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I live for the major IV Thanks! Which exactly do you mean by "make scores"? If you mean sheet music, I don't have any sheet music for this atm. Heh, yeah thanks. I remember being really proud of the ending.

Hi everyone. I've posted this piece before; but have since expanded the work greatly, with lots of new material. Think I should perhaps add more bassoon, to ground the piece with some sort of bass line? The score is very basic and provisional, and has numerous errors; but it still looks nicer than the unedited MuseScore version. The instrumental parts are not labelled, but from top to bottom they are: piano, clarinet, flute, oboe and bassoon. N.B. Have added some revised versions of the piece and score lower down the thread.

Hi @Alex Weidmann I enjoy this expanded version very much, as the harmonic color is really nice in it. It gives me a Japanese feeling for the first and last section with the use of that Db. I love the middle section in F sharp minor as well! Very snowy for me. It's just about the scoring issue. It's quite difficult to read the score since it's cut with different parts 😅. I think the key signature of the middle section should be changed to F sharp minor, instead of using D natural and D flat. I see in some part the clarinet use a bass clef. A clarinet never uses a bass clef though and should be used with treble clef. Even though the instruments never appear together, I love the thinness of the piece as it's quite Japanese for me! I really hope you would add more parts for the bassoon! It's a beautiful instrument and it fits here! Nice job! Henry

Yes I feel like the opening has some bitonal quality in it: The melody is implying it in A major but the harmony refuses to admit it. Yes it definitely creates a chaotic feeling and image for the falling bridge! Yes that is a weird and abrupt "resolution" which brings more chaos to it! This really set the backbone of the piece. I think throughout the piece the parts are contradicting each other in terms of harmony. I always hear something bitonal or polytonal in it, like that of the "chopinistic" section in b.46-61. And I want to say that too: Vince is a great human being, really passionate and can always encourage and help others! I remember Vince saying himself like a gypsy, and he's a passionate and helpful one!!

I myself don't find it weird or anything at all. Just great build up to a great climax. I think it's a good change of texture, and it's not something abrupt since you use the oboe and clarinets to introduce it first, then with added winds, then with first violin, viola and cello and finally the whole orchestra. And for me the prelude is not really long for its beginning (and its entirety), so any new introductory materials or themes or texture won't minimize its coherency. It's a prelude so I will expect there are a lot of happenings there! Henry

Hi @Samuel_vangogh, That's for sure really nice first compositions. As Luis noted, the harmony is great in the first one. Good use of the low bass for the forte section. I would suggest to tidy up the fermatas in bar 7 since it will be quite confusing. I love the second one even better. The harmony is even more advanced e.g. the usage of French sixth in b. 16, and I love the flow in it. The modulation is great as well as it stretches as far to A minor. I love the piu mosso section, the climax is very well built. I think you can try to play them! They don't seem really difficult for me. Great job! Thanks for sharing and joining the forum. There are lots of talented young composers here and you can review their pieces as well!! You may get more responses if you review other composers' works!! Henry

Thanks for your insight… this was written, as you say, based on intervals. If it has some interest I can show how I thought about its internal relatioship.

Well, I think the original key of the London Bridge melody is D major, so I started the piece on an E, implying that the melody will be in the key of A major (since the melody starts on the fifth degree of the tonality it's actually in), the V of D. But that's not how I harmonize it. I purposely just constantly tried to find ways to throw wrenches into the listeners expectations with the harmony and melody, rhythmically as well. So the beginning harmony is an E major chord in 2nd inversion, but the bass then proceeds in patterns of it's own that are independent of the melody which starts in E major but actually uses a composite scale, contradicting it's own tonality with the inclusion of that E# on beat 3 of the first bar (and this is also a strategy I use later on where the right hand plays in 9ths). The bass wanders around up and down in major chords that constantly redefine the context of the upper harmonies. The 2nd quarter note of the first 7/8 bar implies a C major 9 #11, while the last three 8ths of that bar imply C# major #9. The independent rhythm of the bass and the melody also contribute to the feeling of chaos, and my intended "demented" mood. The last three 8ths of bar 4 are an elaboration of the final resolution of the original melody ("my fair lady") with an added third appended to it. In bar 5 I add yet another descending 3rd to this group setting up the variation you hear in beat 3 and 4 of bar 6. The harmony and rhythm in this bar is also an attempt to juxtapose contradictory tonalities (each hand arpeggiates a different chord) and tuplets (to make it sound more rhythmically busy with more events per beat then could have been afforded by only one subdivision of the beat). This basically covers the meat and bones of the approach I took to this piece I think. There's also the canonic imitation in bars 27 - 30 in which I basically just tried to surprise the listener by making each voice as rhythmically independent and jarring as possible almost never landing together on the same beat and using lots of syncopation. That's some of my thought behind how I wrote the piece but feel free to ask about specific parts if you want to know more! Thanks! I've approached the theme and variations process/form in so many different ways by now I should be a pro, but this actually predates some theme and variations pieces I've written since which weren't as continuous and seamless as this! LoL This piece was written many years ago. Thanks for being a great human being and for being willing to put in the time to help a friend! And I appreciate your championing my work so enthusiastically! Thanks for your review.

I love it. Yes the brass introduce Luis mentioned and the Dorian Peter mentioned is great. The major IV really gives that bright feeling of an adventure. That flute sliding in 1:26 and the oboe entry are colourful. The ending with the triangle is very cute. Very nice use of orchestral colour, though it's just your normal practice to achieve this! Henry

Cool and intriguing dorian mood you establish in this by using that major IV in a minor key. The orchestration is very good (do you make scores?). I'm glad the length to which you managed to extend this and I like the succinct ending that you weave. Great job thanks for sharing!

Nice brass introduction. Typical development of the style. Quite good.

Yes, Czerny: Yes, he again: 🙂