String Quartet in C# minor

Hi!

This is the second draft of a String Quartet I've written. This is just the first movement.

I'd like to get some feedback!

(For some reason the file name doesn't have the #)

OH and the playback took it really slow, it's more towards the bar = 80 or 90 or so.String_Quartet_in_C_minor.pdf

Hey @Beethoven is God,

Beethoven is my God too! Do you also take inspiration from his op.131 quartet for a C sharp minor slow first movement?

I feel like there's real pathos in the music, great job on this. There are many interesting harmonic changes in this piece, especially in the development when you make use those enharmonics to modulate. 

-The 7 bar phrasing for the beginning can seem unbalanced in this style but I think it's fine.

-I think the modulation to the 2nd group in E major is not well prepared since there's never a half cadence into the key. I think you can have some B major harmony before getting into E major!

-For b,26-39, I'm wondering the G# bass, since it's causing some instability in the music, either forming the I6 chord or the vi6/4 chord. I like the rhythmic variety here esp. in b.34.

-I love the usage of suspension in b.41, and it's tragic. However under this slow tempo the section can seem too long and directionless. Your use of enharmonic here is wonderful, like b.46. The G natural in b.43-44 should be a F double sharp though.

-The structural closure of this part is not so clear as there's never a cadence happening, either a PAC on E major or just a interrupted cadence to smoothly transition back to the tonic to the exposition repeat. The D natural suggests A major more but it's never raised later.

-I think the harmonic colour of the development section is great, but the rhythm not so as it sustains the thick immobile texture of b.40. I think changing the texture and rhythm at the beginning of the development will add more varieties and drama to it! It also helps pushes the climax to higher excitement.

_ I love the soliloquy in b.120 by the cello, but it seems to much for me to have the other three instruments to have their solo parts too before getting to the recap. It's seems more like an anticlimax here.

-The recap is more or less the same as the exposition. I love your ending and I think the texture fits here more instead of in the development. It reminds me the opening movement and finale of Shostakovitch's String Quartet no.8. Why do you need that D double sharp enharmonic instead of E natural? Is it that you want to have the tone to be sharper?

P.S. For me I think this is absolutely qualified to be posted to the Chamber Music forum so I move this to there!

P.P.S I have a String Quartet in C sharp minor too but that piece is really bad and you may take a look into it lol:

Thx for sharing and joining us! Make sure to check posts from other members as well.

Henry

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

-For b,26-39, I'm wondering the G# bass, since it's causing some instability in the music, either forming the I6 chord or the vi6/4 chord.

Thanks a lot! I'll look into this.

Well the piece isn't trying to be stable - if it would have all the chromaticism wouldn't have been there...

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

love the usage of suspension in b.41, and it's tragic. However under this slow tempo the section can seem too long and directionless.

I thought that too, I tried to fix that by adding an actual theme on that but failed. Gonna make another try then.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The D natural suggests A major more but it's never raised later.

The D natural is the Neapolitan.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

it seems to much for me to have the other three instruments to have their solo parts too before getting to the recap

That's the recap already. The first two phrases. I just added a stop between the parts of each instrument (in the expo there was also an answer in the cello/viola, but this time it didn't fit), to create more of that isolation feel.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The recap is more or less the same as the exposition

Yes, I tried a new approach to the recap - trying to get another quality of tone to the same music, not new music.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Why do you need that D double sharp enharmonic instead of E natural? Is it that you want to have the tone to be sharper?

I tried to build the chords there properly, and E wasn't part of the chord in question.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

P.P.S I have a String Quartet in C sharp minor too but that piece is really bad and you may take a look into it lol:

I will surely.

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Do you also take inspiration from his op.131 quartet for a C sharp minor slow first movement?

Actually it's somehow the only one I didn't listen to before my teacher used it as an example yesterday.

55 minutes ago, Beethoven is God said:

Well the piece isn't trying to be stable - if it would have all the chromaticism wouldn't have been there...

Yeah but I mean the stableness of the chord there, since there are some restrictions on using a second inversion chord like a cadential one, a passing one or an apreggiating one, and to use it without clear intent can cause some unwanted unstableness there.

58 minutes ago, Beethoven is God said:

The D natural is the Neapolitan.

So you mean there you have already returned to the tonic C# minor? But there is no cadence to notify that. Also for a Neapolitan chord is more normally to have the bass going upward to resolve to a V or I 6/4 chord, instead of having the bass going downwards to a I6 chord and have the phrase rest on a III chord. It's with the III chord the E major chord that I think it's going to A major with the E major being a pivotal chord and the hint from a D natural.

1 hour ago, Beethoven is God said:

That's the recap already. The first two phrases. I just added a stop between the parts of each instrument (in the expo there was also an answer in the cello/viola, but this time it didn't fit), to create more of that isolation feel.

Yup that's my mistake to overlook that part as a retransition lol. But I may add a unison before each isolated solo passage to enhance that isolated feeling with more contrast. What do you think?

1 hour ago, Beethoven is God said:

I tried to build the chords there properly, and E wasn't part of the chord in question.

I think an E is absolutely fine as it signifies an augmented chord in b.185. What is the chord you are having in your mind?

1 hour ago, Beethoven is God said:

Actually it's somehow the only one I didn't listen to before my teacher used it as an example yesterday.

Haha you should! This is absolutely my all time favourite 😁!

1 hour ago, Beethoven is God said:

I will surely.

Thx! But the quality of that piece is bad 😭

Thx for your reply Nadav!

Henry

15 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

What do you think?

I'll look into it with my teacher.

16 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

So you mean there you have already returned to the tonic C# minor? But there is no cadence to notify that. Also for a Neapolitan chord is more normally to have the bass going upward to resolve to a V or I 6/4 chord, instead of having the bass going downwards to a I6 chord and have the phrase rest on a III chord. It's with the III chord the E major chord that I think it's going to A major with the E major being a pivotal chord and the hint from a D natural.

Actually thinking of it starting the dev on A major might be interesting.... I'll take a look at that for the third draft.

17 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

 

Hi Nadav,

Welcome to the forum! This composition reminds me of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, which was also written in the same key. Your string quartet has a coherent structure, and the sombre character of this music is well-conveyed. Great job!

My favourite parts of this piece are bars 41-61 and 165-186. Your use of enharmonic suspensions to develop tension throughout the music is brilliantly executed, and the lack of cadences creates a strong desire for the piece to resolve to the tonic. Very well done! This is what I aspire to have in my future compositions.

I also like the brief rests throughout the piece, especially at bar 91. It's like giving the music a moment to "breathe." Besides, the passage in bars 129-140 is beautiful: it resembles a conversation between the four instruments, and the silence between the dialogues gives a feeling of solitude.

Overall, this string quartet is a thoughtful piece. However, the transition to the C-sharp minor chord in bar 198 may be slightly off due to the parallel fifth between the cello and the second violin and the parallel octave between the cello and the first violin. You might want to reharmonize this passage.

Thank you for sharing this piece!

Carl Koh Wei Hao