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I've taken to another exercise from Chapter 8 of Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony" - "Compound and Mirror Harmony". This time I've chosen Exercise 7 - "Move a chamber group through several mirror chords where the reflective harmony is generated by the same tone and by different tones." In this case he is referring to using symmetrically invertible scales just like in Exercise 8 which I already did. In that exercise I built the respective mirror scales on the same tone (C) so in this exercise I sought to build the mirror scales on different tones only. I also created an inverted canon at a 10th and a quarter note between the Oboes and Bassoons. I used the following chart from the book to simplify the exercise for myself (so I used E Mixolydian in the Oboes and C Aeolian in the Bassoons). At one point I switch the Oboes to Ionian and Bassoons to Phrygian, just like in Exercise 8, but this isn't accompanied by key signature changes. Thanks for reading and for listening! I would appreciate any of your suggestions, comments, critiques or observations! Persichetti Exercise 8 - 7.mp3 Persichetti Exercise 8 - 7.pdf

Hello, yet again with another prelude... GAWL aren't you sick of them yet?? Anyway, this one flirts between Db and C#m. It's 6 pages, but not that long as far as measures. It's grandiose, yet soft and subtle. Unfortunately, the midi doesn't do it justice. The arpeggio measures don't hold the first chord/low note in each one, but hopefully the score paints the right picture. I think it's due to the amount of notes held with the sustain. I hope you enjoy this, and any comments or concerns are welcome. :) Prelude 18 - Db.mp3 Prelude 18 - Db - score - Full Score.pdf

Just as was the case with the previous movement I composed for this Requiem in the works, "Libera me, Domine", the subject came first and I then had to find a suitable liturgical text that matched the prosodic and accentual patterns implied by its rhythm and melody. Since today's current date, October 10th, has been the World Day Against the Death Penalty for over 2 decades now, I figured it was quite a reasonable occassion to post a Requiem movement as I just finished it. The picture to the left of the thumbnail was originally taken from a sarcophagus found at the Abbey of St. Clement at Casauria, Pescara, Italy. Its text, whose incipit serves as the main feature of this composition, belongs to Psalm 143 "Absolution of the Dead". YouTube video link: Choral Fugue Non intres in judicium in C-sharp minor.mp3 Choral Fugue Non intres in judicium in C-sharp minor.pdf Original liturgical text and translations: Latin: Non intres in judicium cum servo tuo, Domine, quia nullus apud te justificabitur homo, nisi per te omnium peccatorum ei tribuatur remissio. Non ergo eum, quaesumus, tua judicalis sententia premat, quem tibi vera supplicatio fidei christianae commendat: Sed, gratia tua illi succurente, mereatur evadere judicium ultionis, qui dum viveret, insignitus est signaculo sanctae Trinitatis: Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. English (20th-century missal translations): Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, O Lord; for, unless Thou grant him forgiveness of all his sins, no man shall be justified in Thy sight. Wherefore, may he not suffer, we beseech Thee, the sentence Thou pronouncest in judgment upon one whom the faithful prayer of Christian people commendeth to Thee, to be a doom which shall crush him utterly. Rather, succour him with Thy grace, that he may be found worthy to escape the vengeance of that judgment, who, while he lived, was signed with the seal of the Holy Trinity. Thou who livest and reignest, world without end. English (Modern Standard Vernacular): Enter not into judgment with Your servant, O Lord, for in Your sight no man shall be justified, unless through You the remission of all his sins be granted unto him. Therefore, we beseech You, let not the sentence of Your judgment weigh heavily upon him, whom the true plea of the Christian faith commends to You. But, by the help of Your grace, may he deserve to escape the judgment of vengeance, he who, while he lived, was marked with the seal of the Holy Trinity. You who live and reign forever and ever.

Nice job on expanding your main motif, and excellent key changing throughout. Considering how long this movement is, the piece does a really nice job in keeping the listener's attention I think. About halfway through, you then change the pace but quickly get back on track. The harmony throughout is good, with sprinkles of pentatonic. Also, the last 2 minutes are very cool in how you conclude the piece. I like the change of pace here, with the slower, calm ending. Much of this movement is is quite steady / consistent, and your transitions are seamless.

