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Hello everyone! I share a piece for celesta that I just composed. It is my first composition in a year since I have no much time to compose or study anymore. Instead, I am trying to learn piano and this piece was inspired by the first few pieces of the "Album for the Young" by Schumann. Those pieces are mainly based on two homophonic voices (with the same rhythm) and a pedal middle voice ringing the fifth or the root (most of the time). Any comment or feedback is more than welcome! Thanks for listening and hope you enjoy it!

Hi everyone! I'm here to present my most recently finished work, the first movement of my String Sextet in G-flat major. I name this piece a subtitle of Heaven, Earth and Human to express my view on their relationship. (What a self bragging guy this is...) The piece is dedicated to my friend Johnson Ho. Guys and gals, please help me pray for his declining health and wish him all the best. He is definitely one of the reason why I start this piece and the reason why I finish this piece. Special thanks to @Thatguy v2.0 with his always original ideas which sparked my inspirations and new thoughts. Every time after discussion he always gives me new ideas on my composition and musical idea. And he's the one who make this audio perfect in my opinion. Thx so much and I'm so happy I get to know you in this forum and become friends with you as my musical guidance. I will post the mp3, pdf and YT video here first since I'm going to brag all those details after it haha🤣: Final First Draft of First Movement of String Sextet.pdf Final final first draft 01-06-2023 First Movement of String Sextet in G flat major.mp3 https://youtu.be/cI8MAn2XEPk If you don't want to read them, just ignore them!! (spoiler alert)😀😃😄😁😆😂🤣🥰😍🤩😘🤑😵🤢🤮🥶😨😱😭(spoiler alert) (spoiler alert) 😀😃😄😁😆😂🤣🥰😍🤩😘🤑😵🤢🤮🥶😨😱😭 (spoiler alert) (spoiler alert) 😀😃😄😁😆😂🤣🥰😍🤩😘🤑😵🤢🤮🥶😨😱😭 (spoiler alert) (spoiler alert) 😀😃😄😁😆😂🤣🥰😍🤩😘🤑😵🤢🤮🥶😨😱😭 (spoiler alert) (spoiler alert) 😀😃😄😁😆😂🤣🥰😍🤩😘🤑😵🤢🤮🥶😨😱😭 (spoiler alert) This piece is inspired by the thoughts of the great New-Confucian Chinese philosopher, Tang Chun-i. I immerse much in his philosophy and am always delighted reading his huge books. This work is particularly inspired by his thoughts of 9 states of mind, and I really hope I can depict what I feel towards the ninth state, the state of Heavenly(天) Morality Transcending (sorry for my bad English Translation... but this is way too technical for my standard....), his philosophy and Chinese thoughts in general. I choose G-flat major as the tonic since 1)the initial inspiration comes in this key, 2)it's the key of transcendence for me, 3) I want the sound less bright by get rid of those open strings notes, since truth for me is Aletheia in Heideggerian sense, which is hidden but to be disclosed only, rather than a bright thing to have. I know there are some discussions concerning key choice of strings recently, so I'm clarifying here. I had my initial thoughts for this piece in 2021 May when I woke up midnight, but then I was busying with my composing of Clarinet Quintet in C minor and thus ignored it. I wished to continue it in 2022 August after finishing my Quintet, but find it real hard to continue since I don't have the craft to do it. Until I joined YC and saw the following two posts: (Hey Jean @Jean Szulc I said I would learn something from your piece, and this is the product!!!!🤘🤘🔥🔥 Thank you! Will you post here again?) (Yo Vince my bro!!!🤘🤘 Thank you!) These two are absolutely great pieces (go check for them! Vince's piece is still on the "Our Picks" section) and they use the quartal harmony so well. I also learn from Jean's piece on the more extended techniques for strings. Then I had some ideas to finish the piece. This one gonna be something Chinese which is weird in a sense that despite being a Chinese I never write something Chinese. It's always Beethovanian and I really would like to reduce that element in my new piece. After writing the Clarinet Quintet in C minor, especially after having complete an all-controlling piece (esp. the 4th movement), I realized that I have too much reliance on forms and motives and I hope I can make them less explicit in my new piece. I love sonata form very much, but you cannot compose every pieces in it. And for me all the hard work pays off. For the instrumentation is two violins, two violas and two cellos. I love how the addition of 1 extra viola and cello (to a standard String Quartet) thickens the voice and strengthen the middle and low registers. It also gives more chance for viola and cello to sing while having their partners doing the accompaniment. For me the violins stand for the Heaven, violas stand for human and cellos stand for earth, though this is not mandatory interpretation of the piece as it's not always strict imagery. The structure of this piece is more a 3 part one. I have added some rehearsal marks on it to indicate the parts, and I will describe below with some (hopefully) interesting thoughts: (Timepin according to the video) First Section: 00:06 A, main theme. The accompanying texture comes from the first movement of Brahms's String Quintet no.2, one of my favourite of his piece. It starts with viola to emphasize the human call for me. Notice the theme in viola II in 00:23. That theme will appear throughout the whole movement. (Is this a Qi(氣) theme?)00:31 another important theme. 