"Nightflower" for Piano and Cello (Live Recording)

Hello,

I've been taking private composition lessons at the university I attend (they do this instead of comp classes), and my teacher encouraged me to try to write a piece focusing on melody, whereas my other compositions have been largely harmonic and chordal in focus.

This was the result--an apparently "Schubertian" piece (according to my teacher). I don't necessarily think it's particularly original in mood or sound, but I do think it's fairly pretty I managed to get a recording with a pianist and cellist in our concert hall. The pianist made a few glaring errors, and the cello was quiet overall, but it's still far superior to a MIDI recording.

Without further ado, you can find an mp3 here and a PDF of the score here. I'd love any feedback or comments you may have. Thanks!

~Jason

I really like this piece, although it was painful at times when the cello played at a frequency that seemed to shake my desk...

Much better sound than MIDI though, and the two instruments work really well together.

The melody is sweet and simple, and when the piano does a few bars solo, it is more complex giving dimensions to the piece.

Overall, that was very good and you should deffinatley do more melody-based compositions, you seem to have a hidden talent for them.

Thanks a lot for posting this piece. It's really beautifull. Lovely melodies and I just love the sound of the cello, so thanks, really, for posting it. I surely enjoyed it!

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the piece. Chaski, I do think I will continue with melodic pieces... it was a fun challenge.

This is a very beautiful peice! I love how you mix the minor and major chords to make a very romantic peice. I have nothing bad to say!

Wonderful!

there are some truly stellar parts in this piece. i like the way the cello sets in, nothing new, but works so well. i like the way you harmonized the first motive/theme played by the cello with the piano.
measure 37 starts harmonically, thus being very pleasant. i like the ascending melody which would've worked so well if only the cello wasn't so off.
the paino solo starting at m50 is beatiful, so strong and dramatic. the starting B7-chord in m53, which sounded very new and 'cliché' at the same thime, caught me by suprise and kept me interested. the piece 'dies down' very nicely, just the way it should.

all in all, very, very well written!

i am convinced though, a good midi representation would sound better and more in balance than this performance, but that's just me.

r.

Nice piece, you just have to some big time score cleaning to do. A lot of Finale scores I see seem to do that stuff..