This is the 4th and last movement of my Clarinet Quintet in C minor, which is completed 4 years ago which I finish revising. Thx to my friend @Thatguy v2.0 for making the audio! Here is the score and video of the movement: (For YT)Clarinet Quintet in C minor 4th mov final 20260922.pdfClarinet Quintet in C minor 4th mov Final Version 20260922.mp3 https://youtu.be/r4Y7eVQdom8 It's finally the time to solve the problem after excavating deeply into the despair and sadness itself in the last movement. The despair motive is almost everywhere in the movement to show the struggle with it. The movement is basically under sonata form (or sonata rondo) structure with an extensive coda: 0:00 1st subject, Exposition. Despair [0134] theme combines with anapaestic (or dactylic?) rhythm behind to present the action to solve it. A sudden reflection with halt appears in 0:44. What is this despair? Eb major arrives the earliest in the whole piece of music in 1:10. 1:49 Transition. Begins in Ab major, the 1st theme enters in 2:06 cello but stop by a chase to Eb major in 2:25. First time to dissolve the despair with bare harmonies. 2:39 2nd subject, Exposition, in Eb major. Some struggle in 3:02 in c minor and reached its climax in 3:21 but dissolved (or ignored). Trying to achieve a more hopeful ending but ends in deceptive cadence in 3:47 with the scare of 1st subject theme. Eb major never achieves its perfect cadence here and go straight back to c minor in the development. 4:17 Development, 1st part. Most complicated part of the movement (it should be), 1st subject theme enters into each instrument individually like nothing happens(that's why it can be either sonata-rondo or sonata for the structure). The sudden halt reflection suddenly interrupts in 4:53(which will keep appearing in the development). Keeps modulating with sudden reflection (or rather because of the reflection) to finally reaches e minor passionately for the 1st climax of the development. 5:28 Development, 2nd part. The emotion gets complicated as 5 part counterpoint is achieved here. I initially was in doubt of the counterpoint here during revision since the sound is so confusing and muddled but I think it's a good way to represent the confusion of mind here so I retained it. Certainly I don't have the ability of Mozart here haha. It cools down to b minor with 2nd subject theme singing, ending in German sixth chord which gives hint to C major/minor as V7 of it. But it instead it enter F sharp minor. 6:23 Development, 3rd part. The use of F sharp minor here is to reiterate the polarity of C/Gb which is established right in the 1st movement (I also use it in my Sextet). Another climax in 6:42 using transition theme. Falls to aura of despair in the opposite pole in 7:17. But only when you fully admit and immerse yourself in despair hope appears, as it magically turns into Eb major with the ultimate climax. The hope theme shines completely in 7:50 and in 8:11 even the despair motive appears hopefully in the clarinet! It ends in a calm pentatonic aura but it proves itself short lived as it cools down instantly. 8:23 Development, last part and retransition. It falls again to the weak Ab major and ends in a long reflection in 8:45. I think it's anti-climatic to allow unmoving passages in a development but I do it as preparation to what comes after it and a preparation of the coda. Sadness deeply felt and rebounds in agitation, as rhythms from all previous movements appear in 9:38 and in 10:00 the outburst of despair motive is played in unison. 10:13 Recap, 1st subject and transition. Themes recapped and reordered in a much more agitated manner than the exposition. I definitely learn from Mozart's G minor Quintet for the texture here. Transition in 10:54 as 1st subject greatly shortened. 11:38 Recap, 2nd subject. Time to enjoy the moving sadness by despair theme here. Try to grasp hope but despair seems fully taking control... 13:28 Coda, 1st part. My fav. theme in 1st mov quoted here: do I have to end in this way after all these struggles?? Are they futile at all?? I sink myself and dissolve myself into harmonies only after all the counterpoints before. Yeah! Despair may not be solved but it can be dissolved! To acquire it isn't to have hope defeat despair, but rather embrace despair and carry its heavy weight on your shoulder and still maintain that the world is hopeful. 14:40 Coda, 2nd part. By no means I am merely copying Beethoven's op.135 3rd mov (my all time fav mov) note by note here: the Eb-D-C-Bb motive there is the perfect solution to the despair motive in this entire piece. But just like Beethoven's op.131 or Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, what's happen next is not the issue here, so the ending is somewhat unfinished, and what's left undone would be further developed as in 16:00 the melody begins my 2nd Clarinet Quintet in E flat major. Feel free to criticize the movement here! A more complete narrative of the whole piece will be put in the video featuring the whole piece instead of here. Thank you if you follow the whole piece of music and read the long descriptions here! Henry P.S. Here are the posts of previous movements of the same Quintet: 1st Mov: 2nd Mov: 3rd Mov: The passage in Mozart's String Quintet in G minor: The slow movement of Beethoven's op.135 Quartet:

