String Quartet No. 3 in Messiaen Modes, Op. 8, Movement 2: Lento in Whole Tones (A Dream) (Draft 1)

Hi everyone! This is a composition that I composed for my mid-year examinations in music! With much requests to convert the String Quartet Movement Octatonic into a full length string quartet, I have done so and this is the second movement of the newly-coined string quartet no. 3! (Currently in draft 1)

The criteria for the work had to be:

- Requires use of at least 1 contemporary technique in modes, rhythm, meter or pitch (I used whole tones and rhythmic counterpoint)

- 25-30+ bars (39 bars in this composition, totally did not extend the meter of the last bar to fit the criteria hahaha) 

So the motifs I have used are:

- widespread use of the interval 4ths in doubling and between notes

- dotted rhythm with semiquaver accompaniment

- high register tremolos with staggered entries in the instruments (to recreate ethereal feeling)

- triplet scalic passages 

- this pitch and rhythmic motif and theme (in the image below)

These motifs (apart from the last one) were first introduced in the introduction.

Some other interesting considerations I took:

- Used open strings in double stops to add resonance that contribute to ethereal feeling

- High register tremolos as mentioned

- Whole tone creates dreamy effect

- The movement of many lines in rhythmic counterpoint in dissonance creates very ungrounded, free feeling especially when used in extreme registers

- Opening and closing scalic lines between intruments emphasise whole tone nature to set mode clear to listener from start and sort of transition the listener in and out of the dream state.

-Explored new techniques (sul tasto, left-hand pizz arco gliss)

Let me know any feedback for this work! Would really appreciate the feedback as this is a work that will be accessed as part of my academic grade and perhaps GCSE A-Levels!

First of all I'm from Australia so I reckon GSCE is sort of comparable to HSC?

• Its clear you had a criterion for this composition, and as a marker, you'd be hard pressed not to give you a great mark. You've clearly and obviously marked out the goals for the piece.
• The piece is quite dense throughout, in terms of compositional techniques. Markers like this- it is an obvious way to give marks.
  • You've been quite smart with your chose of contrasting motif (m3) its a smart way to balance the density.
• careful using sul tasto in high registers. This is sometimes impossible (fingers hitting the bow) and a somewhat ineffective tone colour (not noticeable).

Stylistically, I don't personally feel the etherealness or dream-like quality? To me, harmonics and broad, rich harmony show dreaminess 🤷 (this is subjective- everyone dreams differently lol)

• I'm not super well versed in Messiaen's music or style, but generally to me his music seems dense but ordered- it feels very clean. His polyphony acts a single unit, in yours it feels more separated and individualistic (melody and motifs being passed around)- closer to a post-romantic style.
  • This is just something to think about for next time. What you've made is already great 👍

Side note, how are you finding Dorico I've been curious about it lol

EDIT: its kinda funny to call it a Lento, when the subdivisions make it not seem that way at all lol. I just read that its the second movement, which makes a lot of sense, since it felt like it was in the middle of a piece, not a piece on its own. I forgot to mention that I enjoyed the ending m32-END 🙂 

Not sure how you're going to bring off the cello double stop in bar 2. If the low G# is tied, you'd be crossing a string to get to the A#. Did you mean to tie the D?

It certainly has atmosphere but more ominous to me, the music you'd expect to find backing a Hammer Horror film with someone nervously exploring a crypt or set of untidy corridors.

Where are you from? GCSE suggests the UK.

1 hour ago, kwokon987 said:

• Its clear you had a criterion for this composition, and as a marker, you'd be hard pressed not to give you a great mark. You've clearly and obviously marked out the goals for the piece.
• The piece is quite dense throughout, in terms of compositional techniques. Markers like this- it is an obvious way to give marks.
  • You've been quite smart with your chose of contrasting motif (m3) its a smart way to balance the density.

Thank you! 

1 hour ago, kwokon987 said:

careful using sul tasto in high registers. This is sometimes impossible (fingers hitting the bow) and a somewhat ineffective tone colour (not noticeable).

