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I have written this as part of the Christmas music project. It's a revision of a carol I wrote a couple of years ago (which can be found here) based on Shakespeare's "Song of the Holly." It is for SATB choir and an accompaniment.

I would love some feedback on the composition in general and the orchestration. The score is in concert pitch thus it´s easier to read. The score and engraving is not yet perfect, I am aware! Thanks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKkrsACLiCI

Hello, everyone! Here is a short piece I wrote this week for English horn and piano based on a poem of mine; the poem is simple, and motivated by image (a writing style of which I am very fond). I have termed the piece as a “fantasy,” mostly due to its free-flowing form and structure; if I were to expand on that, it very much conforms to an introduction—caprice format. The piece coincides with the poem, wherein a young boy is wandering about a savanna plain, playing, and comes to a rest in a dense, gum-tree grove. Here, he begins to fall asleep next to a cool brook – which was hidden by the trees – and he begins to imagine capricious pixies and fairies dancing around. Section I – the introduction – is serious and flowing, shifting from 4/4 to 6/8, and it depicts the oppressive summer heat and the haziness of the powerful sun; section II – the caprice/dance – is playful, light, and in 7/8, introducing intrigue, enigma, and a break from the heat. Overall, it is a relatively short and simple piece, and I will hopefully work on a recording of it, along with my clarinet sonata (after I ruminate all your comments, of course). The English horn is one of my favorite instruments (in part due to its warm and low register), and I really wanted to work on a piece for it. I have attached a watercolor by one of favorite painters, J. M. W. Turner – “On the Washburn,” that I feel pairs with the set well. I’d love to hear your critiques, and thanks for listening!

This is a Christmas carol for SATB chorus, based on William Shakespeare's poem "Song of the Holly"

This is a song based off of Emily Brontë's fall, leaves, fall I have one main question about composing in general. In my song I re-use parts of the poem later, to help the listener process what the phrases mean. Is this 'allowed'? (answer with either opinion or facts) If you could give me primary feedback on the effect I made, and whether or not you feel it properly displays the poem. That would mostly appreciated. Also, what is voice leading? And am I doing it right?

Hello everybody! It tooks ages to get some inspiration and it feels very satisfying to finally post some new music... This composition is going to be submitted to a Dutch concours with the theme ''Lang zullen we ronddraaien.'' This can be translated like: The earth will rotate for still much time. I interpreted the music like we become crazy, which means ''We draaien door.'' The poem is written by me and its theme is the refugees crisis. The form is Mosaic Form. Please tell me your opinion about the music! Feedback is appreciated as well. Maarten We draaien door Kijk om je heen. Voor je, achter je, links van je, rechts van je. Die man, die vrouw Die jij hier ziet zijn bevoorrecht. Dat kind Dat jij opmerkt, heeft geluk Denk na. We beklagen ongeremd Het weer, het eten, het drinken, gisteren, vandaag, morgen; Anderen. Die man, die vrouw, dat kind, Zij en wij leven in een bijna-utopie Die we liever niet met anderen delen. Denk na! Andere mannen, vrouwen, kinderen Die juist nú hulp nodig hebben, Keren wij de rug toe. Ons geluk delen met medemensen Die de hel meemaakten; Lijkt een stap te ver Voor sommigen van ons. We draaien door! Het duizelt me. - Maarten Bauer, 12 september 2017. TRANSLATION We become crazy Look around you In front of you, behind you, left from you, right from you. That man, that woman Who you see there are privileged. That child Who you notice, is lucky. Think. We complaint unbulliently of The weather, the food, the drinks, yesterday, today, tomorrow; Others. That man, that woman, that child They and we live in an 'almost utopia' Which we preferably do bot share with others. Think! We turn our backs upon Other men, women, children Who need help right now. Sharing our fortune with neighbours, Who experiened the Hell, Seems to go too far For some of us. We become crazy! I get dizzy from it. - Maarten Bauer, 12 september 2017.