Hi @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu ! Congratulations on finally finishing this revision of your Clarinet Quintet! I'm glad that you are now able to move on to other projects! I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet - I think you did say something about someone mentioning that parts of this reminded them of Brahms? For me the pickups to mm. 63 reminds me of Brahms Clarinet Sonata No. 2 2nd movement - Allegro Appassionato. Especially the b2 Neapolitan inflections in the Clarinet melody there really remind me of Brahms. I guess you have the 2nd part of the Development without a key signature because it's so modulatory? I like the canonic imitation in mm. 359! I also enjoyed the simultaneous diminution/augmentation of the motivic material in the last part of the Development! I love that slow theme you brought back in the 2nd part of the Coda! Great job - thanks for sharing!

Again, the first sentence of the clarinet is great, and the next time the same phrase is played by the strings is nice too. I don't know why, but when I listen to your clarinet works, I can't help but imagine a raw recording. It is natural to do so. The dialogue between instruments is also very well structured, making it quite difficult to fully grasp in just one listening. I think it is wonderful how so many different elements come together as one. The section starting around 14:44 is beautiful—I feel the vibe of "to the supreme". Also, the section around 8:35 sounds nice to me. The audio playback is nice too—great job, Mr. Vince! Henry, I appreciate your works! Well done! Best, Lithl.

Thx for your invitation, Peter. My longest time taken is for my Clarinet Quintet in C minor. I started the piece in 2016 Fall, struggling a lot with my life and whether I can really compose, and finished the final draft on April 2022, which was my 1st post here on YC Forum. And I've recently just finished the revision of it for a final version of it, and if this also counts, this work took me almost 10 years to finish. I am not one who love to be pushed by deadlines and commissions, hence still don't want to be a "professional" "composer". Music has their own lives and when they want to speak they will speak through inspiration. I never believe that by forcing myself would make good music at all; if I'm forced to write trash in order to fulfill commissions or for money, I will choose not writing at all. That accounts for 1 reason why I work really slow. One example is for my String Sextet: I knew very well in March 2024 that the piece has to be end in a palliative and serene mood, in pentatonic style. But by then I only finished the first 20 munutes in despairing minor and minor and minor passages linger. I couldn't make it. I truthfully believed I could never finish the piece as I didn't figute out how peace can be achieved after such sufferings, after all tragedies, wars, deaths happening in the world nowadays. You can ask @Thatguy v2.0 and he knew I am not lying. (But a big thx to his encouragement) So after suffering some real life pain, recovet and one day I walked and listened to a Chinesr music grouping, I was suddenly inspired-truly inspired. Inspiration came out of nowhere and I knew exactly how to continue the piece and finish it in the way I never thought possible. I always think that composer is just a pregnant woman (not people). Music just comes from God or Heaven or natute or whatever, and they never belong to you alone as they are only realized through you, hence never your own possession. (Although I am still retaining my copyright lol) That would need time to feed yourself with more nutrients from past human world and the nature, and the process won't be quick, and hence you can never expect your fruit to be born quickly. I am for sure no Mozart thus I can only slowly write my pieces with diligence and hopefully they go well. I wouldn't want to write trash and flashy and extravagant programme notes on my music's blah blah blah to lie to any listeners and myself. I hope everything I write is an honest representation of me, and that would take time too. Another thing is technical: I need time to get familiar with my material and medium and skills in order to adequately write what I want. In my multi movement works the 1st movements are always the worst because I need time to know my music and digest it to write. These are my brief explanantion of why I need much time to write. Henry

Good morning, my dear friends! I’m happy to present to you once again my latest work, Binary Sonata No. 28. It is personally one of my favourite sonatas, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

Dear Daniel, Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to listen to my sonata. I’m truly glad you enjoyed it! Interestingly, this sonata was completed in just a few hours. It was one of those special moments when inspiration takes the lead and the music seems to find its own way onto the page. If you ever find the time to explore my other Binary Sonatas, I would be absolutely delighted. I would be very happy to hear your thoughts and impressions, as your opinion would mean a great deal to me. Regarding Pianoteq 9, it is actually one of the things that helps inspire me as well. It is incredible to have such a plugin at home — in my opinion, it is the ultimate piano emulator! I have purchased almost all of its available piano models and have spent a great deal of time studying them, particularly the fortepianos, which I absolutely adore. I have also made several recordings using fortepianos, which you are very welcome to listen to on my channel if you ever feel curious. Thank you again for your kindness and support. I’m very happy to welcome you as a new subscriber! Warm regards, Vasilis

Hi Vasilis! It was indeed very pleasant to listen to. I do enjoy a lot these works "alla Scarlatti". The whole work seems to have been crafted with great care, both engraving-wise and musically speaking. It breathes, and does it very well in my humble opinion. I believe I have not listened to other binary sonatas of yours; this is probably, or as far as I remember, my first one, but you got a new subscriber! P.S: Pianoteq9 is great. Kind regards, Daniel–Ø.

