Maurice Ravel - Bolero - Original MIDI Performance

And we're back, Classical MIDI fans! It's been a couple of weeks, while I've been working on this latest presentation: Ravel's Bolero! Originally commissioned by the dancer Ida Rubinstein, Ravel started with a melody which he described as "insistent", and made the conscious decision to forego any development, focusing purely on repetition, designing what he termed "one very long, gradual crescendo" made up purely of orchestral color and density. The famous snare drum phrase is a two-measure cadence that is repeated without any alteration 169 times in the work, and provides the unbreakable rhythm that made the music famous in the movie "10". The tempo is also definitively declared by the composer, who stated the piece was to be performed in 17 minutes - no more, no less - which equates to a metronome marking of 60 bpm. The piece starts in a gentle pianissimo, and each repetition gradually increases the texture and volume until the final, 19th repetition is indicated with "fortissimo possible". This final phrase is also the only one with any sort of key change, briefly transitioning from C Major to E Major, but returning back to the tonic in 8 bars for the massive finale.
Technically, this piece marks a big update to my overall mix, as I had to compensate for using the Cinematic Studio Strings library, as well as accounting what is easily the loudest piece I've ever tried to record to date. The final two repetitions constantly peaked the meters, causing all levels of distortion, made worse by the fact that I had to lessen the compression on the snare drums as they were sounding very muffled at the highest dynamics. However, the end result I feel is MUCH better than before, providing a wider range between pianissimo and fortissimo, while enhancing the clarity of the reeds in particular. Let us know what YOU think in the comments below, as well as any other pieces you'd like to hear!
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Composer: Maurice Ravel
Selection: Bolero
Instrumentation: Full Orchestra
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