Orchestral Arrangement of the Day, 17th and FINAL Installment:
"Nuages Gris" (Grey Clouds)
for Piano Solo
by
Franz Liszt (1881)
Arranged for Chamber Orchestra
by
Stanley M. Hoffman (2009)
Why did I choose to orchestrate this piano piece since Franz LISZT is not on my LIST of favorite composers? (Pun intended. :-) ) One of my teachers at the Boston Conservatory of Music, Larry Thomas Bell, presented it to me during my undergraduate years as an example of a forward-thinking work of the time and, indeed, it is.
The melody and harmonies of "Nuages Gris" are vague from beginning to end. I love that about this piece.
Also, "Nuages Gris" is so unlike other compositions by Liszt! When I think of his music, I think of the majority of his works that are anything but sparing in their use of notes, with most of them containing a gazillion pitches per title. "Nuages Gris" is exceedingly sparse in this way.
This arrangement was going to be published until the music publisher who I shall not name realized that the violins only play for two bars of music. Pardon my colloquial speech, but that is ass backwards thinking, both musically and marketing-wise.
The art of orchestration is knowing precisely when to use which instruments. I waited around forty years before orchestrating this piece, but doing so was something I intended to get around to when I felt that my skill set was finally ready for it.
Like the piano piece, the scoring is sparse and very specific to the predominantly low music. The instrumentation consists of 2 flutes, 1 oboe, 1 bassoon, 3 trombones, timpani, harp, and strings.
To me, the last two bars of music paint "bird ladders", those miraculous-looking streaks of sunlight that one sees breaking through cloud formations. Thus, saving the violins for the last two bars of music does not short change the violin section; on the contrary. It highlights them as the most special players in the arrangement. I do not believe that any orchestra or their music director will mind what I have done here once they listen to what I have in mind.
Follow the next URL to view a synthesized scrolling score music video for "Nuages Gris" on my YouTube channel which I created to encourage live performances.
This track really does not do this arrangement justice; it truly needs human players to bring it to life. #PerformMe
"Nuages Gris" is available for licensing from me, and for sale from Sheet Music Plus. Follow the next URL to visit the distributor's product page for this title.
Follow the next URL to view a watermarked PDF score of "Nuages Gris" on my website.
Follow the next URL to here to listen to a synthesized rendition of "Nuages Gris" on my website.
Ditto. #PlayMe
I hope you enjoy my arrangement of "Nuages Gris". Thank you for your time and attention.
Stanley M. Hoffman, PhD
Link to my website: https://www.stanleymhoffman.com
Biography Published in Grove Music Online (The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford University Press)
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