Some preview comments:





Lincoln

Majestic music, so appropriate for the subject matter. There is also a certain tenderness to the music along with
a very inspirational melody that speaks to the character of Lincoln. Great music for a great man!
Gregory Kelly​​





Sun Chaser

Ah, a modern western
What's interesting here is that you have a piece - sweeping and golden and made of the elements of the great outdoors - and yet while you have a nod to the syncopated style of movie western themes, this is clearly all your own. 

And speaking of the strings, I love that contrast between the brass and strings in their rhythmic interplay. There's energy but also all the time in the world as the land rolls on as far as the eye can see.

Doug Summers



Life

I love your counterpoint and moving lines. This is a must in string writing they seldom play block chords as a keyboard player would. It's a splendid piece and I Love it. Well done
Paul Wilkins
 

A Different Moon

Syncopated in a very engaging way between the the guitar and piano - they almost do an ancient form of dance with each other. The legato strings are soaring and noble - spacious .

I love the fact that you can get so much from a minimalist orchestration.

Doug Somers



​​Dance of the Clowns

This is really beautiful music! There is a muted intensity that creates an emotional appeal that is primordially romantic as well as dark and disturbing. The juxtaposition of the audio and visual elements is unnerving and frightening.

Gregory Kelly

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Migration

Superbly accomplished work Charlie; what I took from it was that motiff that introduced the song and underpins this composition wonderfully. I'm not sure where I got it from, but I imagined a windmill, pointing to various and sundry directions with this motiff and hence, brought to solidity the exact theme of this composition; this worked wonderfully for me!

Michael Jay Klien

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A Quiet Town

Hot and dusty dry.

Really evocative with a lovely balance across the orchestral tones and frequency ranges. The slow figure with the pizz strings reminds me of a donkey (maybe a little like Groffe's suite but unique). Lots of nice colour here and there - the piece moves along well without having to take us anywhere but where we are. That leaves lots of room to listen to our audible surroundings and drink them in fully.

I really am taken with this one.

Doug Somers

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Just a Man

Such a gentle introduction

of instruments as this simple composition unfolds. I really like the pace you take here, everything entering or leaving with grace and patience. Don't do anything to alter the simplicity and honesty of this composition.(Oh, ending on the dominant was such a good idea.)

Paul F. Page

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Kismet Has Arisen

Captured the atmosphere from bar one. I love the steady build in the strings. They add width and intensity. Is that bassoons and cellos at the bottom? Great sound! Very impressive piece.

Andrew Bass



Two

This has both lightness (from the woodwinds) and power (coming from the low strings). It would be an excellent piece for some exploratory dance.

Philip Gardner

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The Deciders

This is so masterfully done - beautiful coming together of sound and chords and harmonies, and those strings are just perfectly played, the way they ebb and flow rather than being played at the same volume. Lots of very clever dissonances, too - I'm not normally a fan of discordant music, but here it's done with such panache and always taking in mind the overall harmony that I can't fail to love it. Such a pretty main tune.

ihussain

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Never Going Back

...to this place you've limned in music Charlie, not MacJams! Gosh, you can just feel the backbreaking work, the tears and the blood in this. The dissonance, that percussion marking time like I'm toiling on a chain gang, the final solo instrument at the finish, perhaps an indication of finality to it all; this is such excellently conceived and executed piece. The strings were a good choice, especially as utilized here; they bring a sense of physical movement and grueling tedium to the composition. Again, you baffle me with where it all comes from, and then, how you make it happen. Thanks again Mr. Mazarakes for opening some portals for me with this, Michael.

Michael Jay Klien

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1917

Wonderful melody with supportive percussion writing is splendid. Builds and evolves in a grande piece with tones of seriousness and not a speck of sentimentality. BRAVO!

Daug

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WEST OF KHARTOUM 

Among all the other comments (above) I am particularly drawn to the syncopation in your rhythm section. It is hypnotic and impossible to ignore. You do capture that "eastern music" flavor with the raised notes in your scales and are consistent with it throughout. Your sense of what works orchestrally (is there such a word?) is very acute and precisely thought out. This is great cinema music. 

Paul F. Page

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Anthimos

My father...that grabbed me and then the music.

Thank you for this wonderful work.

Jack Miller