00:38. I like this theme for its contemplative nature. The theme comes from my Clarinet Quintet in C minor. Can you find it? I find it two days before in a wonder LoL. 00:54 B, continuation in high register with added voice. 01:24 C, transition, old theme disguised as a new one. 01:54 D, in D flat major/Mixolydian. The "Heaven" section in my original planning. 02:36 E, continuation in G flat major. 02:59 F, I love the conclusion in 03:13 very much. Modulate to C major to next section in 03:42 and I love the transition so much since it's real hard to compose. 03:42 G, the "Earth" section in my original planning, with cellos taking the lead 04:12 H, repeating the earth section in G-flat major 04:35 I, closing of first part, one of my favourite portion of the movement. I especially love that A-flat major outburst in 04:46. It's magical and I have no idea where does it come from as I only realize it's composed after I finish it. I always imagine Leonard Bernstein conducting this part, LoL. Very synchorinzed here, but it's denied and turn to minor (which will be further developed in the 2nd movement) Second Section: 05:21 J, the minor section. I believe this is the worst part of the movement but Vince's audio saves it. It appears a bit anguished here. The new theme in 05:28 is the basis of both section II and III. Some sort of fugato and imitations happen here though it's not time for it. 06:47 K. I love this part!! Very fluent in violins, and I like 07:06. It's a diminution of the theme of the previous part. I use sul ponticello here to make the sound more silvery. 07:29 L. Trying to reach back to opening section by quoting the first three notes of the theme. But it's external only since it's in F sharp major. Maybe the key difference is only visual and I may change it to G flat major. Also I don't know whether the harmonics work for the violins. I like this section though. 08:24 M. A pizzicato section further developing what's doing in part L. Daniel @Omicronrg9 must have inspire me for this part. I like the contemplativo section in 08:56 too with some call and response between the two violas (humans) 09:34 N. Transition to section III. I freakingly love this part! The transition for me is smooth, and it's transforming the minor theme of section II to a major/pentatonic one. Third Section. 10:05 O. Introduction of the fugue subject. 10:20 is the start of a triple fugue, with the subject in Violin the main one for me. 10:52 theme from 00:38 quoted. Subject through G flat, Eb minor, G flat. 11:10 P. First longer episodes, theme from part F quoted Subject through D flat. I love the preparation for the first climax of the fugue in 11:41. I love the climax in 11:48! Subject in G flat. 12:03 Q. Another episode to direct to C flat major. Themes in part D and the theme in 00:31 quoted. Subject in C flat and A flat minor 12:42 R. The great Con spirito! One of my favourite portion of the movement, The A-flat major is chosen to echo in climax of section I in part I. Final appearance of the subject of the fugue in climactic G-flat major, and leads directly to the coda. In 13:17 I have a moment when the first cello is higher than the violins to correspond with a Chinese philosophical concept in the book of Change, when the power of earth is up and the power of heaven is underneath, it's auspicious since the heaven and earth are communicating instead of isolating themselves. The Chinese words 乾下坤上 is written in the score though lest you know Chinese haha! 13:28 S. Coda, with a decreasing of tempo. I am initially perplexed whether to write like this, since my little Wind Quintet piece has kind of same treatment in its coda. But I just decided to write like this since it's beautiful and the two pieces are interconnected anyway. I want this passage to be like human successfully synchronize with the heaven and earth. It's quite similar to a Chinese opera here in my opinion. I freakingly love that half cadence in 14:03!! The coda ultima in 14:08 is written much earlier, in Nov 5th 2022. I know the conclusion but find the ways to it very difficult. But I'm happy I am able to achieve this ending!! This plan to be a 2-movement work, but I'm not gonna compose the 2nd movement until I'm ready. It will be very different from this movement though. It's such a long post LoL. Feel free to criticize or critique it if you have anything you don't like about it, or compliment it if you want! I don't mind any comments and I will love to have all of them whether they are long or short, good or bad, positive or negative! Thanks for listening! If you happen to read through this LONG post, thanks so much for it!!!!! I have too many things to tell LoL. Love y'all!! Update: The first part of the second movement of this Sextet is posted on Jun 2024: The second part of the second movement of this Sextet is posted on Jan 2024: Kind Regards, Henry

