Bagatelle in Dm

Here my new piano piece in Romantic style.  

Does a Bagatelle fit with the character? I'm not sure of the title. 

Any feedbacks are wellcome.

Nice job!  I think the title of Bagatelle does fit this piece although it does seem to be a kind of sonatina (meaning a mini-sonata form).  It has an introductory theme (measures 2-7 which by the way reveals a bit of Beethoven influence from his C minor sonata 1st movement which I used to be able to play at one point), a main theme (measures 8-12), a little retransition to take the listener back to D minor (measures 14-17), and a codetta (measures 18-21).  Curiously, the second time the exposition repeats the codetta takes the listener to a secondary theme (measure 24) which is then treated developmentally to transition through closely related keys (B minor and G major).  This secondary theme then arrives back at a recapitulation of the introductory theme and the main theme.

Overall it was quite an enjoyable listen!  I thought that the transition back to the recapitulation was a bit awkward (measure 46 especially).  Also there's no difference between the exposition and the recapitulation except for the codetta which stays in D minor although that didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the recapitulation.  Did you write this piece based on the form of "Fur Elise"?  Thanks for sharing!

10 hours ago, PaperComposer said:

Nice job!  I think the title of Bagatelle does fit this piece although it does seem to be a kind of sonatina (meaning a mini-sonata form).  It has an introductory theme (measures 2-7 which by the way reveals a bit of Beethoven influence from his C minor sonata 1st movement which I used to be able to play at one point), a main theme (measures 8-12), a little retransition to take the listener back to D minor (measures 14-17), and a codetta (measures 18-21).  Curiously, the second time the exposition repeats the codetta takes the listener to a secondary theme (measure 24) which is then treated developmentally to transition through closely related keys (B minor and G major).  This secondary theme then arrives back at a recapitulation of the introductory theme and the main theme.

Overall it was quite an enjoyable listen!  I thought that the transition back to the recapitulation was a bit awkward (measure 46 especially).  Also there's no difference between the exposition and the recapitulation except for the codetta which stays in D minor although that didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the recapitulation.  Did you write this piece based on the form of "Fur Elise"?  Thanks for sharing!

 

Interesting analysis @PaperComposer. I never thoght of that being a sonata form. For me thats a typical ABA short piece, main theme starting on mesure 2 with the dotted rythm, and mesures 8-12 I see as a development of the second half of the main motif (second half of mesures 3 and 6). I like the effect of grouping the bar 3+3 at the begining and than mesures 8-23 the music ideas are group into 2 mesures phrases. 

I agree the 2 bars after the recapitulation are a bit awkward. Fist I tried to make the repatitulation directly after the dominant suspension 46, but it was to abrupt to me. That I thought to introduce the Dm minor scale after the recapitulation it works a bit better, but probably the rythm is a bit unrelated with the previous material and can be better. I'm thinking now to replace somehow the EM7 of mesure for and aumented 6th chord (Bb-D-F-G#) which already contain some of the notes of Dm (Bb-F). Maybe that the return to Dm sounds more natural and convincing. Both the aumented 6th and EM7 habe de same harmonic function, working as a dominant of the dominant, but the augmented 6th is a bit more dissonant and have a stronger feeling of a minor key, so maybe it works better here. I will make a try. 

Thanks for you comments!

On 9/22/2020 at 11:49 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

 I think the title of Bagatelle does fit this piece 

 

What even is a bagatelle?

In my opinion, this Bagatelle sounds like it is written during the transition from the Classical Period to the Romantic Period. First, the Alberti bass (bars 8-12 and 55-59) is a type of accompaniment pattern often used in music of the Classical Era. This type of accompaniment figure had become gradually obsolete in Romantic music. Music of the Romantic Era usually has a thick and rich texture. Specifically, in piano music, the accompaniment pattern typically uses huge leaps, as you might have noticed in Chopin's waltzes. However, your Bagatelle has a simple accompaniment figure and does not utilize a wide keyboard range (lowest note: D2; highest note: A6).

A particular feature in your music that deviates from the Romantic period is the use of syncopated rhythms, as noted in bars 24-36, 38, and 40. Although the syncopated rhythm in the left-hand part is common in Romantic music, rhythms like a sixteenth-note followed by a dotted eighth-note (as seen in the first beat of the right-hand part in bars 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 40) are rare. Other than that, I think your music perfectly fits the Classical-Romantic style, a style of Beethoven's.

Overall, I pretty enjoyed the piece. I think the term "Bagatelle" fits the character of the music because it is a short, light piece, although it may sound heavy at first. I really liked the start of the music: the grouping of three-bar and two-bar phrases is a creative way of phrasing. Also, you have a great sense of harmony: you planned the chord progressions very well, especially in bars 20-21, 22-23, 67-68, 69-70, and 71-72. The interrupted cadence from bar 67 to bar 68 is brilliant. Keep up the great work!

On 4/4/2021 at 5:57 PM, jejrekmek said:

What even is a bagatelle?

 

short mellow unpretentious piece 

Hi, beautiful piece. Well balanced and done. It sounds more classical than romantic to me, but does it matter?

4 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

It sounds more classical than romantic to me, but does it matter?

Well, of course, it doesn't matter. Those are only my opinions on the style of music. All composers have different ways to compose to achieve what they want their music to sound.