Bourrée in F minor

Hi again!  This is another one of my dances that I recently found in my old archives and managed to finish (albeit a bit awkwardly - I think - could you let me know what you think of the ending?)  It's a Bourrée in F minor for String Orchestra.  Usually Bourrée's are supposed to have two eighth note pick-ups (as opposed to Gavottes which have four eighth note pick-ups) but I thought this still qualified as a Bourrée because of it's character.  So let me know what you think!  I composed this many years ago but am still open to constructive feedback in whatever form you wish to give it!

nice piece. u are good at giving separate identities to instruments, there are nice counterpoint textures(i see this in ur other pieces, did u take counterpoint lessons? )  
 fa minor seems depressed to me mostly, I don't know if it's suitable for dance, but musically beautiful. it doesn't feel like ending to me because you move the last notes one octave up, but this your choice , just my opinion. thanks for sharing 

6 hours ago, ClasiCompose said:

nice piece. u are good at giving separate identities to instruments, there are nice counterpoint textures(i see this in ur other pieces, did u take counterpoint lessons? )

Yes - I took counterpoint and harmony in jr. college.

6 hours ago, ClasiCompose said:

fa minor seems depressed to me mostly, I don't know if it's suitable for dance, but musically beautiful.

Does the key really interfere that much with whether this sounds dance-like or not?  I would have thought that the rhythmic stress and articulations would determine that no?

Thanks for listening and reviewing!

Beautiful work, nice counterpoint. It feels like a dance for me. My personal handicap with this style (composed today) is that I have the feeling of something predictable. But that's me....

@ClasiCompose Also - I hope you noticed I used Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra to record this.  I have to say I'm much more satisfied with the responsiveness of the string ensemble soundfonts.  Thanks for referring me to it!  It's proved a great help.

Nice! I definitely get a baroque dance feel from this piece. The melodies are nice and catchy and you develop the motives very well.

On 9/20/2020 at 5:58 PM, PaperComposer said:

I recently found in my old archives and managed to finish (albeit a bit awkwardly - I think - could you let me know what you think of the ending?)

I think it works fine. An alternative I thought of would be to use the below motive in some kind of cadential form, since it's so important throughout the piece. Perhaps instead of the descending scale at m.64, insert this motive and end on the tonic? Another idea would be to end on a picardy third, since the piece has been solidly minor throughout.

I also really like your counterpoint, you do a really good job passing the motives between voices and keeping each part independent and interesting. There are a couple spots, like m.11 and m.15 where the 1st Violins and Cellos move in seconds, but these happen pretty quick and are hard to notice.

The only question I have is on the bass notes in m.51 and 53. In m.51 the violins and viola seem to imply a C major chord, but the cello and bass are playing F on the downbeat, would it make sense to have the low voices play C instead? Likewise in m.53 the upper strings seem to imply Bb minor (or maybe G dim?) so maybe have the cello and bass play Bb on the downbeat? This would also allow the bass to ascend chromatically from m.53-55.

14 hours ago, PaperComposer said:

Also - I hope you noticed I used Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra to record this.

Is the playback directly from your notation software, or did you use a DAW? They sound a little dry to me, I think a small amount of reverb and maybe some panning would make it sound even better.

Thanks for sharing! The only thing I might add is some harpsichord, but maybe that's just me 🙂

34 minutes ago, gmm said:

Nice! I definitely get a baroque dance feel from this piece.

Thanks!  I've been slowly realizing since I posted this piece that I don't really aim to follow the traditional dance forms for these dances when I compose them.  My main aim is to write something that will sound dance-like regardless of the number of measures or form used.  I am not sure if it could actually be danced to like back in the Baroque and Renaissance era though as the dances had very specific choreography and were more akin to square dances (I think).

38 minutes ago, gmm said:

I think it works fine. An alternative I thought of would be to use the below motive in some kind of cadential form, since it's so important throughout the piece. Perhaps instead of the descending scale at m.64, insert this motive and end on the tonic? Another idea would be to end on a picardy third, since the piece has been solidly minor throughout.

I see what you mean.  Including that motif in the ending would be a very Baroque move indeed.  Maybe I could throw it in, in the last measure as a kind of slow echo of the main theme.  As for the picardy third - for some reason I tend to think of the Bourrée predominantly in minor keys only so I feel disinclined to include a picardy third at the end as to me it would sound out of character for the Bourrée.  I am not sure if I have ever heard a Bourrée in a major key or with a picardy third - do you have an example?  Usually it seems to me like the Gavotte, being similar to the Bourrée in many ways is more likely to be in major keys.

45 minutes ago, gmm said:

I also really like your counterpoint, you do a really good job passing the motives between voices and keeping each part independent and interesting. There are a couple spots, like m.11 and m.15 where the 1st Violins and Cellos move in seconds, but these happen pretty quick and are hard to notice.

Thanks!  I didn't notice those 2nds before.

46 minutes ago, gmm said:

The only question I have is on the bass notes in m.51 and 53. In m.51 the violins and viola seem to imply a C major chord, but the cello and bass are playing F on the downbeat, would it make sense to have the low voices play C instead? Likewise in m.53 the upper strings seem to imply Bb minor (or maybe G dim?) so maybe have the cello and bass play Bb on the downbeat? This would also allow the bass to ascend chromatically from m.53-55.

In the sections you mention my aim was to have a tonic pedal and having the C major sonority in m. 51 was totally deliberate to create that dissonance between the tonic pedal and the dominant chord which I like (especially in minor keys).  Likewise in m. 53 and 59.

51 minutes ago, gmm said:

Is the playback directly from your notation software, or did you use a DAW? They sound a little dry to me, I think a small amount of reverb and maybe some panning would make it sound even better.

The playback is directly from MuseScore 3 - I don't yet have a DAW.  If there is a way to add reverb and panning settings in MuseScore 3 I am thus far unaware of it.

53 minutes ago, gmm said:

Thanks for sharing! The only thing I might add is some harpsichord, but maybe that's just me 🙂

Ah - I don't know how good my harpsichord sounds are.  (I've always had an aversion to the inclusion of harpsichord in early symphonies)

Thanks for your review!

5 hours ago, composer9feb said:

we really enjoyed the la folia scheme

Thank you!  Ironically, I have never heard of the la folia scheme - I just looked it up on Wikipedia (Folia - Wikipedia).  Could you maybe clarify what kind of folia I have used here as I am new to the concept? 🤔 That would be very helpful!

5 hours ago, composer9feb said:

and additionally the up a 3 down a step bass.

I think I understand that part - do you mean when the cello plays the main theme up a 3rd in the bar 2?

5 hours ago, composer9feb said:

Very nice . Thank you

Thank you and thanks for listening!

Excellent Bourree. No comments about the work itself. Nice pace and length, and a tune that borders on the period when the bourree was popular. A minor key isn't uncommon for this dance and you've managed the harmony impeccably as minor harmony can sometimes get difficult.

Well, done.

Q

@composer9feb Thank you so much for clarifying what the folia schema is through personal message.  I am going to post the video you referred me to here so that others can benefit from this knowledge!

@composer9feb That article does give me a clue as to what you meant by "up a 3rd down a step bass" but I'm still a little puzzled about where in the music I can find that pattern.

Thanks for the link to the article!  👍