Yes this is a very clever application of the library! There are several subtle moments at which programming wise it was a combination of programming and orchestral knowledge and technique plus imaginative composition that has yielded a subtle yet convincing and emotional result.
Guy of course has already established himself as a leader in the field of sample based composition and programming and has time and again proved that while it is a different game than a live recording, it is not less relevant musically nor less capable in many cases. In fact, he shows that one man, with the tools the talent the motive and the focus and intention can produce a more musically convincing result than an orchestra can, for me at least, speaking in terms of performance, at the least in the sense of it's integrity with the original composers intentions, since he himself is the composer, playing all the parts, and engineering the production right until the final moments.
He makes the case for the solo digital artist, composer, and producer convincingly, in terms of musical relevancy and integrity, and is clearly on the front line of this art form, so it's great to hear this kind of work. I like to see that he always works to take it a step further each time and never rests on his laurels as the expression goes, this adds to the excitement. He has the right approach. Also what is great about these demo's is that each time, he does his own style but also says "this is one way you can use this library, and you can find your own" and his "examples" as it were, always rest on sound orchestration knowledge, and he's simply applying that to the library, and it's working, and that is exciting and interesting in and of itself.
Forgive me if I get a little philosophical here:
I've noted in conversation with him in the past that what makes a new work exciting is not it's newness but the energy behind it. Movies that have all the flash bang and production appeal of a top production but the energy is lacklustre or cynical production values may be touted as a budding success and then fall flat on their faces. What is prevalent and evident among great successful things is the inspirational energy and dedication behind any work, be it a composition or recording, so even a movie with low budget, b grade actors and no CGI can become a run away success because it is inspiring by the magic that was injected into it by the creators, the right direction of those b-grade actors to the point that it becomes fantastic and nobody saw it coming. By the sake token an expensive movie can be rubbish, especially if the only motivation to make it great is the fact that a lot of money has been invested in it. We have to look beyond money and see what really inspires people to buy some music, or see a movie twice, is the human inspiration they get out of experiencing somebody elses creation, a creation filled with dedication and a point of focus that follows through to final completion, not stopping or letting up short of the mark. Going the extra mile. Like Rocky [[:)]] This is what makes Guy's work interesting on each listen, is that I think he really does work exceptionally hard to make it all come about in terms of his ability to focus intently and not to ignore imperfections and inconsistencies in his own work, until each wrinkle and musical issue is ironed out just the way he wants it. It is this "fulfilment of vision" that he clearly dedicates himself to that leads to the engaging results we hear regularly. Without that, no amount of orchestral knowledge, production knowledge, or engineering capability would yield the same result. They are the tools, but it is the focuser and the emotive nature of the creator that puts those tools to certain unique use, bringing the results we hear. You are hearing a unique original creation of music. Personally I find that far more inspiring than hearing a re-creation valid though they are, since this is a piece of music that we all would probably never have had the opportunity to hear if the old age economics of the modern world of classical music and orchestral recordings were to be relied upon. Yet that doesn't speak about it's validity as a composition. Now, we can hear that composition fully and judge it on it's compositional merits, and place it against beethoven and mozart and any greats you enjoy, and compare them side by side not for critique just to say here is one composition here is another. Otherwise, it would have been written down on paper, and unless it was comissioned or lucky enough to be recorded properly, it would never be heard by the human race. Now it is on the internet. And let me be clear this is not a point of argument on the validity of the composition - quite the contrary - my point is exactly that many great compositions that would never have been written or recorded are being written and recorded because of this library - and their validity I think we will more often than not find, is in fact there, justified in their creation, but for the economics of a standard orchestra would never have seen the light of day. So Guy is a pioneer in this field, which is a brave position to work in, and also that field extends way out to many other composers. For many reasons, this library is a gift to man-kind in our current day and age.
Like the men and women of the past, we are creating our own tools to build tomorrows world, first it was sticks and stones, then metallurgy, architecture, engineering, machines, planes, the internet, and many other innovations besides, and this library is a modern tool for the musical world, one that we now consider we could not live in without or imagine now having with us, and I don't consider it any less wonderful than a bridge that connects two points of land where before there was not one, or a boat that can sail around the world where before we could not.
For one, I can't wait for the 96k version to be released just to be a bit off topic [;)]
Congratulations Guy, through your persistent dedicated focus you are maintaining the momentum and steady increase in quality and completeness of each of your compositions. The hard work shows! [[:)]]
Miklos.