Yep I understand the concern! I do think that it is not high enough to make the fingers hit the bow, I just tried it with my violin and it wasn't impossible. But I definitely agree that the effect may not be as noticeable in that range, I think for the sul tasto sections in upper registers I will alter it for future drafts!

2 hours ago, kwokon987 said:

I don't personally feel the etherealness or dream-like quality? To me, harmonics and broad, rich harmony show dreaminess 🤷 (this is subjective- everyone dreams differently lol)

Hmm yea I get your point, and definitely this movement  I am still very unsure on the title to give this piece in particular, especially given the whole tone nature and I can't really pinpoint on what effect specifically I am going for as of yet. Worst comes to worst, I will scrap the title and just label it as absolute music (although I feel this piece is really suited for an overarching theme)

2 hours ago, kwokon987 said:

I'm not super well versed in Messiaen's music or style, but generally to me his music seems dense but ordered- it feels very clean. His polyphony acts a single unit, in yours it feels more separated and individualistic (melody and motifs being passed around)- closer to a post-romantic style.

• This is just something to think about for next time. What you've made is already great 👍

 

Yep I understand your point! My compositional style is strongly late romantic-early 20th cen. in nature, and I definitely do want to try composing in the style of Messiaen and other contemporary composers! Well the good thing is that the criterion isn't necessarily requiring me to compose in the style of Messiaen but rather just using his modes of limited transposition. 

Thank you for the feedback!

2 hours ago, kwokon987 said:

Side note, how are you finding Dorico I've been curious about it lol

Dorico is a very interesting notational software! The pricetag was really steep and was only slightly less than Sibelius, so yea I would suggest you try Dorico on a free trial first before fully committing to it. It has its set of advantages and disadvantages. First of all, User interface is really really really streamlined. It feels so much less clunky compared to the infamous Sibelius interface. The engraving tool in Dorico is particularly easy to use and powerful, and I was amazed that I intuitively understood how to use the engraving tool without needing to check a tutorial, so formatting scores and making score videos are a breeze. The presets of specific instrument techniques were also really helpful and the keybinds for certain things like key signatures triplets and text were easy to figure out! The whole software felt much cleaner compared to Sibelius and  However, there's some drawbacks compared to Sibelius. While Dorico is already very advanced, there are still some minute stuff that Sibelius has and Dorico doesn't. Free meter compo is much more complicated on Dorico for one, and it doesn't have certain features I would like. Noteperformer works far better on Sibelius than Dorico as Dorico doesn't support some techniques compared to Sibelius, such as glissandos (which I often use and it is so annoying to not have its playback capability), artificial harmonics, molto vib and slap bass. But overall I still really enjoy Dorico and it is really a joy to use compared to Sibelius!

2 hours ago, kwokon987 said:

its kinda funny to call it a Lento, when the subdivisions make it not seem that way at all lol.

true haha I originally meant the piece much slower so I will probably change the title in future drafts.

9 hours ago, Quinn said:

Not sure how you're going to bring off the cello double stop in bar 2. If the low G# is tied, you'd be crossing a string to get to the A#. Did you mean to tie the D?

Thanks for pointing it out! Under the time constraints it must have slipped past my proof reading. I will edit that in future drafts!

9 hours ago, Quinn said:

certainly has atmosphere but more ominous to me, the music you'd expect to find backing a Hammer Horror film with someone nervously exploring a crypt or set of untidy corridors.

That's an interesting perspective. I can see where you're coming from, and I don't feel like a Dream is an apt title. Hmm I will think about it and see what programmatic title I want to give to the work. 

9 hours ago, Quinn said:

Where are you from? GCSE suggests the UK.

I am from Singapore, a commonwealth country that follows UK grading system of O and A levels. Our papers are set by local examiners but are sent to Cambridge for the grading. Over here, the pre-U syllabus for music is really intense and mainly centered around 20th century American music and compositional techniques.

