9 months 23 days
A haunting track - typical of Elizabeth's approach - basically simple, sensitive ear for evocative electronic sounds - as it 'says on the tin' - magic!
2 years 9 months 23 days
A busier, punchier track than one is used to from Elizabeth - but one which fulfills its brief - once more, typical Elizabeth Parker transparency concentrating on a direct approach without too many layers. An object lesson for those who layer their tracks too densely.
2 years 9 months 23 days
This catches the mood of the title and sounds like something from one of the Harry Potter films. This is not meant as a criticism but a complement. A well-conceived and well executed track.
2 years 7 months 16 days
What a lovely track! Uncluttered and effective scoring make it ideal as an underscore and those modulations really work. It left me wanting to hear more, which is a mark of success.
2 years 7 months 16 days
Very well orchestrated,and a nice build to a climax, but then it runs out of ideas for a few bars. The bridge between the climax and what follows could have been smoother. Nevertheless, a fine attempt.
2 years 5 months 24 days
A bit of a mish-mash - unconnected ideas (some quite ear-catching) are paraded before us, but the sum of the parts doesn't make a satifying whole. This doesn't sound like music - more like a tour around your synth's capabilities. OK on a short demo showreel, but doesn't do you justice.
2 years 4 months 17 days
A lot of fun, but becomes predictable after a minute or so. Listen to Shostakovich's score for the ballet 'The Age of Gold' to hear how to do sharp, witty music which thumbs its nose at authority.
2 years 4 months 17 days
This is a beautifully scored track which does what it says on the tin. I like the simplicity and the keen ear for instrumental colour. It gets my vote!
2 years 2 months 22 days
This has a great ear for local colour, but there is little musical content! It would be fine for a travelogue where ambient atmosphere is all that is required, though.
2 years 2 months 23 days
A lovely piece of scoring which gets away with little thematic development by virtue of it's imaginative and effective scoring and its sense of proportion.
2 years 2 months 22 days
Imaginative, but owes a bit too much to other people (the opening sounds like Debbie Wiseman's music for 'Haunted', Arvo Paert pops his head around the door and the synth stuff at 2:14 sounds like an 808 State track I arranged for brass band!). It's really not cohesive enough, although there are some imaginative moments.
2 years 2 months 22 days
I like the unusual sound-world and the use of high strings over the strummed accompaniment (it reminds me of Janacek) - it's quite original but I just wish it did a bit more!
2 years 2 months 22 days
Some good ideas here and it would be great to hear it played on a real orchestra (one day, David!). The synth sound doesnt do it justice which is a pity because it is very evocative and really rather haunting.
2 years 2 months 22 days
This has a great atmosphere and is ear-catching and really quite haunting. I like the way it suddenly breaks free of its initial idea, but I wish there was more melody in there.
2 years 2 months 22 days
This is very good indeed - I like the harmonies and the statement-and-answer between the brass and the strings. Very professional, full of craftsmanship, very well scored and a real pleasure to listen to. You obviously know exactly what you are doing.
2 years 2 months 22 days
It sounds OK as far as it goes, but it's not really distnctive enough to distinguish it from 100 other such tracks. Sounds well-produced though.
2 years 15 days
This works well and has plenty of variety, interesting orchestration, but tends to be a bit short on basic material and harmonic direction. Some good stuff here, though.
2 years 15 days
Lovely ambient 'swimming' music (but why oh why must we always have a dance-music percussion track??? - it gets so boring). I'm afraid I don't catch any threat or danger mentioned in the preamble - it's all a bit bland and neutral, although well-produced.
2 years 30 days
This is what is described in the trade as 'a belter'! I like it a lot (particularly the use of the sampled horns), and it's takes you by surprise in the middle. Very inventive and energetic, although it all sounds a bit too much like fun to be a battle! Well done - keep 'em comin' Jules!
2 years 30 days
This is a bright,lively track and does what it says on the tin. A professional job, but doesn't really tell me that much about this composer. Very enjoyable, though, and a good starter for a showreel. Good luck, Alex!
1 years 5 months 12 days
An atmospheric opening, but the theme sounds rather too noble for the speech of a dictator, and why the wordless female voice (rather flat at one point)? - such a boring cliche. The 'battle' stuff is ok and well orchestrated, but didn't anyone notice that split trumpet note at 1'55"? - it sticks out like a sore thumb and should have been re-taken. It all sound very impressive and expensive (and probably was!), but there is not enough musical cohesion and too many cliches from the music of other composers The raised 11th suspension at 2'08" comes straight out of Danny Ellfman's 'Batman' score), all cobbled together in a rather clumsy way.
1 years 10 months 6 days
This works to some extent, but I find the repeated staccato quaver figuration too aggressive and 'in yer face'. I think a gentler approach might have worked better, given the self-imposed brief. Attractive material, though.
1 years 9 months 16 days
Very simple and touching, but perhaps needs filling out with a subtle string underscore or something like that. It also tends to ramble on a bit in the same key. It sounds rather like an improvised sketch for a film or TV cue, rather than a cue itself.
1 years 9 months 27 days
I like some of the sounds, but it's all a bit fragmented - it might have been better to develop just one idea a bit.
1 years 5 months 28 days
An effective song, nicely scored - very attractive.