I do have to admit the general textural density remains quite staunchly homophonic-sounding for quite a good few passages, mostly in the developmental section. As with my previous motet, the main focus here was once again textual intelligibility, so in order to break that lack of variety in note values and durations across voices I would need to add in new passages or modify the existing ones by pruning the underlying counterpoint to accommodate for longer values, which at this point seems... somewhat unfeasible, to put it lightly. I could have added an Amen section at the end but after repeating the same incipit in the stretti and then following up with a Da Capo al Fine at the very end, I doubt it would have made much structural sense compared to, say, placing it right after the "Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum" phrase where it is normally expected to be ennunciated. Nevertheless, pondering your suggestions has made me realize that the underlying structure was not calculated thoroughly enough, and even if it does have a clearer sense of direction, structural integrity, Fortspinnung, etc. than most of my other compositions by my usually fairly chaotic standards, it still falls short in the end. Had you not pointed out the textural flaws I might not have considered the whole absent Amen tangent. Thank you kindly for bringing these points forth.

Thanks for listening and leaving a nice comment. I don’t write in score and I’m really slow at doing it afterwards. I recently finished my first opera and I’m in the process of putting it down into score. So, possibly at some point I’ll upload this one.

We meet again @Vasilis Michael or should say: Mr. Schubert. ❤️ While it says it sonata, the overall does not follow what we think in that sense. That is why there is the clarification: binary. Binary implies AB. We must ask this follow up question; How did manage write a Binary sonata? Rather easily. Muzio Clemeti wrote plenty of these. However, what I am impressive this time is the dramatic pause after the TR zone that leads up MC. I did not expect to hear that in early classical sonata(binary) form. To me, that is something that Haydn or Mozart would do. As @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu noted this does sound like Scarlatti. But I am extended the olive branch further and saying Clemeti, too. Late barque and early classical sonatas are rare to hear. It is refreshing to hear.

Hello all! This is a piece I wrote for college. The first movement was performed, and I was supposed to have the rest performed before the end of the month, but unfortunately, the ensemble that would have played it got too busy. The piece is kind of in a similar vein as my first large scale work, the Seven Sorrow; a program piece based on a traditional Catholic devotion. The difference is, while no other composer had written a piece on the seven sorrows, there are composers who have written pieces about the stations of the cross (Liszt's "Via Crucis" comes to mind), though I approached it quite differently, I think. Rather than a movement for each station, I made it a 3-movement brass quintet where each movement represents several stations. The first 5 stations in movement 1, the next 4 in movement 2, and the final 5 in the finale. The stations are shown both in the score and in the video with pictures. The Stations of the Cross for Brass Quintet - YouTube Stations of the Cross.mp3 Stations_of_the_Cross_Full.pdf

after procrastinating in enough time, I actually had listened to it, and after even more procrastinating, I am now going to write my opinion in review first off this is amazing piece of work and it was all enjoyable. Even the use of extended technique was good and also also the recording quality was also phenomenal. This would be programmed well for an Easter or coming of spring concert and I appreciate all the different tambre in harmonic use you use. especially at the last scene with the use of minor seconds to convey some sort of sour bitterness following jesus’s death. it also had a hymn like feeling to it as well. Great job

You do an excellent job here of exploring interesting harmonic ideas and making each line its own interesting melody. I wonder how this would sound with some longer note values as either a pedal in the bass or a slowly ascending or descending line to break up the texture a bit? (This would get your text out of sync between parts and less easily understandable, so maybe that's not something you want to explore). If you have a minute, could you add the full text and translation to your original post to help us all keep track as we listen without needing to open an extra browser window of our own and toggle back and forth? This sounds great, and looks like it would be interesting to sing!

Thanks again @gmm for your review. I will definitely have a go at extending the piece along the lines you suggest.

Hi @gmm , Many thanks for listening. I'll take another look at that divisi, and revise. It was optimised for midi rendition, as were the dynamics: so I will have to make quite a few adjustments when I come to make a proper orchestral score. Otherwise the dynamic balance doesn't work well for real musicians.