That explains a lot. Musical education where you live is clearly taken a lot more seriously than in the UK where it's a joke. So watered down. I was one of the last to take GCEs. For A level, a pupil had to pass Grade 6 (ABRSM) on an instrument as well as compose to order including free counterpoint; and do analyses of a couple of major works. 

In the UK you'd get very good marks for your work - inventiveness, attention to detail, attention to form and good scoring.

.

27 minutes ago, Quinn said:

That explains a lot. Musical education where you live is clearly taken a lot more seriously than in the UK where it's a joke. So watered down. I was one of the last to take GCEs. For A level, a pupil had to pass Grade 6 (ABRSM) on an instrument as well as compose to order including free counterpoint; and do analyses of a couple of major works. 

In the UK you'd get very good marks for your work - inventiveness, attention to detail, attention to form and good scoring.

.

 

Ohh I see, that is actually easier than the O Levels in Singapore for music. I am actually really surprised that the UK standards are so lax. But I would say that's kind of a good thing, because the music syllabus here is kind of overkill. In total, we have about 7 hours of lectures and tutorials for music during school curriculum, and we need to write about 2 music essays and 1 composition each week. Performance for A Level is really hard, my senior has an FTCL Diploma and even she finds it challenging. And composition is often very intensive, for compo major (which im doing) I need to compose 6-7 short works in total using contemporary techniques in the span of 2 years, and each work requires 5-6 drafts and a 600 word writeup, as well as a 5 min long free compo that needs to be playtested with equally as many drafts.  The works we analyse are also very complex in nature. We're analysing Three Places in New England by Ives, Prelude Fugues and Riffs by Bernstein and Ameriques by Varese, all 3 very dense and complex works to analyse, compared to say the Romantic works. On top of all this we also have to study Malay and Indian music, which is another hell on its own.I really like the syllabus, it's just super competitive and tiring. Sometimes I do envy Western countries, because for you guys the pace of education is much more relaxed and free compared to Asian countries.

3 hours ago, Joshua Ng said:

we also have to study Malay and Indian music, which is another hell on its own.

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The piece is generally well-constructed, but to me it feels maybe a bit busy? There's obviously imitation and everything but it very much feels like a piece that was written to fulfill certain criteria. In other words, the middle section's texture is a little too consistent for me. Varying it up I think would help a lot and allow for more distant relationships of the mode to be explored. Just my opinion. 

6 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

????

The piece is generally well-constructed, but to me it feels maybe a bit busy? There's obviously imitation and everything but it very much feels like a piece that was written to fulfill certain criteria. In other words, the middle section's texture is a little too consistent for me. Varying it up I think would help a lot and allow for more distant relationships of the mode to be explored. Just my opinion. 

 

Yea I can see that. The middle section felt a little too boring imo, because there wasn't any change in texture apart from the changes in who plays the melody. Hmm what would be possible distant relationships in whole tone though? I was trying to think of some but to no avail

You're in college, right?
Imagine, instead of forcing yourself to be so scalar and inclusive in your approach, you take an isolated subset of the mode, set (026). This is substantially fewer notes and provides you with an opportunity to lighten your texture while staying true to the general sound of the mode. You can then do all of the typical fun inversions and transpositions of that set in that section to vary up the notes that are being used, maybe even using different whole tone collections at the same time.

7 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

You're in college, right?
Imagine, instead of forcing yourself to be so scalar and inclusive in your approach, you take an isolated subset of the mode, set (026). This is substantially fewer notes and provides you with an opportunity to lighten your texture while staying true to the general sound of the mode. You can then do all of the typical fun inversions and transpositions of that set in that section to vary up the notes that are being used, maybe even using different whole tone collections at the same time.

 

Oh junior college is equivalent to the second or third year in high school in the US or UK. Currently I would be considered 11th grade in the West.

I see, yea that is definitely a good way to vary the piece and explore new relationships. Thanks for the advice!