For my sketches project, I asked friends to give me material for inspiration. The following poem was one of the responses and I adapted in the best I could into piano form. The space between my bones and the air feels too big In this speculum there are only shards of shame to pierce me and to compress me Until I can fit the mold of perfection With each failure I can feel the whirlpool churning me up and spitting me back into its grave In this casket I will be filled with the balm of perfection To decrease the difference between me and that unattainable god Drinking life and purging sustenance to keep running away and to become the master of failure, until I can control my own flesh In my vortex of thoughts all that are left are dismembered memories of those battles I’ve waged And never won I have sacrificed my organs and veins to the gods above for achievement And still can never win This stalemate for perfection has left my skin rubbed raw with obsession Scrubbing away the blemishes that go as deep as my numerous sins The scars etched in my mind no longer leave any terrain whole My temple demolished in my quest for flawlessness And these lifelines in my palms are fading too fast for me to bring back my heart I’m trapped in a prison of desperation Of escaping from failure but into the fire of evolutionary relentless times I am bound by serrated bindings of always trying to be better, to be the best For the sake of my hell I am evaporating for wisdom So that my fortune can bring me back to my cavern of dead dreams waterlogged with failure I am tired Of praying to the enlightened And hoping for brilliance And shaving off life to make me more clever I am too flawed to please this jury of mirrors And I am exhausted from running into the looking glass and seeing too much and yet not enough I have put labels on happiness and deemed them unimportant Chosen discipline as my scythe to carve out my smile This shroud I have decided upon is my emaciated love Devoid of imagination for the cruel shape of perfection High expectations have created a ladder that extends past the limits of the universe And too many rungs are broken for me to claw my way up And I’m too afraid of the fall that would shatter the safety of at least being above the sea of despair I am clinging to splinters and twigs of ideal If only I could scald away the fear of mediocrity Expunge the masochist and assuage the fragments that might lead to happiness From before the paralysiss of not being good enough rooted me, Deer in the headlights, Frozen in the icy pursuit of perfection.

Here is a piece for seven-part string ensemble about a poem that I wrote. Let me know what you think!

Here is a piece for seven-part string ensemble with soloists, and it is about the eponymous poem by Major McCrae that was written about World War I. Let me know what you think!

UNFINISHED VERSION! I am trying to compose one of my favourite poems for soprano or tenor voice (octave below), but I'm littlebit confused, right now. I have never composed for solistic voice and accompainment before, only pure choral and some orchestral pieces I have worked. I'm asking for advice, if my work fits in some style of solistic pieces, because just like I said, I have no experience with solo, nor browsed any sheet of the "old masters" to have a look at how it works basically. So the poem is about spring, and the first verses could make out a sleeping song too. This work is unfinished, I have 3 more verses, in which I'd like to use more themes, more joy and sadness, etc. My question would be if it works well so far. The lyrics are in Hungarian, so I try to make a freestyle translation. Here you go: When Spring divides its kissis, and within the greening forests, sunshine is present, Waking up on the wet lawn, Tiny, small, white stars of Earth. To the velvet of the fields covered with dew, Whitening and falling down thousands of starflowers, And above, the wind blows softly, So the trees are waving at the edge of the forest. (...)

Opus 9, Madrigal no 1, written for SSATB(lyrics : Bright Star by John Keats). Full album cover and more music available here : https://www.reverbnation.com/mademoisellelilaclucrezia Opus 9.mp3

Hi, everyone: This is my first composition in vocal music and the lyric is written by me. This song is recorded by sibelius. Any suggestion is welcome, especially the solo cello part. I do not familiar with cello ,so I do not sure those cords can or can not be played by single player. Hope you can enjoy it!Encounter Love .mp3Encounter Love .pdf

This piece was composed by me, and as it's one of my favourite poems, I wanted to give it 'sounding'. Albert Wass was a Hungarian poet of the 20th century. As Hungary lost both wars, Transylvania was taken by Romania, where Wass was born. For he'd taken part in World War II., he'd to exile himself from the country to the U.S., and he could never return. If he'd did so, he'd been executed (or at least jailed) by the Communist Goverment - that took control of the country for 1989 - like many people. In he's poems, patriotism, nostalgia, the wartime losses, bitterness, and of course, the transylvanian-hungarian land(scape) has a strong role, and frequent presence. The poem is in Hungarian, but I translated it to English for you. Unfortunately, I'm positively not a poet, so I only cared about the content and the meanings, not about the form and rhymes. You can read the translation below. As for the sheet, the piece was recorded with EWQL Brass Section and Finale 2012, and it's up to ignore the dynamics I wanted. But please notice, that in the sheet you can find the correct notation. I was trying to accord to the poem, and 'paint pictures to music' I saw while reading it. I used many specific 'Hungarian folksong - sounding' melodies and harmonies. I take any advice, remark or criticism that helps me make my piece better. Thank you, and best regards! Translation by Defearon: Dearest love of mine, look at the mount's ridge! A coat is made thereon, by the blonde rime. And where the creek flows, recess-like, it visits the woodlands covered with death. And within the woodlands blood and death exists. Everything is cold to the bones... everything, that was scattered as a present, by the Summer. And sometimes, soft winds are sneaking through, sending a message, "the faith was vain", And - what is left here by the dead Spring - it's buried by the leafs of the beeches. And do you hear it? Magical melodies are heared from the clouds high upon! See? There are brother-crows marching through, a wandering pair in love. And they are flying together, forever, where the Fall made melodies and flowers fall... (Maybe I'm still a poet :) ) Dearest love of mine, come with me to the Fall, and stop with me high, at the rime-white edge, under the saddest but finest beech-tree, and see, what beatiful wilting is! And the megic left here... is only left for us!