Nordreise

Also, if it is a different grouping you prefer, please mention it and why you'd prefer to change from the conservative groupings. New ideas for combinations are always welcome!

Greetings, I am currently experimenting with different instrument combinations and ideas for chamber music, a small and intimate way of communicating our deepest musical feelings. I love all music, but chamber music brings something personal down to the individual in its piercing strains. My purpose is to get a general view of preferences for chamber music composition. This is not to ask "what is the best type of chamber music!?", but to gather information on preferred styles. I'd love to find out just which style is most prevalent among the many established combos. Here's an example of what I'm looking for: I have a certain attachment to string quintets. You may ask "why a quintet, and not a sextet or quartet?" There is something very interesting about this balance of five instruments, and the homogeneous quality of strings creates a sound world beyond compare, in my opinion. String sextets, septets, and octets become too large for me, but a quintet is just right, I think. Not to mention the fact that the repertoire is amazing: Schubert's quintet, Brahms' two quintets, one by Beethoven, and several by Mozart. Yes, I've missed quite a few... but I'll find them, seeing as I love the damn genre so much. For the sake of variety, I'll include solo sonatas and dual (violin/piano, etc.) sonatas as chamber music, and not separate them. I have sometimes encountered the opinion that solo sonatas aren't so much chamber music as display cases for talent. Here, whatever your opinion is, they are considered chamber music. I realize that many different people with ranging tastes will not prefer any particular selection of instruments, but you must admit that certain groupings have certain characteristic sounds. Even if you would compose in all of these groupings, it would be nice to know if you have a preference for any particular grouping or number. The number of instruments and their type is very important in the timbre of such a small ensemble, so it's up to opinion. I'd love to hear your personal favourite genre/instrumental group of chamber music, and just why you prefer it! :)

This is really very beautiful and pastoral music. Several sections of the suite remind me of a small village band of men playing, perhaps in a small drinking establishment. Fresh and beautiful Italian country air sweeps over the hills, and the leaves rustle in the trees. It gives me many beautiful feelings... Bravo, especially for the syncopation in several parts. Excellent!

This is one of the most lively string orchestra pieces I have ever heard! There are many very beautiful parts to this melody which remind me of open air and mountains. The continuous movement reminds me of Beethoven's seventh symphony finale, but there are many unique elements to this as a whole. I enjoy the main A melody very much, because it is alive. The only problem I see is that the celli/bass instruments are always in the same rhythm and harmony, but VisitingCellist made this comment already. It is hard to say anything bad about this, but if you made a suite rotating around this piece it would be even better! I agree that different rhythms in the bass at different points would add much more life to an already lively piece. Bravo!

I would like to request, within this thread and without to a mod (I'm sure I'll find one), to have this thread locked, or closed. Whatever it is you wacky, helpful moderators do, please close this thread. Walls of texts were fine, but when responses begin to degenerate to "Lol I'm a troll? NO WAI", there's just no point. My queries have been answered, and I am satisfied with the outcome, but others just want to drag this on into a perpetual FIST FIGHT. Please lock.

Speaking of the emotional impact of the piece, it depends on the performer and orchestra at the moment. Speaking for the actual composition on paper, it is my favourite piano concerto after Beethoven's fourth. The explosive and dense harmonies of Rachmaninov always move me to imagination and powerful thoughts, especially the second concerto.

Grantco, I may be a newbie but SSC's words and ideas have been very helpful and encouraging to me. Referring to his arguments, especially in this most helpful and interesting of threads, as "scallopy" and "pissy" is really unacceptable. He's a very insightful person, if more than a little forceful. Just call it opinionated, and get back to the actual topic at hand, which is music.

BOLANOS said this: "I agree with you to a certain extent that tonality has not been "exhausted" as some may have argued in the past, but the common-practice idiom is a thing of the past and we should get over it and move on." This is the sort of explanation which tends to confuse me. I was of the impression that tonality and its established harmonic/chordal relationships was the center of "common practice". Is this not so? If it is not, then what did common practice mean when compared to today's practices? Do you mean use of forms such as 'sonata'? If you mean that (which I don't think you do), then I direct your attention to the many sonatas and sonata-form movements still being written today. The separation of "tonality" and "common practice period" is most confusing to me, because they are so very integral to each other, or so I thought. What does it really mean after all? What does any of this classification and bitter argument mean? I rather like echurchill's statement about music, but since we are only human beings it appears inevitable that we argue over who's toy is better. :)

