Episode no. 7

So, I've been trying to find more to add to my musical voice and I think I finally found a nice match in an ancient greek series (mode). I've been researching Ancient Mesopotamian and Ancient Greek musical theory the last week -and decided to try my hand at writing music using the 'scale' as the harmonic underpinning. I do like the result and think it blends well with my use of chromaticism and material. Open to critique though -I'm sure we have some modal lovers here?

Hi Jason,

I don't know anything about the ancient Mesopotamian and ancient Greek musical theory, but I find this really interesting. Often the harmony sounds ancient but disturbed by sudden modern touch! Very nice imitative opening and quartal harmony used in b. 9  which is based on the opening motive. The rhythm in this piece is very varied, for example polyrhythm, syncopation, changed meter etc. I love how it ends as well, as it promotes the ancient feeling which is continually disturbed by the modern touch until finally regains the control at the end. It's as simple as a bare chord with a fourth in the right hand but that same motive can gives this different amounts of motivic development. Very nice job.

Thanks for sharing!

Henry

This is quite interesting.

I new about Greek modes, but I had no idea they were linked to music from Mesopotamia.

Your piece sounds contemporary, the first part with some Bartok flavor. I like this way o using ancient resources to write more modern music. I also try to do it ....

Luis.

For some reason I found the dynamic markings in this piece really random sounding.  Especially in the slower section.  Like in measure 38 I don't understand the function or reason for the crescendo to forte at that point - it doesn't seem to serve any musical purpose that I can detect.  I tend to use crescendo and decrescendo to accompany a rise or drop in tension but you don't seem to be doing that, which might be why the dynamic sounds random to me.  On second listen the dynamics in the beginning do seem to make more sense.  My impression of the dynamics might also be influenced by the threshold of how quickly they change.  Change the dynamic too quickly and it brings the listeners attention too sharply on the change instead of listening to the music.  So in a sense it might be that your dynamics are bringing me out of the listening experience.  (Now that I've re-listened a few times and thought about this a bit more I think the problem with the dynamics is also that dynamic hairpins in Musescore also change the volume of notes which have already been depressed/sustained on the piano and that gives a very unidiomatic rendition/behavior of the piano.)

I also found measures 24 - 28 kind of odd.  The pitches of the syncopated figures sounded random and a-melodic to me.

The form is interesting though.  I guess it's kind of fast - slow - fast - slow.  That creates a nice contrast in the construction of the piece.

My favorite parts of the piece are the more lyrical melodies you introduce at measures 17 - 20 and 59 - 67.  I wish you had developed those more.  Even just recapitulating/repeating those melodies at a different pitch level somewhere down the line would have given the listener more satisfaction imo.  Thanks for sharing!

Hi. 

While I agree with Luis on the contemporary sounding of the beginning —and the end— of the piece it's true that there's some breeze of what I think it might be what you researched for but honestly I am not entirely sure as I'm not a connoisseur of these ancient styles and techniques, specially Mesopotamian ones. Probably clusters distracted me. I liked the slower parts more than the faster ones.

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.