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Hello, This is a very nice piece. It makes me feel something deep inside, which I don't get from most music. I see the comments with the Phillip Glass mentions. I am guessing this piece is more in the minimalistic style. I personally get more of a nature vibe from it. The title, Time and Reflection works extremely well too. I think at measure 62 a fermata would be nice? But yeah, the length is perfect (just under 3mins). The little deviations from the pulse of the piece here and there, the build up and eventual ending. It all works really well. Bravo! I look forward to hearing more from you. P.S. Would you mind if I included this piece in some of my home videos that I edit? (Just for personal use)

I can see that some composers of art songs (Messiaen, Barber, etc.) omit time signatures entirely in their art songs. I wonder if this is an option -- though probably less practical for larger instrumental groups?

DIVINE BAROQUE DEVINE BAROQUE by Mavell.mp3 DEVINE BAROQUE by Mavell.mid DEVINE BAROQUE by Mavell.pdf

Thank you @Some Guy That writes Music for your helpful and detailed post! I see — I had that thought as well. It may be a good approach to first define certain modal colors/atmospheres corresponding to certain emotional themes of the poems (without being overly literal, of course). That’s a good reminder, as my melodies do tend to be wider in register. I’ll do my best to temper that impulse except at the climactic points! Thanks for the recommendations! Not really, unfortunately — I’m technically a baritone but not very competent. I’m simply writing this work for my own satisfaction, trusting that a performance opportunity will eventually surface if the work lives up to my expectations. Thanks for the listening/study recommendations! It’s neat that you mention Berg’s Op.2, because that particular work was probably my introduction to both art songs and musical modernism, while Schumann was my original inspiration to write my own song cycle. Though, these days I’ve been more into French Chansons as opposed to German Lieder. But Andre Previn definitely deserves more attention — I wasn’t aware of his compositions until now! At this stage, I think it may be beneficial to copy select scores by hand, which encapsulate something similar to what I’m trying to achieve in my cycle, and see what I can learn. I’m currently searching through Britten’s Op. 52, and Messiaen’s Poemes Pour Mi for that purpose.

Hi All! :) This is my new composition, called Sweet Nightmare. It has dark and mystifying musical motifs with a surreal dimention added to them. I use many instruments of the orchestra along with female voice choirs. Welcome to your nightmare...the curtains are drawn, the light fades and you slip into your unconscious in order to face the surreal with a sweet taste... Enjoy! Sweet Nightmare SWEET NIGHTMARE SCORE.pdf

I’ll share something a little different. I’m a big fan of L'Arpeggiata, an ensemble led by Christina Pluhar, in particular their latin jazz inspired interpretations of works by Henry Purcell. For this they collaborated with the brilliant countertenor Phillipe Jaroussky. It’s great, and i love how adaptable they are to reinterpret baroque music in this more contemporary idiom. I’ll link one of my favorites from this album:

I appreciate the comments! I wish to provide my thoughts/ reasoning on the string parts: The passage of octaves near the end is no exception to the octave passages that came before it. The triple stops you mentioned are actually quadruple stops (count the "and" of each beat as well). I took the notes and hand position in that moment straight from the Samuel Adler book of orchestration, which had a chart of common voicings for double, triple and quadruple stops during the section on the violin. Thus, while it may add a slight challenge in context, the feasibility of the part is trivial to the greater repertoire of violin and string writing. With the viola, I am aware of the challenge with the choreography of the player, specifically with the bow positioning. However, in the greater context of the piece, it only happens for 8 measures out of 144. To add, the pizzicato part is written to only be played on the G and D strings of the viola (II-III). Thus, the right hand can stay in one place to pluck (whether it's one or two fingers), while the left hand holds a hand position of a 6th, 5th and 3rd across both strings. All in all, while the bow may be placed in their hand, it is feasible. Thanks again!

