Svon,
Good work, and as you may have noticed, getting rid of the '4 on the floor' block harmony has given you a couple of real plusses.
Firstly, at the end of the first phrase, you've got a brief moment's silence. (I would have made this a fraction longer, but that's merely subjective)
Valuable device in a composer's 'toolbox', silence.
That moment provides a suspense in direct contrast to sound, and a springboard to the next phrase that enables you, should you choose, to make fairly big changes in orchestration, without the 'clunk'. Silences are just as powerful as sound, used sparingly, and with a deft touch. (Beethoven knew this too, so you're in good company!)
And now, you can hear a lot more tone, making your overall sound cleaner, and richer. Personally, and i stress it's a personal decision, i've found the use of tonal variation a far more subtle effective tool for dynamics than just winding the slider up and down, be it soft or hard. ( The grey of too much can still be grey, whether it's soft or loud)
And you may have noticed, because you've stepped away from '4 on the floor', and the use of octaves as a mainstay of harmony, when your profound moment comes, it makes a greater impact, providing a much greater contrast. Unisons are more powerful than octaves in this context, but like any orchestrated device, they are 'colours', to used for an emphasis, not as a stock in trade 'go to' to fill space. (4 on the floor again).
A nice blend of swells between contrasting instruments too. While your harp provides an 'anchor' to keep things stable, the contrast in swells, changes the tonal characteristic as the swell progresses. So you not only get the rise and fall of the swell, you get a change of tone as well, that strengthens or 'reinforces' the swell statement.
When you stack instruments in order of 'impact', as a harmony device, it's also worth remembering the following:
When you have strings playing accompanying parts, and you want to just 'thicken' or 'broaden' the sound a little, (like a mini supercharger),add a woodwind. Provided you keep comparable dynamic levels (this usually works from soft to medium, after that the w/w tone changes to the extent that it 'detaches' itself from the blend of tone, and can stand out too much), the w/w is effectively hidden in the tone of the strings, but its presence 'alters' the dynamic space of the sound. Try this yourself. Clarinets are very effective at this, particularly with upper cello parts, and violas or 2nd violins. So if for example you were to repeat a phrase, and wanted to make a slight shift to highlight the change, but desired a soft change, not a large tonal shift, then this 'toolbox' device could be the one you seek. Contrary to popular perception, although w/w were thought of as primarily melodic instruments many years ago, they do provide other valuable services, and again Beethoven, and in particular, the russian composers knew this too. As a former orchestral wind player, i've played many parts where i got 8 bars rest, followed by a dotted minum, then another 8 or 9 bars rest. The composer wanted an added 'effect' for just a moment, and i was happy to oblige. Orchestral parts are not flat out all the time, even in the loud bits. (Rimsky-Korasakov provides great examples of real 'Tuttis' in the back of his work, Principles of Orchestration. You'd be surprised how many get left out.) Neither are w/w parts, or strings for that matter all frilly bits. As you've demonstrated admirably here, a simple minum, or semibreve, carefully placed, has the right effect. And worth remembering for the future, too many 'frilly bits' in a row will dull the ear to the effect, and therefore lose the impact. Although much of Baroque music employs a fair degree of this type of orchestration, there are still balancing 'stately' or other devices to give the ear a 'rest.'
Good work, and great to hear your talent exercising it's potential. There's no doubt the overall sound's a lot cleaner and richer in quality.
Have you been surprised at how little added harmony you actually need to add to create a fuller sound without cranking up the '4 0n the floor' factory machine?
Finally, you wrote of enjoying thick horn sound. Useful in the right place, but you, by the nature of composition, must remain impartial to a large extent. What may seem right and enjoyable to you, could be the opposite for others.
That's not to be confused with your unique orchestral style. Consider the thick sound you enjoy as another device in the toolbox, to be used at the right moment, for maximum impact.
Nice work, my friend,
Regards,
Alex.