Fugue for Strings

Wrote a fugue after a long time! Constructive feedback is most welcome!

Sounds very nice Sam. The video is 👌too!

I'm not a fugue expert so my feedback will be limited here. In comparison with other fugues I have had the pleasure to listen here, this one has a significant amount of "rest" sections where the fugal essence is not prominent, yet you are still able to maintain the main motive of the work above, no matter what, and this is something I liked.

My only criticism: there are passages where the leading voice gets a bit blurred, so it would be more a balance/equalization problem than a problem of the composition per se. 

The ending took its time, and I liked that too.

Overall another great work to add to my liked videos list!

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.

5 hours ago, Omicronrg9 said:

Sounds very nice Sam. The video is 👌too!

I'm not a fugue expert so my feedback will be limited here. In comparison with other fugues I have had the pleasure to listen here, this one has a significant amount of "rest" sections where the fugal essence is not prominent, yet you are still able to maintain the main motive of the work above, no matter what, and this is something I liked.

My only criticism: there are passages where the leading voice gets a bit blurred, so it would be more a balance/equalization problem than a problem of the composition per se. 

The ending took its time, and I liked that too.

Overall another great work to add to my liked videos list!

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.

 

Thank you so much for such a kind feedback Daniel! I noticed the equilisation problem too in the playback. The Musescore 4 soundfonts are kind of unbalanced in the string section, so maybe I need to tamper with it manually to make it work. I am really glad that you liked that the fugue took its time. To be honest even I was scared of putting slow sections in a fugue but I wanted to express a story from start to finish rather than just following conventionally styled fugal episodes. Thank you again for taking the time to listen and giving such a valuable feedback!

Hi @ComposedBySam,

I certainly enjoy this fugue! This is very emotional content here instead of cold counterpoints which I love! 

3 hours ago, ComposedBySam said:

To be honest even I was scared of putting slow sections in a fugue but I wanted to express a story from start to finish rather than just following conventionally styled fugal episodes.

I have done the same thing in the third movement of my clarinet quintet which is also a slow fugue, by having homophonic sections between those polyphonic sections. I think it is a great device to let listeners rest a little bit haha!

3 hours ago, ComposedBySam said:

The Musescore 4 soundfonts are kind of unbalanced in the string section, so maybe I need to tamper with it manually to make it work.

I only think the double bass may be quite weak comparing to the other 3 string instruments here.

I find the augmented second in the countersubject (e.g. Eb-F# in b.4-5) a little bit weird actually since the sound is not good if no other voices accompany that melodic gesture. I will probably change the Eb to an E natural and change all those similar places as well, even though it will have false relation with the subject but I think this will be better sounding for me.

B.7 beat 4 violin should be F natural there? It will again have an augmented with the Eb next to it.

In b.15 first two beat I won't have a C trill in the viola since the suspension will be way too long for me. I may just resolve to Bb there.

The appearance of the subject in b.17-19 in cello modifies quite many things which may be not strict enough though. In b.19 last three quavers even though there's no parallel fifths there the sound is not too good with the chords in similar motions. Having the violin in contrary motion will be great there!

Nice pretension of the stretto in b.22-24!

Nice reset in b.27. I love this reset for later modulations!

E# should be better in b.35 for the double bass as it's A# minor there. But I think in this section you can just use Cb major, Bb minor and Eb minor instead of B major, A# minor and D# minor to prevent those sharps!

P.8 in b.41 btw viola and double bass (A#-B)

Your modulation to Eb major is very beautiful through the german sixth! I love it!

P.8 in b.43 btw cello and double bass (Eb-F), P.8  btw b.44-45 btw violin and double bass (F-Eb). The A natural in viola seems strange for me unless you want lydian colour here! P.8 in b.46 btw violin, cello and double bass (Bb-Ab)

P.8 btw b. 57-58 btw violin and double bass (C-Db). The return to c minor here is again very beautiful. Your modulation is masterful!

Very nice ending. Except personally I want to keep it tragic and the picardy third is too bright for me!

Thanks for sharing! I know I am nitpicky but I do enjoy this fugue!

Henry

58 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hi @ComposedBySam,

I certainly enjoy this fugue! This is very emotional content here instead of cold counterpoints which I love! 

I have done the same thing in the third movement of my clarinet quintet which is also a slow fugue, by having homophonic sections between those polyphonic sections. I think it is a great device to let listeners rest a little bit haha!

I only think the double bass may be quite weak comparing to the other 3 string instruments here.

I find the augmented second in the countersubject (e.g. Eb-F# in b.4-5) a little bit weird actually since the sound is not good if no other voices accompany that melodic gesture. I will probably change the Eb to an E natural and change all those similar places as well, even though it will have false relation with the subject but I think this will be better sounding for me.