review: you dear beauty lovelier still. this is my general effect review: I think this definitely and clearly fits the definition that you tried put on the theme. Not in a bad way, but in a neutral way this feels like a love song nothing wrong with that, but that’s why I took it as. The instrumentation sounds good and even the samples sound much better. The string samples I use I have to physically mark each 16th note for a separated run instead of it sounding all the lagato and sloppy. what you used sounds really nice and of course the piano writing sounds fantastic and I see some of that improvisatory sections inside of the piece as transitioning material. The runs also sound very solid as well. I definitely felt some Lydian elements in there too, so that affect was achieved well About playability let me get the very defendable stuff out the way A. Be careful with the octaves near the end with the violin again this is something very defendable as that a mature violin player with a good amount of experience could do that. It’s just something that could be tricky for someone trying to learn it. The triple stops are possible, just in succession. They may be a little tricky to get right. B. about the Pizzacato with the Viola, this is something that may seem a little more tricky/something that I may be more concerned about as well. I feel like with a bunch of actually looking at it and planning this could be done with a good amount of intense practice, but logistically speaking, you would have to use a similar technique to a harp holding a bow on top of that just makes it a little more messy. Also, the direction of the strings this goes in, also requires the use of more than one finger. anyways, other than that, those are just my gripes this is a really good piece and it fits very well with the theme so with that I enjoyed this one a lot also a nice work with the cover art as always, also thank you for your review on my entry. Definitely helped a lot. melody: 9.5 harmony: 9.7 structuring and development: 8.6 originality: 7 engraving: 10 execution:10 taste: 9.7 average 9.21

Hi @kaiyunmusic ! Beautiful piece! I think it is in 3/4 though, not 6/8. This becomes especially apparent at measure 66 where the melody clearly plays 3 quarter notes per bar. But even in the beginning, I perceive the pulse as 3 quarters per bar. And in the 12/8 section I still perceive the quarter note as receiving the beat, so it would be 6/4 there I think. Thanks for sharing this sweet music!

entry: "You dear Beauty Lovelier, Still" Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Total score: 10 Average Score:80/80 Review: Execution: the piece was with the given time frame and was written for correct ensemble. It exceeds what was expected for this competition. Score prep: The score was properly engraved. I did not notice any noticeable engraving errors. Playability, orchestrations, instrumentation: Each part that was written with in correct idiom and could. While the piano part is more suitable for advance players, I am sure it is playable. (as the live video shows us). The string parts are readable and can play state level string players and up. Structure: There is a clear sense of form and structure in this piece.

Ah yes, functional harmony. 🤨 Why would I pay attention to that if I was intentionally writing something blending minimalism and 20th century writing. :D

Posted Sunday, August 23rd, 2026:

Hello everyone! The following post in my formal submission for the 2026 Summer Competition: From Nothing, to Something. Below includes a detailed and extensive explanation of the work, both in inspiration and construction. If you wish to skip, the score PDF and Audio will be found at the end. Thanks and talk to you all soon! [TAKEN FROM SCORE] Plus belle encor votre chère beauté  - Your dear beauty lovelier still Duration: c. 6:08 Written in 2026, Plus belle encor votre chère beauté is a work for piano quartet that evokes summer and the experience of love. It was composed for the “2026 Summer Competition” hosted by The Young Composers Music Forum and is inspired by Paul Verlaine’s poem “Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d’été,” whose opening line may be translated as: “So, on a bright summer day it shall be.” The poem is number nineteen in Verlaine’s collection La Bonne Chanson (The Good Song) Find the French text and translation to the poem here The title of this work is drawn directly from the French text and has similar inspiration as the Gabriel Fauré song from his op. 61 bearing the same name as the Verlaine poem. However, this work takes the title from the fourth line of text, and unlike Fauré, this work is late-romantic in style. The musical inspiration came from two places: Tchaikovsky and his Nutcracker ballet, and a spell of improvisation at the piano. This work was created in late July and early August 2026, and during that time, I was experimenting with modal improvisation, and felt drawn to G-lydian. Specifically, the ivø7 chord you can build and find in Tchaikovsky’s music. It was also around this time I was listening to parts of the Nutcracker, where I felt drawn to the idea of harp-writing, and thus, during a period of improvisation, the foundation of this work came to be. With structure, Plus belle encor votre chère beauté is in ternary (A-B-A’) form and includes an intro and coda. The B-section acts as our development while the outer A-sections are comprised of a smaller AABA form. The principal theme stated in the A-section occurs throughout the work, where it can be heard in the introduction, coda and within the development where the piano states the principal theme in inversion. Lastly, I composed this work following the end of a relationship. In short, this work evokes those unspoken emotions I harbored and the romance I long to have one day. A day where I too can say “Your dear beauty.” PERSONAL NOTE: For me, the connection to this text, and now to this piece of music, is very personal. By the time this post goes live, my last relationship, of more than a year, ended a month ago. I will leave my thoughts on the matter with this: while rare in occurrence, being in the throes of thought can make the weight of longing feel immeasurable. However, amidst the satin and silk, this piece came to life. To add some fun for the competition, and incase people worry the music is not playable, I can assure you everything on the page works and is practical. However, better to put money where my playing is. A few hours before posting, I decided to record myself playing the work and trying out things. I originally improvised it on piano and this was one of the few times I tried to mimic what is on the page. It is not 1-to-1 and I made certain liberties in performance, however, this was fun to do! (This YouTube video is not my official audio entry for this competition. MP3 for score can be found below. Also, my camera was not in focus during the take... grrr) Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy! (The art on the cover page is Claude Monet's "Woman with a Parasol." A wonderful piece of art!) AUDIO_YourDearBeauty.mp3 SCORE_YourDearBeauty.pdf