Hi @Alex Weidmann , I really like your arrangement! The orchestration is very vivid and colorful, and I overall found it very enjoyable to listen to! The only thing that seemed odd to me: in measure 20-21 the divisi in the violins seems odd. You have effectively four voices, but you have the entire Violin II on one voice, half the Violin I section on another voice, and the other two voices split between the other half of the Violin I section. It would seem simpler to just have these four parts split evenly between the Violin I and II? Either way, great orchestration and very fun to listen to!

As we transitioned into the off-season, I have finished a project that I intended to finish and to start for months ago before the competition on here in the competition on the music conservatory (the discord server with the tournament). So I am very proud to announce my next production in piece titled MORSE (I originally did it without caps, but it just sounds cooler with caps) Program notes: Monday when I was in my maths class with my friend, we were very bored and decided to communicate and make small jokes in Morse code. Of course, I questioned him if he knew any of it which he did sometimes, and we can just joked around teasing each other with it at the end of the day I had a thought. "maybe I could turn this into a actual piece of music." which I did. Other than just blatantly straight out just normal Morse code. There is a larger image to this. It's the idea to find the answer to many things. We may have to look where places where nobody expects us to look to find answers to simple questions. We must use clues in order to decipher ideas. There are, four movements a opening movement, drawing inspiration from infinity, percussion's "resønate" featuring various meditative percussion instruments, a slower, 2nd movement, a 3rd movement, which is to pose as a Scherzo and Minuit and a grand finale with its closing statement almost resembling that of Dvořák's seventh Symphony (which somehow I have transformed from a previous statement of a motif and theme presented in the 2nd movement So, after all these months of stalling and procrastinating and dealing with other stuff, I have present to you, my production MORSE Morse.mp3 Morse.pdf

Hello @Lithl , Someone introduced to me George Crumb recently...he has this fun piece he wrote for his dogs. The best part is the end, where I guess I'm spoiling a bit, as he ends it with a spoken word - "bad dog!". There is another one called Echoes of Time and the River. His scores are beautiful and almost like a work of art themselves. He also uses the instruments in more unique ways. Not totally my cup of tea personally, but can definitely appreciate the genius behind his stuff. So there ya go, hopefully this is avant garde enough for ya :)

Dear @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, it’s been quite a while (almost a year) since I first heard this piece, and I just wanted to give some feedback on it. But—as is so often the case—there are many other things to take care of first, either because they’re more important—such as composing for competition deadlines or reviewing competition entries—or because replying to much shorter or even “imperfect” pieces seems so much easier. Writing a profound review of a long and complete piece is therefore somewhat a challenge if one doesn’t simply want to imply write in the style „what a beautiful piece – thxs for sharing“.” With that in mind, today’s post is not a “final review,” but merely a collection of some initial impressions of the piece, based largely on listening rather than on a thorough analysis. So perhaps I’ll return to this later, once I’ve become more familiar with the piece. First of all, this isn’t just a “piece”, but a “work” or an “opus”. This is due in part to its sheer length (14 plus 32 minutes and a 235-page score), but above all to the “density” it contains. You have chosen the instrumentation of a string sextet, which gives you the device to have a voice leading with up to six parts and a well-blended sound. On the other hand, with that choice you are „stuck“ with the sound or „timbre“ of the strings only; so that there cannot be „landmarks“ in the piece being memorable to the listener only due to the occurrence of other instruments having a distinctive color (as, lets say „trumpets and timpani“, or a harp, or special woodwinds like a bass clarinet etc.). With this precondition, all memorable themes and „landmarks“ must been achieved in a very subtle manner, interwoven in the dense texture of the six „busy“ string instruments. And this has been achieved convincingly, although it is challenging for the listener to remain focused throughout the 45 minutes. Therefore, the piece is not suitable for casual listening but should be enjoyed in a way that allows the listener to remain undistracted: ideally at a live concert or—as I tend to focus on music—while listening during a long walk. So that (i.e. listening while walking) is what I did yesterday and so I can now describe some of my impressions: I intentionally do not read your introduction/analysis again to focus on that I’ve listened (and at the some facts I remember from the first reading of that introduction a half year ago): The first movement is dominated by the „main theme“ of the entire sextet – I think it is even recapitulated at the end of the second movement. With its optimistic mood, that „main theme“ reminds me somewhat at Edvard Grieg’s „Morning Mood“ from the Peer Gynt Suite. And when looking at the score and scrolling fast through the first ten pages, there is a real dense texture in the accompaniment consisting of fast ostinatos, so that the melody has to „rise“ from that morning fog. The other and contrasting passage I perceived was the short fugue in the middle of the first movement – and I think to remember, you’ve described that as a three-part fugue. The second movement has a quite other mood: Much more drama or even „fight“ - and the occurrence of other colors by the strings (pizzicato, striking the bow against the wood, etc.). I particular liked the pentatonic passage, but then I waited for the six-part fugue (I remembered of it due to your analysis) – but I must admit that I must have missed it. Sorry, that is a bit embarrassing for me as the „fugue guy“, so that I’ll take another walk today and perhaps start with the second movement to be concentrated enough all the time ...

