Variations on themes of Bach

I was experimenting with random note succession without any theory behind it.

The only rule was that I couldn't use tonality, I had to make sure every note I wrote was dissonant.

Then after the melody was set and some bars had been written I started copy paste of different bars doing several things:

- adding clefs to the copied parts
- pasting the copied parts on a higher frequency
- switching the copied parts from right hand to left hand
- combination of the above

At the time I was obsessed with Bach music. (I played partita, preludes and fuga, Italian concerto, French suites and so on)

So I got the urge to introduce some themes of Bach I liked.

mp3:

Variations on themes of Bach

ARRRGH! I liked your other compositions, but this is blasphemy. Firstly, it's not actually all dissonant (which makes me question whether you completed your brief), and secondly it totally destroys the music that comprises it. I don't understand what you were trying to do, and detested both the sound and sentiment of this work.

The fact is, Bach was able to do everything you listed above whilst preserving the beauty of his composition.

Oh god this is AWESOME. I really REALLY liked the Bach quotes near the end, and the distortion of them into gibberish. Though, I quite like how you used the motives to build up the sequences and then un-harmonized it. The chord sections are really cool too, and frantic. I like the pseudo-chaos of the piece, brought together at the end by the Bach quotes and a tonal ending.

But, a few things, where's the score? What instruments? 2 pianos? Are there no dynamic markings, nothing?

Produce a proper score, add dynamics and articulations. Don't slack off.

Otherwise, I'd say this would fall more in the area of bi-tonality rather than atonality. Not only the interval relationships are hinting at tonal lines (specially the Bach quotes) but it just sounds pretty bi-tonal overall since you're handling most of it 2 voices. In theory, if you want to write something strictly and properly atonal you would need to get rid of tonal-referencing motives, such as the chord arpeggios you use so much, and the 3rd distances between them.

In reality, if you use broken chords and arpeggios you're hinting at consonant intervals such as 3rds, 5ths, etc etc in a way that is tonal. So your wide usage of this figure causes the effect to move into bitonality or polytonality (as there IS tonality, there's just lots of it at the same time) rather than atonality.

As usual, look at Webern and such other composers from the second Vienna school for guidance.

PS: OR! You may want to look at Batok, cuz this reminds me a LOT of him. He does a bunch of bitonality too, and the rhythms hint towards him though you don't develop them quite as much as he does.

I actually don't know much about bitonality or atonality. I just wrote some notes and that's all. I didn't think as much as you think I did. Yes there is tonality, but that's only to make the Bach themes recognizable.

Imagine yourself inputting random 16th notes in Sibelius. That's what I did.

And I do agree this is blasphemy. But it's quite humorous, I find. For example the last theme of the French Suite at the end of the piece goes rather interestingly to a dissonance that is quite funny.

(there is something Prokofiev like in it too: bass line
there is something Khatchaturian in it too: repeated note motives cfr. Sonata for piano third movement)

This shows the power of the computer based notation, you can make everything sound without having to play it. I can imagine that a pianist would have difficulties playing this piece.