This is my first banger for 2022

The beat is made by @missantidote

My Soul (Prod. By Miss Antidote)

Re-Animated @frawstakwa 
https://soundcloud.com/youngelderly/re-animated-164bpm?in=randther/sets/open-for-collab
Lyrics and vocals written and performed by RS Frawstakwa @frawstakwa
randther RS Frawstakwa
https://soundcloud.com/randther
Paploviante: Music, Bass, other Instruments, Picture, Mix and Mastering

Re - Animated Frawstakwa & Paploviante

DESCRIPTION: Top of act 2 of Les Miserables, in a sequence unofficially known as "The Letter"--wearing a mens' brown trench coat, hat, and trousers, Eponine attempts to pass as a boy in order to be allowed access to the barricade and be next to Marius, with whom she is secretly in love; however, she is discovered by Marius who initially sends her away over concern for her safety, but then realizes Eponine is his last hope to have a farewell letter for Cosette--the young lady he has fallen in love with--delivered. Eponine reluctantly delivers the letter, which is intercepted by Valjean who promises to give it to Cosette and sends Eponine on her way. He then reads the letter, discovering his daughter's secret love affair with Marius. Valjean is deeply moved by this news and comes up with a plan of his own.
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THIS IS NOWHERE NEAR DONE YET, hehe. Sorry for the yelling, but this was rendered right out of the sequencer, which means the mixing is minimal and at this time very muddy. This is only to share my progress as a preview. It contains nearly the full orchestra and only bits and a few instruments need to be added. As always, this is a recreation of John Cameron's original orchestration, which was set as the show's official orchestration for the next 25 years in 1987. My work as heard here so far includes:
Strings--6 Violins; 2 Violas; 2 Cellos; 1 Double Bass; Acoustic Guitar
Woodwinds--Piccolo; Oboe; Clarinet; Bassoon; English Horn.
Brass--2 French Horns; 2 Mute Trumpets; 2 Trombones.
Percussive--Glockenspiel
Keyboards--2 using the original DX-7 patches.
The tempo is all over the place at this time and needs major work. The guitar is only partially included for much of the beginning. Dynamics need to be tamed on the brass, most notably. The acoustic guitar in the middle and latter part of the song has been intentionally amplified because it's so damn beautiful. I could listen to it all day.

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"The Letter"

Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French lyrics by Alain Boublil with input by Jean Marc Natel

Orchestrations by John Cameron

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg

MARIUS
Hey, little boy, what's this I see?
God, Eponine, the things you do!

EPONINE
I know this is no place for me,
Still, I would rather be with you! 

MARIUS
Get out before the trouble starts.
Get out, 'Ponine, you might get shot!

EPONINE
I've got you worried now, I have
That shows you like me quite a lot! 

MARIUS
There is a way that you can help
You are the answer to a prayer!
Please take this letter to Cosette
And pray to God that she's still there! 

EPONINE
Little you know!
Little you care!

(She walks to the Rue Plumet, where she meets Valjean)

EPONINE
I have a letter M'sieur
It's addressed to your daughter, Cosette
It's from a boy at the barricade, Sir,
In the Rue de Villette.

VALJEAN
Give me that letter here, my boy.

EPONINE
He said to give it to Cosette

VALJEAN
You have my word that my daughter will know 
What this letter contains.
Tell the young man she will read it tomorrow
And here's for your pains

(He gives her a coin)

Go careful now, stay out of sight
There's danger in the streets tonight.

(He opens the letter and reads it aloud, as Eponine eavesdrops)

"Dearest Cosette, 
You have entered my soul
And soon you will be gone.
Can it be only a day since we met
And the world was reborn?
If I should fall in the battle to come
Let this be my goodbye...
Now that I know you love me 
As well
It is harder to die...
I pray that God will bring me home
To be with you.
Pray for your Marius. 
He prays for you..." 

"The Letter" - Original Orchestration

Front Porch Step - Private Fears In Public Places (Cover)

Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk (Acoustic Cover)

Hello everyone. This is my tribute to the musical Les Miserables, which I've been a fan of since age 6. I've since known and loved many other musicals but Les Mis holds a special place. I have an especially soft spot for the show's original orchestration, so thought I'd try recreating it!

Here is my humble attempt at recreating even a semblance of that iconic John Cameron orchestration and not-so-humble attempt at asserting how much better his orchestration is to the copy and paste cliche mess that claims to be the show's "updated" orchestration these days.. Sadly, that original orchestration has since gone through significant downgrades and MTI is no longer licensing the original orchestration. They offer now the 25th ann. reduction, which makes pretentious claims of being more classical with a chamber sound but it's first and foremost a money generating ploy to reduce costs, at the expense of character, cohesion, and integrity--the new concoction features work by 3 additional orchestrators. To say it is a train wreck is an understatement. I keep faith one day this will all just go away and the show's signature sound and gritty musical language restored...someday.

John Cameron's original work is the voice of Les Miserables to me and it can't be bettered, much less replaced.

I got the idea one summer to make my own backing tracks as a response to the cheap quality "Karaoke" tracks that were being mass produced at one time. I vowed to only use a real orchestra in my tracks but not being a millionaire and not having a full orchestra at his disposal, what was a fan to do? An emerging technology at the time (circa 2002) was the answer. It was called "Orchestral Instrument Sampling."

Many hours of trial and error and fumbling around with thousands of individual snippets of orchestral instruments playing a single note, I've reached a level of maturity in my work that I feel confident sharing it. I use NOTHING but REAL orchestral instrument samples in my tracks, all meticulously sequenced. It is arduous but rewarding work.

Most of all,  I've had a blast working with a score that has inspired me so much, and gotta love John Cameron's quirky mix of acoustic orchestral and synthetic "pop" sounds and styles that give this musical a uniqueness like no other, a hybrid musical style that at once sounds as classical as it does mainstream and is incredibly expressive.

Please forgive the so-so mixing as these are ALL work-in-progress preview tracks. A lot of them have crazy tempos in places and all could benefit from some equalization and better mixing / individual instrument positioning within the stereo image. 

At any rate, I'm not a composer and none of the work I present are my own original compositions. I merely recreate what I hear. I do NOT claim to represent or to have mastered anyone else's work/creation. I only represent my interpretation of their work and it comes from a place of deep respect and admiration, as well as strong focus on integrity.

These tracks are not for commercial use. They are for private individual home listening. 

All Les Miserables tracks feature orchestrations by John Cameron, to music by Claude Michel-Schonberg; Evita tracks feature orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hershey Kay--all as interpreted by me.

As for me? Hey, this isn't about me, it's about the music!!! XD

"The Letter" - Original Orchestration

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