Markus Boyd

Thanks, Luis. I think you’re right about that, although I still use sonata form as a fundamental reference, particularly tonal shifts. The second subject, which is relatively late in the exposition, starts at bar 33. This is after a shift to the dominant has already occurred at bar 22. I consider this more an extension of the form than a deviation from it. The recap returns to this as per standard practice.

I had developed many of the ideas in this work back in 2018 but having recently revisited it I found myself unsatisfied with the result. Curiously, while I have been an ardent perfectionist for as long as I can remember, and I believed the standards lived up to my expectations at the time, there were numerous errors! It just shows how irrational perfectionism can be around skills that essentially develop with experience. One by-product of perfectionism can also be that one leaves many unfinished works that had hit a brick wall. in some ways, this was one of them. This exercise in revisiting such projects was enjoyable and I will need to dig out more unfinished works to look at. Hope you enjoy, and please subscribe to my channel if you like.

Thanks for sharing. It is recommended to share the scores of your work with the audio to facilitate proper feedback on your writing. So you have written the first movement to an oboe concerto in the baroque style (seems of the Italian school, like Marcello or Albinoni inspired). Overall the harmonic development is pretty good, and I enjoyed the tonal transitions of the development section. That said, the accompaniment is a bit too simple and I would have liked to hear counterpoint.

Thanks. Yes, unfortunately, I don't know how to make the ritardando effective after the section repeat only. And you're right, the repeats are unnecessary.

Hello, Thought I would share my latest work on this site. It is baroque... well sort of. It certainly starts that way, but I tend to experiment a little in the development section particularly. I would like to hear what others' think, whether it all hangs together well. I am quite pleased with it, although feel the end could be strengthened somewhat. https://musescore.com/user/69480886/scores/21582616?fbclid=IwY2xjawGWJ6lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHeNUdrVQGEgy90N_5lHmQbv8ilNVtpJ1AO_uyDPsiUO8hZvIbRE8NEe2vw_aem_tXcb7Kla6S2gw7gwODAioA

Thanks, Quinn. I appreciate your insights. Regarding the square fermata, I used it purely because I hadn’t understood how to lengthen ordinary fermatas on MuseScore. On notion 6, which i had used prior to MuseScore, that was really quite simple. So the square fermata simply served the duration of pause I had intended for the computerized playback 🙂

Yes, it’s an outline at this stage. I tend to add the other complimenting parts there once the melodic direction and bass have been well defined. That will be the challenge for me here, due to my lacking experience in orchestration. And I note your suggestion for an alternative dance form… I’ll have a think about that.

That’s for your comments. And I’m glad you found it fun… that’s what I was gauging for. As for your questions… 1. My style: Above all, I do tend to adhere to a galant idiom, whether that be baroque or classical in orientation. However, I did find with this piece, in particular, that as I developed the ideas, I was adding mild twists here and there. Maybe, as you say, that is my ‘voice’ coming through. I do also think that when I focus on the individuality of each instrument - like characters in a play - I am prompted to add a little wit or deviance here and there. And that essentially makes the music more programmatic, even without an explicit scene to depict. To that end, I have been particularly influenced by the wind quintets of mid Romantic composers George Onslow and Klughardt (see op 79 and 81 respectively). In summary, I’m sort of putting together a wide range of forms and idioms spanning 1720-1880, while retaining, of course, common practice in my approach to harmony and voice leading, in addition to use of sonata form. 2. What’s next? I want to branch out into orchestral works. With chamber music, I can afford to focus and craft skills in four part counterpoint, characterisation and form (the latter being the most challenging). Having done so for a long time now, though, I’ve neglected skills in orchestration. So that’s my next step. I have actually posted my next project in the incomplete works forum if you want to hear. I note your other comments, too. Thanks for your time in providing such comprehensive feedback. These works do not take a short time… I’ve probably plowed 150-200 hours into this! Take care…

I love this. Thanks so much for sharing!

Audio.mp3 Now that I have finished my recent project, I want to share what I am working on next. This started as some orchestral practice, but has evolved into something more solid. So far I have the outline of a slow adagio followed by an upbeat allegro that is reminiscent of Haydn's style. Hope to progress with this over the coming months. https://musescore.com/user/69480886/scores/14324641

Sure, we can connect if you like 🙂 I am glad to hear you are into Zelenka. I first came across his work maybe 3-4 years ago, and I immediately knew his music was special. I have since known his trio sonatas well, which are rather beautiful. As for your inspiration for this work, I suppose you drew inspiration from his sacred orchestral works? I can definitely hear that influence, Louis. Although it is challenging to review the score properly with it appearing somewhat disorganised. How do you compose your music? I always put it into musescore directly, but you use MIDI? Tell me more about your process 🙂

Hehe, thanks Louis. And bars 316-318... I think I was just being a little cheeky there. I would be interested to hear if it actually playable XD. I will have a look at your work soon, I saw you had uploaded...

Many thanks, Henry! Well, it was becoming a lot of work for me so it was important I finished it. Also, I am hesitant in producing over-lengthly music, given that, statistically, most people will not listen to more than 3 minutes XD!

Thanks for the clarification. I would recommend using MuseScore4 for good sound quality, which is free to use. We are all learning on here. I don’t think there is anyone here that will say they have fully mastered their craft. For many of us it is a lifelong journey. Some honesty is important, I feel, when considering the works of others. While I commend you for completing a piece of this length and sharing here, I would recommend you start on smaller projects to first develop better practice in each of the necessary domains (melody, harmony, modulation, form etc). Is there a particular style of music you warm to in history? Which period do you like the most?

Am I right to understand, therefore, that your approach to music composition is something of a rebellion against your educational background? It’s certainly of interest to me to hear how each of the wide, eclectic range of composers on here practice and justify their unique art. Admittedly I’m much more traditional in my approach, relying on reliable means to engage an audience but nonetheless not really adding much unique to the repertoire - it’s been done before and I’d be deluding myself to believe I could produce something truly noteworthy deserving a place in the cannon of music. But that’s never been my incentive. I simply love music from the classical and baroque era, and have made it my life work to better understand it. A largely private and personal pursuit, I suppose…