Rondo in C Minor

This goes back to 2014, when I got this little idea in 17/8 but set it aside, because I thought the A and B sections of the rondo form were too short. When browsing through scores last weekend, I came across it and realized that these two sections were actually just parts of an overall A section, itself having a form of AAB (the second 'A' a transposition of the first). I came up with a B section (itself AABC, with a similarly transposed repeated A and the B echoing the 'A' part of the slightly shorter overall A section).

The overall structure became AABABA-coda (with no strict repeats, as each occurrence of a section has the left hand do something a little different), the final A blending into the coda.  A brief cadenza-like passage leads to what is here the second of three versions of the ending (longer than the first version but a little shorter than the third).

Originally written out in 17/8, I decided to break it down in order to better show the subdivisions (mostly 4-4-4-5 and 5-5-4-3), and because in the coda there are some 13s, 10s, etc., along with a couple more 17s.  Apart from the rhythmic oddities, however, this is very traditional.

Merry Christmas! (Again)

As mentioned in previous posts, I got a new sound library early last year that provided some noticeable improvements in several instruments, particularly the trumpets, so I thought that my Christmas piece from 2011 -- Bells -- was overdue for an update. I initially intended to just make the dynamics and articulation adjustments called for by the new sounds, but ended up making other changes as well. The more major ones were to extend the opening, make the ending a little less abrupt, and add a bass clarinet to give more body to the clarinet section. I also slightly extended the transition into the C major section in the middle, and added various flourishes, especially with my improved trumpet section.

Here it is -- Merry Christmas!

Prelude in F Major

Yesterday on the way home from work, I heard on the radio that it was both National Classical Music Month and -- rather suspiciously -- also National Piano Month. So, when I got home, I decided to take a look at the F Major fugue I've been working on recently. It occurred to me that the fugue could use a prelude as a companion, so I added some harmonic debris to an F Major chord and decided to see what I could do with that. This is what happened:

Red

This is being posted out of order; I actually finished this a few days before Easter, but got distracted with other things, and so Aftermath and Restoration got here first. I had been listening to the King Crimson "Discipline" album, and thought it might be interesting to do something for string quartet using a jerky rhythm similar to that on the opening of the track "Indiscipline".

Part of the way through, I realized it was shaping up to be in octatonic mode (like my String Quartet #2), and thought of the title track of the KC "Red" album, which employs the same octatonic mode. Another connection that I didn't make until it was nearly finished (it took a couple of weeks) is the layered approach of my little Passacaglia sketch for string quartet from early last year (first 45 seconds, apart from the two-bar intro).

So, here it is -- inspired by King Crimson, although I have no idea what Mr. Fripp & Co. would think of it:

Aftermath and Restoration

Here's something a little different. Sunday before last, I had a bass line pop into my head, too late to do anything more than just scribble it down in order to not forget it. Over the next couple of weeks, in between doing my taxes and being annoyed at having to do them, I worked it into something that I think isn't quite rock, but avoided becoming jazz -- which it threatened to do until that 13/16 section showed up at 3:49. Then the time signatures stay a little crazy for about a minute before settling into a coda based on the transition from the intro ("Aftermath") to the main section (the initial bass idea, starting at 2:20).

Also, I know that normal bass tuning only goes down to E, but this was E-flat in my head, so the bassist just has to loosen that bottom string a little.

4/27: A few details were bothering me, so I did an updated version. Almost exactly the same as before, except a little different.

A Tribute to Back Pain

Here's what happened: Just before Labor Day weekend, I came down with a bug that was going around the office. It didn't last long, but left me with a persistent cough, which was bad enough that one particularly violent coughing fit a full two weeks later pulled a muscle in my back, causing me to miss work the next day, as I could barely walk. It hurt badly enough that I couldn't really concentrate on any work, whether job-related or my music. Still, I did come up with a little idea for piano that was simple enough not to require much thought, and when I played it back I heard something else that had to go with it. Apart from a couple of inevitable tweaks over the next couple of days (mostly phrasing and dynamics), this was done over the span of a couple of hours, interrupted only by coughing spells that further aggravated the back pain. It should've been posted over a month ago, but I got distracted by other pieces (and my dislike of the Windows Movie Maker software -- the Blogger interface doesn't allow for the direct posting of sound files). The cough is now gone, and the back is better (mostly).

So, here it is -- the sound of lower back pain. Enjoy...

String Quartet No. 2

This is an older piece, which I had not posted previously because I couldn't get an acceptable quality virtual performance with my old sound library. The new sound library, while not perfect, made about as close an approximation to a decent performance as possible without professional players. It's far from what I'd call a good performance, but as I don't personally know a professional string quartet, this will have to do for now. I'm not sure if the sul ponticello effects are noticeable enough but left them all in, and I didn't like the quality of the col legno sounds, so removed them.

It's a four movement quartet, based on the octatonic scale. The first movement, slow and restrained, follows it strictly, using only the notes E-F#-G-A-Bb-C-C#-D#. The second movement, fast and rather violent, adds the F, and is the only movement that maintains a single time signature throughout. The third movement, opening on a B, starts as a cello solo for about the first half, and once all the others join in picks up speed and intensity, then the instruments drop out one by one, leaving the end as a shorter viola solo along the lines of the cello's opening. This is the movement that suffers most from lack of live players. The quartet closes with another fast movement, slightly faster and more scherzo-like than the second, adding the D near the beginning and finally G# around the middle.

Overall, the entire piece is a good bit less "user friendly" than my more recent stuff, the final movement probably being the most accessible. The best thing about posting this is the encouragement it gives me to finish my SQ#3, which employs a more traditional tonality (mostly) and more regular time signatures (mostly).