I've never taken more than one, maybe two days to compose anything. But then my pieces tend to be a little on the shorter side, rarely exceeding a few minutes in length.

I heard Beethoven took 25 years to make his chorale symphony. But for me I'm still working on the second movement of my first symphony and I'm planning on making 8, all of then last around 1 hour.

I started a piece around 3 years ago and i am still on the first movement

Thx my friend! I love the 3rd Lament as well, it has become my favorite during the revision.

Hi @Lithl ! I love your appreciation on the structure of the movement! I personally love the alternation of homophonic Laments and polyphonic Fugues as well. Mahler said that each Symphony is a world. I think each piece should be their own world since there should be unique things to say in each work, no matter the scale or the medium. I love the last Clarinet solo too! To me it's a reflection of what happen in the movement as well the piece. I love the ending when all 4 subjects appear and the 1st Lament reappears at the end to realize the pain. That's the turning point of the whole piece. The piece is in 4 movements and the finale should be posted today or tomorrow. Stay tuned! Henry

Thanks for the praise! I havent heard of fracture sounds, but ill check their vsts later. Ill think about the title some more but i like the idea of wurlitzer pieces… maybe a keyboard or synthesizer quartet is due to be written.

This is a beautiful piece—sounds so gentle. And the title is nice, very suitable for this piece. Hey @PeterthePapercomPoser, please give him an Outstanding Orchestrator badge—I think this piece is worth an award. (Thank you Peter every time :) I'm not knowledgeable about orchestration, but I think this piece sounds great. Oh, and playback is also well done—comfortable playing. Thank you for sharing this, gmm! Best, Lithl.

Very cool! I like the electric piano, it's a nice change from what I usually hear around here. I agree with Grant, it has a space type of feel, probably because of the timbre, and the jaunty syncopated melody worked really nicely over the flowing eighths in the left hand.

Hello, It's nice. I had this image of a robot colony on mars, working hard with the two moons and the ethereal beauty of space. You got this really spacey-feel going on, but also this sense of busy-ness. It feels beautiful in an out of world sort of way. There are moments of emotion, but for the most part it feels almost kind of coldish with the type of harmonies you are throwing it. Hence...robots in space! Parts of it don't even sound like piano, I kept thinking that perhaps a guitar (around 2:00) was playing in the background. But of course, this is probably supposed to be a keyboard piece.

= Short Piece for Cello / Piano / Granular Synthesis = = Background One day, I thought of a cellist and a pianist performing over a backdrop of electronic noise, and this piece was created based on that idea. As the title suggests, the composition features cello, piano, and granular synthesis. The composition process began with creating the granular synthesis textures, followed by adding staccato cello notes and piano. I imagine a space that looks like a compact design. = Note I don't have a specific message I'm trying to convey with this music, but I would be happy if someone found it enjoyable. To be honest, I was reluctant for a while to upload this piece; I felt a bit hesitant about creating something annoying when everyone else is composing beautiful orchestral / chamber or keyboard-based works, haha. Still, I decided to take the plunge and upload it. As for the score, since I don't know how to notate it, I can't upload it now. I’d love to hear your impressions, criticism, and feedback. Again, I hope you find it interesting and enjoy it. = Music / Artwork: Lithl = Finally If you know any pieces that are similar to this piece of mine, please let me know. I'd appreciate it. Thank you for listening, and have a nice day :) Short Piece for Cello : Piano : Granular Synthesis.mp3