B.7 beat 4 violin should be F natural there? It will again have an augmented with the Eb next to it.

In b.15 first two beat I won't have a C trill in the viola since the suspension will be way too long for me. I may just resolve to Bb there.

The appearance of the subject in b.17-19 in cello modifies quite many things which may be not strict enough though. In b.19 last three quavers even though there's no parallel fifths there the sound is not too good with the chords in similar motions. Having the violin in contrary motion will be great there!

Nice pretension of the stretto in b.22-24!

Nice reset in b.27. I love this reset for later modulations!

E# should be better in b.35 for the double bass as it's A# minor there. But I think in this section you can just use Cb major, Bb minor and Ebb minor instead of B major, A# minor and D# minor to prevent those sharps!

P.8 in b.41 btw viola and double bass (A#-B)

Your modulation to Eb major is very beautiful through the german sixth! I love it!

P.8 in b.43 btw cello and double bass (Eb-F), P.8  btw b.44-45 btw violin and double bass (F-Eb). The A natural in viola seems strange for me unless you want lydian colour here! P.8 in b.46 btw violin, cello and double bass (Bb-Ab)

P.8 btw b. 57-58 btw violin and double bass (C-Db). The return to c minor here is again very beautiful. Your modulation is masterful!

Very nice ending. Except personally I want to keep it tragic and the picardy third is too bright for me!

Thanks for sharing! I know I am nitpicky but I do enjoy this fugue!

Henry

 

 

Wowww! Such a detailed feedback including so many details! Hats off to you my friend! I am really grateful to you for pointing these out and I am really glad that you liked the emotional content of this fugue and the modulations! I will correct the things you noted and indeed would be more careful with the voice leading in my future compositions. And yes, the double bass is a bit weak sounding. Maybe I can fix that with some manual mixing. Thank you again for taking the time and doing me such a huge favor 😊

18 minutes ago, ComposedBySam said:

Such a detailed feedback including so many details

Since I really enjoy the emotional content of the piece I hope the feedback can help a little bit on that! Usually you write beautiful homphonic music but I am happy to see you write polyphonic ones too!

On 4/2/2023 at 2:43 PM, ComposedBySam said:

Wrote a fugue

Perhaps the best question to ask before embarking on a fugue is to ask, why fugue? Answering with 'so I can present a work in schoolbook form' is unlikely to be a good approach for creating worthwhile music. So it is good, I think, that you did not try to maintain 'conventional' fugue form. Allowing the dialectic of the lines to roam in a freer manner is better suited to artistic purposes. 

I feel that there is much latent energy in this that is not fully realized. The fact that it exists is to my mind a compliment to the way things have been presented and to the way they are currently organized. But I find myself wanting more even though I do not claim or believe that any such realization is absolutely needed or to be preferred.

Do things here reach too steady of a state? The idea of breakout passages in running 16th notes keep suggesting itself to me.  Perhaps passages where the four-voice texture is not maintained would provide interest? Also, the chordal ending and it's change in feel seems a bit too sudden as if the 'joy' - read 'musical idea' - that it wants to present has not yet been fully earned.

I am not suggesting that you change anything. These comments are more an acknowledgement of the fact that there are zillions of ways to organize notes. Your choices are as good as mine would be. 

Why fugue?

On 4/15/2023 at 7:14 AM, AKAChristopher said:

Perhaps the best question to ask before embarking on a fugue is to ask, why fugue? Answering with 'so I can present a work in schoolbook form' is unlikely to be a good approach for creating worthwhile music. So it is good, I think, that you did not try to maintain 'conventional' fugue form. Allowing the dialectic of the lines to roam in a freer manner is better suited to artistic purposes. 

I feel that there is much latent energy in this that is not fully realized. The fact that it exists is to my mind a compliment to the way things have been presented and to the way they are currently organized. But I find myself wanting more even though I do not claim or believe that any such realization is absolutely needed or to be preferred.

Do things here reach too steady of a state? The idea of breakout passages in running 16th notes keep suggesting itself to me.  Perhaps passages where the four-voice texture is not maintained would provide interest? Also, the chordal ending and it's change in feel seems a bit too sudden as if the 'joy' - read 'musical idea' - that it wants to present has not yet been fully earned.

I am not suggesting that you change anything. These comments are more an acknowledgement of the fact that there are zillions of ways to organize notes. Your choices are as good as mine would be. 

Why fugue?

 

I get exactly what you mean. I felt the same after completing this piece, that is a catharsis/emotional potential haven't been fulfilled. You expressed your thoughts very elegantly and you have my immense gratitude for taking the time to listen and comment. As for why I wrote a fugue, maybe I was just in the mood for writing intervieving melodies and polyphonies in strings and I was also curious if I could make some modifications by disregarding some rules of fugal writing to make something more enjoyable to listen to. Thank you again for taking the time to listen!