Solo I

Here is my Solo I in barouque style.
the solo is for violin & continou. There are 3 movments, all in B minor:
Passacaglia- variations on a basso ostinato (0.00-3.16)
Sarabande- (3.16-6.15)
Tarentalla- quick snappy little dance (6.15-6.59)

tell me what you think

There's a lot of atmosphere and some really nice ideas in there. The idea behind the forms and the baroque style seems to be well understood.

Just a few things I noticed:

- There are many dynamic markings for the basso continuo. A harpsichord won't be able to realize all of them. Generally (depending on the harpsichord) you don't have more than two dynamics you can choose from by use of stops. Of course if there's another continuo instrument you may have more dynamic possibilities. (If it should look "genuinly baroque" you wouldn't usually notate detailed dynamics anyways though.)

- You seem to use harmonic minor in the whole piece. This is certainly possible, but if you want it to sound baroque you might want to use melodic minor when your melody progresses in steps, or some passages will sound a bit "oriental". Specifically bars 12 and 43/45.

- What seems the most problematic to me are two things: The high number of repeats combined with rather slow tempi and a very light texture. This means the rate of receiving "musical information" is rather slow, so one might get a bit bored. Of course I realize that this is also partly due to the dead midi sound. However, I think you should either increase the tempi (especially the Tarantella, but also the Passacaglia), remove some repeat marks, or increase the density by adding contrapunctual voices or harmonic variation. Possibly a mix of these. I think that with little such tweaks here and there the piece could gain a lot, and its beauty would be really brought to bear.

Oh and I really enjoyed the wit in bars 58/59. Reminded me of Haydn
It's like something out of a fast Scherzo in a slow Sarabande.

Originally Posted by Gardener

Just a few things I noticed:

- There are many dynamic markings for the basso continuo. A harpsichord won't be able to realize all of them. Generally (depending on the harpsichord) you don't have more than two dynamics you can choose from by use of stops. Of course if there's another continuo instrument you may have more dynamic possibilities. (If it should look "genuinly baroque" you wouldn't usually notate detailed dynamics anyways though.)

- You seem to use harmonic minor in the whole piece. This is certainly possible, but if you want it to sound baroque you might want to use melodic minor when your melody progresses in steps, or some passages will sound a bit "oriental". Specifically bars 12 and 43/45.

- What seems the most problematic to me are two things: The high number of repeats combined with rather slow tempi and a very light texture. This means the rate of receiving "musical information" is rather slow, so one might get a bit bored. Of course I realize that this is also partly due to the dead midi sound. However, I think you should either increase the tempi (especially the Tarantella, but also the Passacaglia), remove some repeat marks, or increase the density by adding contrapunctual voices or harmonic variation. Possibly a mix of these. I think that with little such tweaks here and there the piece could gain a lot, and its beauty would be really brought to bear.

Oh and I really enjoyed the wit in bars 58/59. Reminded me of Haydn
It's like something out of a fast Scherzo in a slow Sarabande.

Thanks for the reply,

-I have a wider range of dynamics so if the continou is played by other instruments they can get a good idea of what to dynamic to play, I'm not really going for the genuine barouque score either.

-On bars 43/45 I missed a few A# here and there in the continou which is why it may have sounded a little wierd (fixed that). I think I am going to keep it in the harmonic minor, just so the piece is all of the same character.

- I've got to throw in some minimilism Also generaly on most passacaglias Ive heard the repeat is played in a quieter dynamic. I also do have to speed up the tarentalla, your right about that.

Glad you enjoyed measures 58/59

is that harpsichord?

yes, but the continou could be played by other instruments, cello, paino, organ etc

good job capturing the style, Virtualshock.
A few comments...
-my ear wanted to hear the vln. go up to the G on the downbt. of 29 (adding a 9th)...that's just personal preference.
-also, while I realize your other phrase is a 5-bar-group in the tarantella, the end threw me off because I was expecting 2 4-bar phrases (it seems you're thinking 2 groups of 3 bars for the last 6 msrs). Because of this, it seemed like you need one extra bar at the end....Maybe if you changed the vln's C# in ms. 73 to an E it would cue the listener in to the end of the group and prepare for the final half-phrase.
But bravo on trying your hand at a few different mvts. all in the baroque!
Brooks