1 years 6 months
An interesting track, well scored and imaginative, creepy 'shivers' along the way. Fits the generic theme of the album well
1 years 6 months
This is the real McCoy! An excellent mixture of live instruments and electronic effects - and the orchestration really works. First rate.
1 years 5 months 11 days
A lovely opening to any film (and great to hear my old buddy Maurice Murphy still sounding so good!). The string writing is geeat and I really like the mixture of a live orchestra with the synthesized sounds. Up there with the best of 'em!
1 years 5 months 11 days
A nice pastiche - and one that doesn't sound hackneyed. Very skillful!
1 years 5 months 11 days
An interesting cue - well scored (I'm just wondering about some of the harmonies...) but highly effective as a 'mood' piece.
1 years 5 months 11 days
This is good stuff - does what it says on the tin and is satisfying to listen to as 'abstract' music in its own right. I wish all library music was as well written as this.
1 years 5 months 11 days
A bit too much like Philip Glass for me, I'm afraid. However, it is attractive and quite nicely produced. Rather too heavily orchestrated, I think, given the images, but effective nonetheless.
1 years 4 months 18 days
A most interesting track, nicely arranged with lots of counterpoint and a melacholy air. I particularly like the solo cello entry at 1'30" - very effective.
1 years 3 months 20 days
A very sensitive piece - fits the description of the scene - doesn't become too sentimental. Quite well done.
1 years 3 months 20 days
This is a very pleasant track - I like the 'ethnic flute' just colouring the synth strings before taking the top line, although it does have a very slight Celtic feel, which I think should have been avoided, given the subject. The introduction of the guitar is a nice touch too. Very simple, effective music for chilling out!
1 years 15 days
This is good stuff - it's basically simple, but hits all the right buttons, given the brief. It skillfully avoids being a mere copy of JB and has a voice of its own. Nice one!
1 years 22 days
This gets off to a good start, is interestingly orchestrated and keeps up the momentum. A very good attempt, it certainly packs a punch.
11 months 19 days
This works to some extent, but I think it would be improved by putting some space between the notes in the early stages to raise the tension(it relies too heavily on the repeated riff). The ending puzzled me and I think your explanatory notes may be incomplete.
11 months 16 days
Oh dear - that wailing female voice again - it's such a cliche and you would do well to avoid it - however the rest is very well executed with skillful orchestration. I'd very much like to see the film.
11 months 19 days
This works very well on its own as music apart from any image - the minimalism is leavened by changing textures and ideas. A very good, well thought out and executed track.
11 months 19 days
Although comparitively short, this is an exceptionally well-wrought piece with memorable ideas and effective orchestration by a composer with the orchestra firmly in his head. Let's hear some more pieces like this (perhaps a bit longer next time?).
10 months 19 days
This is quite haunting, but it is more of a song for use in a film than a film cue as such. It is a highly professional job with excellent imaginative use of electronics. It says little about this composer's range and although it is undeniably atmospheric, it's weakness lies in the fact that it is just one idea repeated over and over. We are supposed to be taken on a journey, but I'm afraid the landscape for me is a little static and unchanging.
10 months 8 days
I like this very much - it's shifting harmonic centre and use of false relation chords really catch the ear and the slow section is haunting and memorable.
If the rest of your output is of this standard, no wonder you picked up an award!
10 months 19 days
This works, but it very short. As a single idea it is OK, but I'd have liked to have heard it developed.
9 months 28 days
This sounds as if it would work well, given the brief. I like the orchestration (lovely oboe and cor playing), although the aggressive strings tend to overwhelm (taking them down a bit in the mix would help). Unuusual and ear-catching.
8 months 29 days
Rather nicely written, but like my fellow panellist, Martin Cooper, I fail to spot a sense of fun in the music. Possibly it has something to do with the rather pedestrian performance and closely-miked recording.
8 months 18 days
I like this - it fits the description and the harmonic progressions are beautiful. I'm not quite so keen on the ending, though - I think you could have finished it off more imaginatively. However, this is just the sort of material for a production music library track.
8 months 24 days
This is very well written, although slightly under-produced (a bit more reverb, I'd say). Orchestration is very effective and shows a good ear for colour. However, I think that, for a natural history programme (and I've done a few myself!), it would be a bit too obtrusive - it needs to be a less heavily orchestrated to let the pictures speak. Lovely, high-quality stuff, though.
7 months 18 days
This is quality material - original, well constructed and well arranged, although I feel that the percussion is rather too heavy (a remix would fix it).
5 months 15 days
This is inventive, colourful stuff - although a description of the images it is intended to accompany would help. Holds the interest, though and knows how to create tension. I love the string writing which starts around 2'07''.
4 months 14 days
This works for me (I once had to score something for the BBC to a very similar brief)- it is satifying from a purely musical point of view and evokes the right atmosphere with regard to its aim.
1 months 21 days
Great stuff! A superbly synchronised, musically inventive, excellently arranged orchestral scherzo which fits the bill perfectly (I loved the Lydian mode 'flying music' at the end). I'd give it three stars if I could. Congratulations on your Ivor, Joris, but you are far too good for video games!
1 months 21 days
I love this track - rooted in the dark world of the 2nd Viennese School - beautiful scored and played. We don't hear nearly enough music of this quality on television these days. Very well done - more strength to your elbow, Joe!
1 months 5 days