Thanks for the comments. Before you spend more of your time, I must inform you that this version of the work is severely outdated. The most recent copy I have made functions as a complete rewrite. I have changed the form, phrase structure, orchestration, harmonic language and melodic content. Thus, I do not expect to make any changes as you have listed or pointed out. Thanks again!

Hello @MK_Piano ! (I kind of want to help you too as you have also provided so much aid with my concerto!) Resources used: Music Jotter Brain Snipping Tool Feedback giving: Day 1 23/08/26 Page 1: Bar 1 You start of with a beethovenish opening, with a broad c minor chord, that is actually, surprisingly quiet. Your use of brass is very good, but you could try adding texture by having the contrabasses and/or violoncellos play a C? Perhaps something like Violincellos: mp, sempre cresc. , C3 Contrabasses: mp, sempre cresc. , C2 Although, I also used mp, I actually recommend spreading out the dynamics a bit? It could be more like the following: Horns in F I-III: p. These play g and eb, which is anything but the tonic, so maybe make it a bit quieter. Horns in F II-IIII: p. Same reason as above Trumpets in C: The play the note g, which is the dominant. That plays an important role, but not as important as the tonic. stay as mp, as it is just one note, and you have to make it sound good. Trombone II: Same as above Trombone I and Bass Trombone: Notice that over all of the other notes, your tonic doesn't stand out because there are only two. Therefore, maybe raise one them to mf, or maybe even both of them! Obviously, notice that all of your tonic notes on your first chord is played on a trombone. so that is just more reason to have the C in the Strings too. Bar 3 You had the tonic chord, so now you have the dominant. Simple theory. Straightforward, but notice, again, you have everything as mf. It might sound a bit plain, and I personally do not like that. spread it out just the previous one. I am too lazy to do that again, so just do what you think will work here. Again, Strings are helpful. Page 2-3 Bars 5-9 Ok. I love this huge chord! A large, bombastic C Minor chord, that opens the first theme. You could definitely try using sforzando (sfz). It is great, because at here, such dynamics are unexpected. The strings have a good background harmonic effect, that gives it a sort of texture, especially in the violins, that g that appears on the 2.5th beat is very nice. The violoncellos and contrabasses have a nice, strict organ note that gives the piece a sense of rhythm. Quite nice. We get introduced to the first theme, which is actually following the theme: G C D Eb D C. It is simple, which is good, because a theme that is simple usually leads to a good development section. This theme follows a pattern that is very important. This is the theme. And, if we add direction arrows...... This is what we end with. Now, treating the highest note as a climax, (that will be Eb,) you should always have a crescendo and a slight diminuendo. Let's see what you wrote... Yes. you only wrote crescendo, but ignored the fact that it is the highest note! You could definitely change that. It is good to have a domino effect on the main theme, where it goes from clarinets to oboes. It is definitely a nice thing to listen to. It gives a very nice feeling of call and response, but with the same theme. EDIT!!! He just said that he made a new version, so im not gonna write more. This post can be just educational ig.

