String quartet in A minor: 1st movement

Hi everyone 🙂

A month ago or something like that I posted a draft of my first string quartet. It is now finished (at least the first movement). I'd like to know your thought about it: style? themes? harmony?

Hey Camille!

First I have checked and skimmed through the excerpt you had posted and find the first 119 bars are quite the same, so I won't comment on that! (Is it?😛)

For me I won't add b.120-128. I think having a PAC on the tonic in b.123 not good since it's still in the exposition and functionally it's too firm for the music to continue. The move to F sharp minor next to that is quite unrelated to passages before or after it as well as it doesn't prepare smoothly to the dominant E major after it.

The development is GREAT. You first use the 1st subject to develop, then develop the anapestic motive of b.49 and b.65 in b.134 and the two motives combine greatly. Next you develop the transitional theme of b.57 in b.156 with great excitement and great exchange of instruments! Great use of Nepolitan chord as well! That's my favourite passage of the development!

For me, the next section when you develop the 2nd subject is nor as great. The retransition from a relaxing subdominant major key as suddenly gets to the dominant is quite abrupt and uneventful for me. 

The recapitulation is quite short for me as in the first movement of the C minor Concerto. You don't modulate back to tonic in the end of 2nd Subject and instead have the introduction to fulfill the tonal function, which for me is not the best choice since I feel like the coda comes back with no preparation.

The coda is quite Schubertian for me with good melody. It definitely remains issues for later movements to solve!

I look forward to your later movements! Thanks for sharing despite being nitpicky for my part!

Henry

Hey Camfrtt---

   I really like this piece!   I will leave the technical analysis to Henry---

    I can hear Mednelssohn's influence very heavily.  As he is my favorite, this is a great thing to me. (His no.1 quartet got me into string quartets 30 years ago!!  It is still a favorite...) The music exhibits the clarity of line and movement as well as Mendelssohn's tendencies in progressions, thematic development.

        Very nice.  Not perfect--------BUT  well worth the time to perfect.   

  I am hacking away at a piano trio, and can confimr that chamber music--and string quartets in particular---are devilshly hard to convincingly compose.   You are well on your way to a fully successful venture.

                  Congrats!

  ALSO-- What sound library are you using??  I really like the solo string sound.  Garritan solo violin and viola are a tad brutal...

Hi @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, thanks for taking the time to comment ! 🙂

7 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

For me I won't add b.120-128. I think having a PAC on the tonic in b.123 not good since it's still in the exposition and functionally it's too firm for the music to continue. The move to F sharp minor next to that is quite unrelated to passages before or after it as well as it doesn't prepare smoothly to the dominant E major after it

I can totally understand why you don't like this passage, but I really wanted the exposition to end on a scherzo-ish episode AND a perfect cadence as to say: "what has been said before is gone and inconsequential, let's forget it". But then, I literally heard a F# minor chord in my head when composing it, It seemed natural to me... maybe not for the listener 😞. This little bridge to return to the beginning of the exposition is supposed to feel a bit mysterious.

8 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

For me, the next section when you develop the 2nd subject is nor as great. The retransition from a relaxing subdominant major key as suddenly gets to the dominant is quite abrupt and uneventful for me.

What you say is pertinent in my opinion. You may feel like this episode is rushed? I wanted to include this relaxing 2nd movement in the development but it felt somehow hard to get back to the recapitulation (even though I was honestly satisfied with the little bridge I composed).

8 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The recapitulation is quite short for me as in the first movement of the C minor Concerto. You don't modulate back to tonic in the end of 2nd Subject and instead have the introduction to fulfill the tonal function, which for me is not the best choice since I feel like the coda comes back with no preparation.

I think we already talked about it, but I'm a not really found of long, endless recapitulation (this for me the most painful moment of the sonata form tbh). I got this habit from rach 2 and 3 first movements.. (mainly rach3), and find it so convenient and honestly, much enjoyable.
Also yes, I wanted to get back to the tonal function thanks to the introduction.

8 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

look forward to your later movements! Thanks for sharing despite being nitpicky for my part!

I can assure you that I will let you know about my progress, your advice and opinion are so valuable. Once again, thanks for your review!

8 hours ago, Rich said:

I can hear Mednelssohn's influence very heavily.  As he is my favorite, this is a great thing to me. (His no.1 quartet got me into string quartets 30 years ago!!  It is still a favorite...) The music exhibits the clarity of line and movement as well as Mendelssohn's tendencies in progressions, thematic development.

Hi Rich! You're absolutely right about the Mendelssohn part, anyone that like this (underrated) composer that much can recognize the influence in this movement. I don't know if you noticed, but I hid a quotation from a Midsummer night's dream in the development (b. 188 onwards) 🙂   

8 hours ago, Rich said:

ALSO-- What sound library are you using??  I really like the solo string sound.  Garritan solo violin and viola are a tad brutal...

I'm using the new sound library of Musescore 4! Very convincing. 

5 hours ago, Camfrtt said:

Hi Rich! You're absolutely right about the Mendelssohn part, anyone that like this (underrated) composer that much can recognize the influence in this movement. I don't know if you noticed, but I hid a quotation from a Midsummer night's dream in the development (b. 188 onwards) 🙂   

 

I am totally unfamiliar with Mendelssohn (which I should) and miss all those quotations and influences!

5 hours ago, Camfrtt said:

I think we already talked about it, but I'm a not really found of long, endless recapitulation (this for me the most painful moment of the sonata form tbh). I got this habit from rach 2 and 3 first movements.. (mainly rach3), and find it so convenient and honestly, much enjoyable.

Haha me too actually! I hate those recapitulation without any development and meaning and instead having the same materials repeated once more only in the tonic key or something. Bestowing meaning to the materials in the recapitulation is very important for me as I learn this from Beethoven and Brahms. (And Chopin with his chopping off the 1st subject in the first movement of his Second Piano Sonata). I say this also because C major is featured in the exposition's 2nd subject and it's repeated in the recapitulation, which is quite uncommon and I have found this in the first movement of Mahler's Symphony no.2 where he used E major for both 2nd subjects in the exposition and recapitulation, but here I think the recapitulation does not prepare well for the return of tonic in the coda.

5 hours ago, Camfrtt said:

What you say is pertinent in my opinion. You may feel like this episode is rushed? I wanted to include this relaxing 2nd movement in the development but it felt somehow hard to get back to the recapitulation (even though I was honestly satisfied with the little bridge I composed).

I do feel it rushed since the preparation to the dominant returning to the recapitulation is not well prepared for me. The episode is way too beautiful in its own right but the retransition does not prepare the key and mood for the recap.

Thanks for your reply Camille!

Henry

Henry--

   You simply must sit down when you have 30 minutes to relax and  listen to Mendelssohn's Octet.

                It is an amazing piece of music.

    Then consider it was written when Felix was 16.

         He is considered to be the most prococious  child prodigy in western music history.  This piece illustrates the point.

                                   You can thank me later.

Hey @Rich,

I have listened to his Octet before and it's amazing particularly by a young prodigy. My favourite Mendelssohn is probably his Second Piano Trio in C minor since he's so mature there and at the same time retains his vivacity as a prodigy there. For the Octet of course it's amazing and I enjoy it very much, but you feel like there's some necessary directness and navity in it as a young prodigy. I tend to over-think too much, thus I always love the late works of a composer more than the early works. You can always find maturity and wisdom in those late works. For Mendelssohn I don't think he have any "late" works for me, not only in terms of the choronology but also the style and mood. But of course I should explore more of his works especially his incidental music and Symphonies!

Henry