Hey all, This is the current iteration of the second movement. Eager to hear people's views so far on this... whether it works. The bit I am currently working on is intended to be a fugata, in the spirit of Beethoven's own in his Erocia, second movement (which I love). I am using that as a model. Never done that before and it's certainly a challenge. I haven't finished the wind writing which will have two parts for each instrument except for solo areas (i.e. the beginning). I wouldn’t bother looking for errors as it’s still a work in progress. There is still much to refine. It would just be helpful to just gauge how the ideas come together while i’m immersed in the rabbit hole! 🤣 Symphony in A (Second movement Draft).mp3 Symphony in A (Second movement Draft).pdf

Hi @Markus Boyd , I really like what you have so far. I like the minor key fugue at the beginning, the string entrance at around 0:45 in the major mode is a welcome contrast, then I really like how the texture thins out around 1:05. The buildup around 1:35 is also very effective, and the succeeding string melody and arpeggios are lovely. Keep it up!

Hi @Alex Weidmann , really great orchestration here! I thought your treatment of the voices was very good. And I really liked how you gave each instrument family (woodwinds, strings, brass) their own section, it really highlighted the piece’s overall structure. I think it would be a good idea to add the repeat, and maybe end with a more full tutti orchestration? That would give the ending more finality. Thanks for sharing!

Yeah I think this was really interesting. For me I felt like it was really easy to distinguish the two parts, as my ear could effortlessly listen back and forth between them. It didn't feel like oil and water like a lot of bitonal stuff I've heard, but rather the two parts worked much better than what I anticipated. Very cool Peter, I'm interested to hear how all your studies acquiesce into larger works. Maybe something along the lines of blending two themes together at the end of a sonata or something.

Hey Lithl Very cool piece! For some reason your piece reminded me of this: Know the composer? This may help if you want to keep learning about a style with "tape" playback (or whatever avenue you use) mixed with instruments. Your piece is more abstract, but I'm sure they're parallel in some ways. I'm not too familiar with the style, but I'm always curious how more abstract music could be developed further. Thanks for sharing, and don't ever be bashful about posting something against the grain of what's here :)

Hallo Mason, now that the contest is over, I’d like to go through the feedback I’ve received over the next few days, analyze it a bit more thoroughly than I’ve been able to in the last weeks, and respond accordingly wherever I have some clarifications or comments. That „bracketing“ and the connected bar lines between the accordion and piano have already been mentioned by other reviewers (for example, @Kvothe ). Not to be too repetitive, that approach was intentional, since I considered my „special quintet“ as an „orchestra“ rather than a chamber ensemble—which, of course, may seem “strange” or “wrong”. However that consideration has sometimes been recognized by other reviewers as well: To avoid that unusual score order/grouping, perhaps it might indeed be the better decision to notate this piece as a “chamber music work“. However, in that case I have a different „headache“: In my piece, the piano part is not as prominent as usual in a piano quintet. Moreover, I would say, the accordion is somewhat more „the chief“, so should the accordion be placed at the very bottom, with the scores for the other instruments written in a smaller font size? No, of course not—the best compromise would be the traditional order you suggested (trumpet, guitar, cello, accordion, piano), but with all instruments in the same font size. Yes, I should use dynamic markings a bit more sparingly in the future. That exaggeration possibly results from the fact that I’ve been following the rule: “Never a hairpin without a dynamic marking at the beginning and end” (I’ve already discussed this in another thread). However, I think it’s feasible to take this “rule” seriously only when it seems appropriate, rather than applying it to every single note or short phrase. We already had „the pleasure“ of discussing whether „whole-bar rests“ (which are placed in the middle of the bar) should be used or not. And until now, I was convinced that those rests are used only when the entire instrument is silent, and not if only one hand of the piano or accordion, or one voice in a polyphonic score, has a rest for the entire measure. So I looked in the „Bible“ (i.e. the Welltempered Clavier, especially at fugues) to reconfirm my opinion ... ... – but I was proven wrong: Even there, “full-measure rests” are used, i.e., placed in the middle. So, I will now finally go to bury my „whole-note rests“ in 4/4 meter or my „dotted half-note rests“ in 3/4 time, and so on. Thank you very much. Yes, the fugato—and especially the moment when the trumpet played the main subject for the first time (without a mute)—was a lot of fun for me to compose. Unfortunately, however, I faced the “dilemma” of having to set two more stanzas of the poem to music. As a result, I had to shorten the development sections of the fugato and resolve the tension to make way for the more contemplative mood of the “sung lines of the poem.” After the poem ended, I wondered whether I should now let the fugato pick up speed again and develop it fully, perhaps with a climax of strettos and a pedal point. But this approach seemed to me to make the piece a bit too long, so I recapitulated the first section in a more melancholic manner, bringing the „arch of tension“ rather down than to a triumphant finale.