Sonata, I believe the 8 under the bass clef is a substitute for "8vb", and is more of a convenience than having to write that with a line extending to all the notes that it covers. Once the 8vb has taken its course, one simply writes a bass clef without the 8 under it, I guess. I haven't seen it much outside Finale, though, so perhaps it is just for simplification. Nightscape: This is absolutely wonderful, I must say! The title "Dark Places" is quite fitting, and I love the 'winter melody' very much. "Shoreline" gives me many images in my mind, and they are unique to this music. I apologize for my lack of formal analysis, but I am not yet versed enough to give such analysis. All I can say is that it hits me emotionally, and very easily at that! I look forward to more of your work. :)

I can't think of better words to describe this than "exquisite" and "holy crap!". Due to the way I listen to YC uploads (I download the PDF and slowly add all the parts to Finale, listening as I go), it is very fragmentary at first. As it opens up into all the different instruments, the fragments just seem to coalesce into a single dramatic whole. There is a very huge paint blob splattered on this piece, and written in the paint is "Schumann". I hear the overture to Schumann's "Manfred" incidental music most prominently of all in this mix, that ghostly sound. Granted, I'm only nine measures in (I love going slowly and hearing everything mix together), but it's ... something else, something MORE! Please continue totally owning with conservative music. :)

I am in love with this very startling and insanely conservative (in the best possible sense) work. It has all the power of later Mozart with an occasional smack in the face distinctly like Haydn's infamous sforzandi. Beethoven, too, and Brahms' tragic overture seem to play parts in this, but there's also something else. This 'something' is displayed in a mere two-note descent at the end of measure eight, in the strings. Something about this sound (of an F minor chord slipping down to E and G with an A-flat and F still in the bass) moves me deeply, as if a rush of cold air had shot up my spine. The effect lasts a mere moment and then is gone as measure nine appears, but it leaves a mark. This is chilling and excellent music, even if you compensate for my newbishness. :) String Orchestra variations II.mus String Orchestra variations II.mid

Yes, I thank you SSC and all the others with patience. Now, I am off to study the score of Elgar's serenade for strings. I guess nothing changes. ;) Oh, and for the sake of internet courtesty: one last... BUMP. Now I can let it die.

Unfortunately, I can't be much of a help because I am obsessed with form, structure, and ... more form. :) "Sonata for Pianoforte in G major, Op. 79" is always perfectly fine for me... unless it's not a sonata of course! Form always dictates content in my opinion, but if you really prefer vision, program, content, and ideas over identification of the form, try to use vaguely philosophical names. I always make sure not to give a literal name like "Winter Snows", but something more along the lines of "December Universe"; it communicates cold, snow, or a time and place darker and more frosty than usual. In my opinion, this abstract naming system works more confidently than a literal system would. In stead of "The Grand Canal", why not "The Silent River"? A canal is essentially a much quieter river, so .. why not? Think in abstracts, or in words that could suggest several meanings! Also, this is a cracking good idea for a thread subject. It allows everyone of all ages and of all joining times to contribute to the archive of ideas. I love it!

As far as I am concerned, any conversation about or including music is de facto worthwhile. I could discuss any musical subject for all time, I'm sure. It is only fruitless if you don't care to explore your universe entirely with the time you have. Heck, even after I've explored the entire universe I'd go back to certain galaxies just to see them again. This is why I love music discussion - music is my religion; it is everything. To not discuss it would ... be boring! :)

As I have stated, emotional drive and sentimentality, as I define it in my own little world, are what make a piece truly great. It could be sloppily written by any standard, but if there is a passion within it that is made evident only by the music, I can't dislike it. That would be contrary to everything honest that I believe it. With that said, I have heard The Rite of Spring, and I absolutely love most of it. There is a particular section just after the opening bassoon music which becomes a little... how shall I say.. muddy to my ears, but after this it develops into a beautiful ballet of sound. As for "Lux Aeterna", I listened to it alone without the imagery of "2001" as a background. I must say that its solo voices are much more suited to a lack of tonal centre than instrumental works, at least in my ear. There was also the fact that both of these pieces were performed very well by their ensembles! I attempted to listen to a Schnittke piece a few months ago, for cello and piano. I believe it was "Suite in the old style". I found it disengaging, but to be honest I was not really listening in full due to bias. I will find it again and try harder. Though I am studying traditional harmony and counterpoint now, it never harms just to go out and attempt to hear something different. Perhaps it will inspire me!