Here is an Adagio for Flute in Eb major that I composed. Right now I might use this as a third movement for a Flute Sonata in c minor!

hi! i'm new here. this is my first post! i recently write this piece that i think you might enjoy if you are into a darker harmonic palette. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpNLO91ryqE the piece grapples with new circumstances and transition. haunted by aching remembrances, REGENERATION explores themes of disrepair, aftermath, reconstruction, and the desire to change into something truer, stronger, and, altogether, more beautiful.

Hello @Jordan Jinosko, Welcome to the forum! For me this piece has great orchestration and using all those colours for great effect. I like all those tremolos for indicating the struggle. The bassoon theme in 1:56, then contrast it with violin and then high woodwinds is beautiful. I love that climax building from 2:50 on. The climax is well prepared with layers adding, and the harmonic progression there is captivating. You use a augmented chord B-Eb-G for modulating and this really shows some tension here! In 3:13 when music reaches Eb major it's fascinating. It does remind me John Williams with that thick texture and orchestration, but the fact you're using the tritone major as the central point of the piece reminds me of Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. The key appears so beautiful here given the fact that it's highly contrasted with the bare A minor! I agree with Peter about the incompleteness of the music. Not only it ends on a chord not so sure, but the climax is building and persisting all through the end makes me feel like the music ends on a sudden. But as you say the hero is regenerating in the music, that sudden end can mean a clear cut for her/him from the past struggle. Thanks for sharing and joining YC! Henry

Thank you for your comments! I'm kind of realizing this just now that I've been into "pastorale music" because I wouldn't say this some time ago but maybe it's true now! @Alex Weidmann About staccato notes under a slur, in this piece theres no such case. I use it in other works more for (string word) portato, but if the score is clear I don't think that there's any way of confusing a phrasing line and that. @PeterthePapercomPoser This work is conceived as a combination of 3 "miniatures", so I understand what you mean. I also think like this, but at the moment of composition I wasn't up to doing something more developed and now I don't feel like to do so. Surely I'll end up doing something more sofisticated in the future for this instrumentation. This is something to improve, I found it a little more difficult to match the instruments at some points so I think at the time of composing it I avoided doing such thing.

Hi @JorgeDavid, I like the sound of celesta and this one is a simplistic and lovable piece! This will be a great lullaby for babies! Yeah this does remind me the simplistic texture there. It's amazing Schumann does with the counterpoint and voice leading there despite the thin texture. For me sometimes it hard to write for two homophonic lines since it can get dry and uninteresting sometimes, but here that's not the case. Except in b.4 last two beats and the ending chord of the first section.I think you can insert a third there (G# and C# respectively) to attain a richer harmonic chords there. For b.16 that G# and B chord in the right hand you may just write it with two voices, and the B will not need to split to two quavers and tied for a crotchet. That's great news! Hopefully you will squeeze some time for composing after this! Thx for sharing! Henry