Good day, Fruit Hunter! I see you have a orchestration that is vibrant. Listening to the piece, I would say the piece would follow a form that might be quasi-fantasia? The effort put in to this piece is obviously a lot, and I must appreciate this piece for that reason. It definitely feels like a potpouriss, but it is also energetic, just as the poem follows. Good Job, -TristanTheTristan

Hello Kvothe! After listening to your work and looking over parts of the score, I come down to the conclusion: I agree with all the previous people, and yes, It indeed sounds like chinese music at certain sections. I like how there are some solo parts and tutti parts, as if being two intermezzos between the three paragraphs. Some constructive feedback: You really should pay attention more to harmony, except if you intended to write more like prokofiev? Anyways, brilliant piece! -TristanTheTristan

That’s absolutely true. It all depends on what we mean by ‘personal style’ (or simply ‘style’). One thing is clear: everyone tries to find the language, the techniques, the systems, etc., that suit them best, and to write music within that framework. But I don’t think anyone on this forum can claim to have a personal style that makes them unique and distinctive. That doesn’t mean there aren’t excellent composers. In fact, on the current scene, I don’t know of any composers who have that sort of style. I know of plenty of music that’s based on previous stories, and it’s brilliant.

In this case, I don’t see it as a major problem because the melody is clear and the arpeggio simply plays the note. The issue arises when the melody is overshadowed by a counter-melody, for example here. Perhaps First Violin could go up an octave at that point…

Ended up finishing it... -Metamorphosis-.pdf

Hello @CrystalCanon, I noticed with appreciation that you’ve thoroughly read my last two posts and thus noticed the contradiction between what I said here in this thread—that one shouldn’t “try too hard to develop a personal style”—on the one hand, and my “recipe for a personal style” in the second post, on the other. But to be honest, I didn’t mean that ironically. Perhaps, however, I misunderstood what is meant by “style.” If “personal style” is defined as how one is perceived or recognized as a composer by “others” (e.g., the audience), then I wouldn’t worry too much about it, since one has little or no influence over that. On the other hand, I think it’s important to develop a “consistent approach” or a “recipe” that you feel comfortable with when composing, and that allows you to create your pieces successfully. That’s the kind of “personal style” I mentioned in my other post. But perhaps this is somewhat different from the ideas summarized and discussed in this thread—wouldn’t it be worth for an own topic?

It's a "Jolly" good piece. My only suggestion is that the notes fall into a repetitious pattern with the range of middle B to G above the staff. The work hangs about the G. Plus the lyrical movement which it up linear and down linear is also repetitious. Once again the harmony is delightful and is the piano part. It would enhance the work with a mid-section with a different flavor with a bit of editing of the main theme.

thanks @Some Guy That writes Music , I can definitely see that!

Hi @Luis Hernández Thanks again for your review. Yes the "nat" marking is for playback rendering. I take your remarks about flourishing dynamics and accents and avoid violin I and II overlapping. On bars 23-24 I'd think we could see that as a mere imitation of violin I by violin II, since violin I holds its note in bar 24 while violin II repeats, in an arpeggio form, the previous bar from violin I ? Regards

👩‍🦰 👩 𝟮 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗬𝗦 | 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁 & 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻 | lovely Brass solos. Baroque Concerto Birthday by Mavell.mp3CHAMBER MAID MELODY 1 by Mavell.mp3CHAMBER MAID MELODY 2 by Mavell.mp3Baroque Concerto Birthday by Mavell.midCHAMBER MAID MELODY 1 by Mavell.midCHAMBER MAID MELODY 2 Mini Trumpet and Flugal horn by Mavell.mid BCB.pdfCMM1.pdfCMM2.pdf