Serenade No. 1 (Duet for Cello and Piano)

Here’s a duet I composed for Cello and Piano! I tried to make use of more “modern” harmonic ideas with this piece. Overall, I find it decent, and probably would change a couple of things. Any feedback is welcomed! 

Hi @Guardian25,

I really like the quartile chords you use, this make the piece having a slight refreshing mint flavour in its tragic mood. The melody is very lovely and I like the mood. It’s simple but it’s touching.

I think you don’t have to add the “4” above all the semiquavers! Also, given how expressive the cello melody is, you should add more slurs for it ( and for the piano)!! For b.29 and b.42 onwards I think it will be quite difficult for the cello to sustain the octave for so long a time!

Thx for sharing!

Henry

On 5/17/2024 at 10:27 AM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hi @Guardian25,

I really like the quartile chords you use, this make the piece having a slight refreshing mint flavour in its tragic mood. The melody is very lovely and I like the mood. It’s simple but it’s touching.

I think you don’t have to add the “4” above all the semiquavers! Also, given how expressive the cello melody is, you should add more slurs for it ( and for the piano)!! For b.29 and b.42 onwards I think it will be quite difficult for the cello to sustain the octave for so long a time!

Thx for sharing!

Henry

 

Thanks for the feedback! I have really been getting into more quartal harmonies lately!

I did not consider the idea of using more slurs throughout the piece, so that will be something I will look into. Also, thanks for the feedback on the octave sustain. I thought that would be something that would be "easier" to do, so I will look into to editing this as well!

Hi @Guardian25!

I think the main melody is quite beautiful and the simple harmony underneath is perfect.  It's also a harmony that makes lingering on the tonic note very affecting.  Usually I would say that using so much scalar motion would make the piece sound like it's meandering up and down aimlessly, but you seem to pull it off by giving the melody a meaningful melodic contour and by making the rhythmic placement of the motion a bit less predictable.  The only thing that I think isn't very musical (at least in this rendition) is the cello's grace notes - they sound very robotic to me and it's also hard for me to imagine how they could be made to be more musical by a real life performance.  But that just might be me.  Somehow though, when the piano has those grace notes they don't give me the same impression.  Thanks for this beauty!

The cello melody is very lovely, lilting and serene.  For me, the repetitiveness of the right hand chords and rhythm is somewhat less effective against the cello line.    A bit of variation in the piano accompaniment - I believe would bring out the cello and emphasize dramatic high points in the melody.

Mark

a NICE PIECE---

  I second Henry and MJFs comments--- slurs for the cello accentuating its lyrical sustained quality, and VARIETY.

                On successive returns of the melodic material a few subtle variations can go a long way to keeping material fresh and engaging-- in both cello and piano parts.