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It's been a few months since i uploaded this prelude, and it finally has a fugue. Not much to say here, other than that I felt like using a few more fourths, sevenths, and ninths than you'd normally see in a three part fugue.

Hi there @Samuel_vangogh: I thoroughly enjoyed this short, modal piece. The quartet harmonies, which act as a background material, for the modal foreground theme is quaint lovely. It reminds me of how ravel wrote his Piano Preludes. What I especially love was the short cadenza. That truly showcased the Quartal harmony. Overall, you did a great job.

I don't really have any criticism. I just wanted to share my thoughts as I listened the second time, because to me, this piece simultaneously plays contrasting elements really well! I get a similar feeling quite often (which I refer to as a "sinusoidal mood with varying frequency"). Though I generally don't listen to symphonies much (which is why I can't offer useful feedback), I liked this quite a lot! I really like the introduction. Starts off a little ominous or uncertain, and then seemlessly transforms into something ethereal and happy (which to me reminds me of music that could accompany a character's first few of a destination in a fantasy story), and back again! The grace notes did feel a little odd to me, like a jazzy or humorous element, but that might be a repercussion of system-generated sound more than anything else. Those contrasting elements continue in the next lighter section, and they still go together so well! The happier elements almost feel waltz-like, and the minor tones like a stumble or a hesitant step, if that makes sense. The Tutti(?) at 3:20 reminded me of a scene from HTTYD 2, again with that feeling of our character seeing a new and otherworldly destination for the first time. And then again at 7:04! I thought around 7:50 it would fall into a despairing mood for a bit, but no, that optimistic voice is there again! I really like that because I'm particularly fond of pieces of art that aren't pessimistic (assuming my interpretation is somewhat right). That bit of percussion around 8:35 felt incomplete though, which I think could be developed more as it sound a bit like a metronome, though it also works to give a "pausing" or trailing off effect. 9:20 onwards finally started to feel tumultuous, as if the emotions our character has bottled up are starting to leak out, and yet the optimistic voice comes again. In general, I really like the melody of the woodwinds at 10:42 and the strings at 11:36, and every repetition or variation of it is like a spark of joy or some form of comforting epiphany. I think around 12:50 onwards feels incomplete, as if it's either missing elements or is like a placeholder (relative to the rest of the piece), but the shift in the mood until 14:00 is a nice change! The melody I like comes again at 14:42 with its uncertain partner, nice, hehe. The ending is strong and turns sweet (I love the piano and the harp(?)), though it feels incomplete, as if something is unsaid. Overall, it's a lovely and interesting piece. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the comments! It was originally composed in SATB open score format with no particular instruments in mind. I was pondering whether to adapt it for a string quartet or piano, and eventually decided on the latter due to the character of the subject. If I had rewritten it for piano solo, I would have had to sacrifice some of the contrapuntal texture for the sake of playability. The two-piano solution seemed to be more 'safe'. Also, I tried to arrange the music in a way that the subject entries are alternately played by the two instruments. Thanks! In my opinion, composing developmental episodes is the hardest aspect of fugue writing (at least this is the part I spend the most time on); I'm glad you found them satisfactory. :-)

Hello @PeterthePapercomPoser! Glad to hear from you again!(: At the time I composed these 3 pieces, I haven’t heard of Irish or Celtic music yet. The only influence I got was from my middle school music teacher, who often got us to play tunes from the book Fiddlers’ Philharmonic and its sequel Fiddlers’ Philharmonic Encore. They were really cherished moments from my youth. As for a performance with live orchestra, my former violin teacher is a member of a local community orchestra, so maybe I can contact him for a slight chance of that opportunity. Thank you! Your feedback really motivates me to continue pursuing music. Wish you a great Thanksgiving evening!(: ~Frank

Hi @Frank Normandy! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! These were a treat to listen to. Are these supposed to be Irish or Celtic influenced? They certainly sound like it. It's great that you're able to perform these for us and perhaps at some future time a live performance with an orchestra could be arranged? Great job and thanks for sharing!