BXBX NOVEL Chapter 360 Auditions (3)
The judges also followed where Eli was looking and saw the current situation of the three people.
Each was still concentrated on their work, still absorbed in finishing their respective crafts. For the painters and Lainie however, the time limit was about to approach. Everyone became curious about what their outcomes would be.
Just a few minutes after observing, Lainie suddenly stood from her chair and started to organize the music sheets she had filled with her own arrangement.
Eli raised her brows in amusement, in actuality, she was not expecting Lainie to finish an arrangement for a full-sized orchestra and a piano quartet in just a few hours of work. There is more work and effort to be done for one to be able to finish arranging a single piece, which Eli understood the most.
So even though Lainie was not able to finish the arrangement for a full-sized orchestra, she would still get her as her apprentice if her piano quartet arrangement is up to her standards. But seeing her stand up before her time is up, it might mean that Lainie was able to finish the two tasks.
It took around ten minutes for Lainie to finally go back to the hall as she still had the assistants to help her copy the manuscript she created.
When she finally showed up, Bramwell instructed that the manuscripts for the orchestra arrangement be passed on to them while the score for the piano quartet would be distributed to Marie, Haley, Raya, and Desmond for them to perform later on.
"Lainie, allow the judges to scrutinize the score for the full-sized orchestra. In the meantime, you have another two hours to help the piano quartet to be able to perform your arrangement and an hour to take your lunch. The practice room is prepared for the five of you." Bramwell announced as she signaled the five musicians to move and work together.
"Thank you, Vice Chairman." The young people bowed toward the judges and excited the rooms.
After that, the first part of the auditions was concluded and a break was issued as it was already noon time. Eli and the institute's officials invited Randel and the Royals to a well-prepared dining room where a massive array of food was lined up.
The eight were also asked to take a break and get their meals that were prepared by the school too.
In the campus cafeteria, the people who went to witness the selection enthusiastically discussed their amazement and impressions of the performances earlier. The others who were around could not help but become curious and decided to join in the next half of the session.
At first, everyone was saddened by the announcement of the category of events for the upcoming grand tournament. That was because they also knew of the tragic situation of the department. So when they heard that the institute will still hold a selection for the music and fine arts category, the students were curious about who the representatives will be.
There was a lot of skepticism towards the representatives of a virtually nonexistent department. However, since the institute did not give an exception and still ensured that the representatives would go through the right process, they took the chance to see for themselves if these representatives are also worthy to stand for the Empire and for the institute.
And if they saw with their own eyes the abilities of the representatives, the students, particularly those belonging to the School of Academics decided to support the candidates with all their might.
The selection event resumed two hours after the break as the judges still spent the time scrutinizing the arrangement that was made by Lainie for the full-sized orchestra.
Overall, the score she passed was rough and she only chose to write the key instruments to play on a particular measure or bar. But Eli and the rest were actually impressed that Lainie was able to come up with something distinct yet majestic at the same time.
The Empire's March was actually just a one-minute piece that was intricately written as a depiction of how the Seirende Empire emerged to become the one who unified the continent.
However as it was a march, there were many instruments that had to be involved and a lot of challenges will arise for the arranger, especially the pressure of making the Empire's own music it's new sound without deviating from its core tonality.
Nevertheless, Lainie managed to pull through and gain the approval of the Imperial Family themselves.
Now it was time for the two painters to present their work, with the theme of resilience.
"This was a very hard theme for me, I could only think of a few icons here and there to be my subject for 'resilience'. I wonder if the young ones had more than what I had in mind." Grandpa Reuben looked at Anna and Raphael who were standing beside their respective canvases that were still covered in a cloth.
"Well, without further adieu, let's take a look at the painter's works. Let's start with Anna who was the first one to finish her work." Bramwell then announced and signaled for Anna to present her artwork.
"Young Highnesses, this Institute's great officials, faculty members, and my fellow students, I present to you my own take on resilience… Rain on the Droughted Blossom!"
Anna gently took away the cloth and revealed a beautiful impressionist painting that used the bold colors of the earth and orange, representing the extreme heat in the world that she painted.
The subject of the painting was a single flower that was proudly facing the skies while standing alone in the midst of barren land. Anna used a cold lavender color to accentuate its white petals and a fresh shade of green on the stems and leaves to indicate that it had just grown and blossomed.
It was already beautiful, looking at the subject alone, with the impressionist style of painting, Eli and the rest felt like they were about to be drawn by the painting into its own world and experience the heat and barrenness depicted on it.
But Anna decided to defy the heavens and added fine thin strokes of colors that rained down gently on the dry land and the flower itself.
"The painting had transcended! More than resilience, it speaks of how it overcame the odds with just resilience alone, marketing the heavens to look on it seriously and bless her with rain!" Arielle, who was the one that was well versed in painting revealed her analysis of Anna's painting.
Everyone looked at Anna, a young lady with a seemingly demure and gentle expression, yet her art was bold and overbearing with personality and ideals!
Hearing the praises of the judges Anna relaxed and gave an encouraging look at Raphael who was now the next one to present his work.
"I present to you my simple take on Resilience… the Victor." Raphael took a deep breath and presented his work to everyone.
Upon taking out the cloth, Raphael revealed a stunning portrait of a man striking a valiant pose with an unsheathed sword he held upright in front of his face.
"Ahhh Eli… this is what your books told me about!!! This… this is cubism! Cubism!!!" Arielle immediately freaked out and shook Eli in excitement as she saw up close the painting that Raphael made.
The concept of Raphael's painting was pretty straightforward, as his own words implied, simple.
The man in the portrait was actually the first Victor, who worked with his blood and sweat in order to give his people a safe place to live in Prasinos. Apart from the adjectives valiant, courageous, and upright, resilience was also one of the adjectives affixed to his name, and so Raphael had indeed complied to them rather simply.
But what sets his painting apart was actually the concept.
The painting was divided into two parts which were obviously divided by the sword in Victor's hand. The left half of his body was drawn with the traditional realism technique which made the audience clearly recognize who the man was, his magnificence and splendor.
Upon looking at the other half of Victor's portrait, this was actually the element that told the deep and dark story. What's more, Raphael managed to use fragmented geometric elements to emphasize the message of his work.
Each of the shapes and boxes showing the other half of his face and body was made of thorns, scars, blood, fire, and other elements that Raphael thought might have represented the things that Victor went through for him to get to the height of his glory.
As Arielle was saying, the other half of the painting clearly had the elements of a revolutionary approach to painting - Cubism.
Eli was also impressed. If Prasinos were following the timeline of earth, cubism should have been invented a few more centuries from now.
She felt like she was witnessing the awakening of someone that might have been a counterpart of Pablo Picasso in Prasinos!
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