Hello A lovely piece. One of the key lessons I took away from this ESSENTIAL book by Persichetti is that if you use a system – that is, if you are consistent with a musical organisation, whatever that may be – the result depends solely on each individual’s skill and artistry, just as it would if you were composing tonal music. I think it’s a great decision here to have divided the timbres for each mode-scale. As well as the different registers. The fact that each part has been harmonised in thirds and sixths gives it a very familiar smoothness (common in tonal music). Yet these modes lend themselves perfectly to fourth-based harmony.

Very nice fluttering texture in the woodwind section, and I enjoyed your key changes. Looks promising so far!

Hey Peter! In fact I find it really melodious even it’s bitonal. The canonic imitation doesn’t sound mechanical to me, which is good job. In fact I’m going to use some bitonal treatment of your theme in my new work working so stay tuned haha. Henry

Thank you. It's the sound of blowing wind. Each sound was resampled. The train tracks were the bass drum, but I didn't think to make it punchy. Fun note, the wolf howls are the same material of sound as the bell. The wolf howls were made by manipulating the bell sound into a howl.

Ok very interesting, because I see and hear 2 key signatures played against each other. But the different key signatures themselves are "in key". I suppose this naturally gives us 2 different harmonies without having to manage accidentals. Interesting concept, and at times this sounded a bit like Ravel. Fun rhythms, and for an exercise this sounds like it could be a nice little standalone piece, maybe a prelude, or some type of introduction to a larger work.

Yes, Lontano, but really all of her albums are great. I was first taken in by her playing on the album Gurdjieff & Tsabropoulos: Chamber music.

Thank you, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, for your review :) Gothic scene, that's interesting. I've never thought about it. And your idea about the cello is nice—that's going to be a good one. Actually, I always intend to use extended techniques for string instruments, but I do not know how to play them in the DAW / software realistically. Is having someone play them the only way to get those extended techniques, after all? 😕 Anyway, thanks again, Henry! Best, Lithl.

Thanks I will think how to modulate and cadence to next key Thanks for response :)

Thanks for the response I will definitely look into your examples :) (And the repetition I can remove it like not fit Right)

Hello @Martynas123, this prelude is really a pleasant, short piece. Although there is nothing wrong with a „simple piece“, I have some suggestions which could perhaps improve it somewhat further: The time signature. I don’t think that this piece is in 6/4 meter. Even though this time signature matches the number of notes played in a measure, there is no pulse that counts from 1 to 6 (with the exception of the last two bars). There are clearly four beats to be counted in the left hand. Therefore, the prelude should be in 4/4 meter, and the texture of the right hand could be rearranged into four groups of three notes each as triplets. With that done, you could get rid of the dotted quarter notes in the left hand (which look a bit unusual). Otherwise, you could recall the time signature as 12/8 (again with four groups of three notes in the right hand) retaining the dotted quarter notes in the left. And there is another „funny“ possibility that has been used by J.S. Bach in its Prelude 15 of the Welltempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 860: Different time signatures in the right and left hand (admittedly very unusual but solving the problem): You could use 12/8 in the right hand (four groups of three eights notes) and 4/4 in the left hand. Here is the example from Bach’s prelude (he uses 24/16 in the right hand due to its use of semiquavers). The repetitions and the ending. At the ending (the two last measures), the piece leaves its uniform texture with the „triplets“, slowing down at (yes here) six beats per measure. I would like to have a somewhat „more elaborated“ finale, perhaps with the slow-down to a desceptive cadence, another one or two bars of improvisation with, again, the eights notes pulse, before the piece finally finishs. Typical examples of such an ending can be found in the Prelude 1, BWV 846: or somewhat more complicated in the Prelude 5, BWV 851: And now, finally, regarding the repeats: I generally wouldn’t include the ending—and especially not after an extension such as the one suggested above—in a repetition. Perhaps you could omit the repetition of the second part entirely—though that would result in a shorter piece.

Hi @Martynas123 , Is this one section of your D major Sonata? I ask because it’s more a G major piece to me. If it’s hard to continue you can for sure modulate to new keys. Easiest would be to modulate to D major by ending the first section in half cadence and then you can begin with new ideas. I actually really like the idea after 0:59, but like @Grant Weep said it gets really weird, to me because it doesn’t match with the style before it. Henry