Halloween Piece

This is an atonal piece I composed for halloween, I only use four notes: G#, A, A# and B

The piece is in a compressed sonata form, with two themes with two versions each.

Halloween piece.pdf

- Exposition: B 1-20

B 1-2: Exposition of theme 1 ascendent version

B 3-4: Exposition of theme 1 descendent version

B 5-12: Exposition of theme 2 descendent version

B 13-21: Exposition of theme 3 ascendent version

-Development: B 21-28

B 21: Development of theme 1 ascendent version

B 22-24: Development of theme 2 ascendent version

B 25: Development of theme 1 descendent version

B 26-28: Development of theme 2 descendent version

-Recapitulation: B 29-41

B 29-31: Recapitulation of theme 1 combined version

B 31-41: Recapitulation of theme 2 combined version

-Coda: B 42-44

The sustain pedal is maintained during the whole piece to give it a spookier muddy sound

This was mainly an exercise to compose in sonata form, I would appreciate some feedback 

Hi @Jqh73o,

The piece itself is real interesting comprising only of four notes and does create a sort of Halloween mood. I love the sustained pedal throughout too, as you said it does give the whole piece a spooky muddy sound. Lovely effect!

However I think maybe it will be difficult to conceive the piece as in a sonata form for me. The difference between the ascendant and descendant of the themes for me is not that strong since there are only four notes in the piece, and the melodic arch of the themes are not apparent. Also the theme 1 and 2 are too short to be counted as first subject and second subject groups as in an exposition and recapitulation in a sonata form, and there is no cadence or medial caesura to functionally separate the themes or the boundaries of different sections, so I will tend to listen to the whole piece as one single entity without the division of the sections, let alone the functions of exposition, development and recapitulation. The development section is for me more a repetition of the themes in different order rather than a real development. I may be nitpicky on the formal issue though.

Thx for sharing!

Henry

@Henry Ng Tsz Kiu

thank you for giving me feedback on this short piece.

How can I develop the themes correctly during the development of a sonata-form piece?

sorry for the late reply