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Hi! Finally i started summer holydays so I'm able to compose as much as I want to! I wanted to try I new style, and I've been wondering about spanish classical music, I'm keen on folklore and culture so.. Why not trying it? It won't hurt anyone! (Well, it hurt my fingertips). I called this pieces after my birthplace, Córdoba, an Andalusian city where dance, flamenco, castanets and flower are everywhere... I would want to give a short explanation about spanish nationalism: - The usage of Andalusian cadence!!!!!! In a minor key i - bVII - bVIII - V, this cadence whas so popular that it was used among all world (https://youtu.be/cGufy1PAeTU, https://youtu.be/M6GK8HhjQQE this one is tricky, https://youtu.be/SrnWp5O0DEs) - Sections that are purely rythmical (https://youtu.be/SCKDG7w2S9c, https://youtu.be/fnvVFzV0yE0) - Circular melodies and motives - Dance rythms (https://youtu.be/q8rlFjWolvE) I really aim you all to check Albeniz's, Turina's and Falla's works! Must I add that i'm not a profesional pianist, I did as good i could, so please, if there are something not idiomatic or 'tecnically weird' please let me know! Córdoba.mp3 Córdoba.pdf

Hey @Samuel_vangogh, I like the Spanish elements here and hopefully there are more from you! There are many active Spanish members here in my impreesion. I love that rhythmic section very much. Maybe extend it longer? But it may hurt your fingertips more haha! Just turn the section into an ABA with thr B in different keys like A major will be great! I love that bare fifths accompaniment, ofc it reminds me the famous Carmen ! I think in b.31-42 you can still maintain the Spanish rhythm there in a slower tempo, or as a sidewalker after each melodic phrase. That modulation to Naepolitan Eb major is very beautiful and crafty by using German sixth as the pivotal chord, one of my fav. progression too! Maybe add a half cadence before b.55? I don't know. Nice ending as well! Thx for sharing! Henry

I'm in

Hi everyone! This is a more recent Gavotte that I composed in just the past week. It's for a string orchestra. Let me know what you think! I have a much longer and more challenging Gavotte in C in my archives that I composed years ago but that one is not finished yet. This one is a bit more modest in form and virtuosity. Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I really like that it sounds very direct but at the same time very rich because of the oblique and contrary counterpoint.

Yeah then just go for it. Great then! As long as you feel like it's ok, it's ok then! I will suggest to write a structural analysis with timeline on your post though haha! Or colouring them will be great, but that will be painful for me lol. Henry

Mmmmm, I still personally think that I should not change that D-natural... My mistake, that should be my first subject. It's actually already enough. It has a unique rhythm, it has a noticeable interval (fifth), and it could be well heard from the piano and organ (for organ I specifically asked DFiacco at the time) It could be boring if for every appearance of the subject there's nothing catching up in other voices. But I considered some examples on extremely simplistic theme, and figure that if other thematic materials are shown consecutively, then it would be fine as long as the counterpoint part is ok, which clearly I think it's ok. For the thematic material part, I may do so later by coloring all the materials? Or any suggestions you could think to indicate?

Hi Peter, I am digging your older works here since I feel tired keep reviewing new works here LOL!!! I love the energy in this piece which fits well to a Gavotte. I think your music always has great energy in it, maybe they reflect your personality as well? I love your irregular phrasing here, and your usage of A natural/B double flat creates great effect here. This one is for sure "a bit more modest in form and virtuosity", but it achieves great effect and who cares about the form and virtuosity lol. Thanks for sharing! Henry

Here is another score I composed today!

Hello reader, This is my first real attempt at a large orchestral work. I took a long hiatus from composing as I stopped loving it for a while. However, I am back and continuously working on new pieces again. But let's talk about the piece. Firstly, this is not a full version. This is where I'm leaving it off until I have returned from my summer and back to uni. However, I am immensely proud of this work thus far and would like to share it with you. I am excited to hear any criticisms you might have. This piece is an attempt to tell a story about having happiness in your life but the uncertainty of being able to hold onto that happiness because it causes you to lose your happiness. To show this idea, I have two main ideas to explore. The first theme is the happiness theme, which first appears at m. 58. It is thoroughly disguised by the sections before and after making it seem less important, which is a weakness that I wasn't sure I wanted to solve. This theme reappears at measure 232 again for the loud arrival points. The second theme, which is much more obvious, is the theme at m.116. This is the desperation theme, the desire to receive happiness. This constantly reoccurs after its first arrival, notably in 214. and 298. Many more themes repeat and overlap, usually concluding at a major resolution. One thing as I work on this in the future is smoothing out some transitions, but my work is done on this for a while until I have the time.

This movement is rather pastorale and sweet rather than driving and intense. But maybe not all scherzi have to be that way. It's also more triumphant rather than exhilarating. It does have the hallmarks of being in 3 like a minuet and contains many surprising and sudden changes in dynamics which scherzi are expected to. But it is on the whole, rather subdued for a scherzo. The trio especially is very relaxing and tame and brings to mind a beautiful country landscape. It is however, a fitting addition to this Mahler-esque symphony of yours. Overall, great job and thanks for sharing!

Hi @SisselOnline I am going to be quite critical on this, sorry for this. I have the same feeling as @PCC does. The materials themselves are beautiful, but the handling of them makes it sound repetitive and raw. You have moments when the themes and motives are combined together which is good, but it sounds like they just combine with not much development. You develop them by putting in different keys and turn them to post tonal themes, but it sounds more like repetitions in different keys rather than development. Sometimes you say you are intentional for the tone clashes while I think it's presented more like errors of imitations! Like b.106 is quite weird for me. For me the texture doesn't change much throughout the movement. Mostly there are static chords with some voices moving. For the fugue around 8:10, can the fugue subject be called a subject by consisting of two notes? I am still in doubt whether the piano can have it sound under that gigantic force of organ. I think that can be the biggest problem when played in real life. But @PCC is talking about the clash, not whether to choose D sharp or D natural. It's great to have a minor D natural there, but not clashes of D sharp and D natural there. You should probably change the next D sharp to D natural as well. That's one reason, but you don't have dynamic markings in the score, that's why it's monotonous! I really think that before you aim at something big (like this 40 minutes one), you should aim at composing something shorter! Also before writing dissonant counterpoint, I think you should have a firmer foot on the tonal counterpoint first since it may be easier to write with tonal progressions. Thanks for sharing! I know I'm real nitpicky on this one but hopefully this doesn't discourage you. If you can write pieces in 40 minutes I'm sure you will write better ones in the future! Henry

You're getting better... I like You still rely too much with staying on the tonic for my taste, but your music has improved from your earlier pieces. Well done Feel free to offer others some advice or critique, it'll help your cause

I think there are a lot of thing you can do for development. My impression on this piece is that the materials are keep repeating themselves in different keys, and then there are new materials coming and treated in the same manner. For example is the opening theme B-A-G-F# important? I think it reappears in 1:30, but its initial appearance is not established at all. You can first establish the themes first to let audiences know they are important, then the later appearance will be take note by us! Adding details especially dynamics will be really helpful in sorting out the themes as well. If you don't it will sound like a non-stop train and you never know where is important. Providing us the structural plan of this movement will be very helpful for us to perceive the intention of your piece. We as listeners won't know as much as you the composer and we won't know where is theme going and transforming, especially for a long movement like this, and there are a LOT of things happening here which can mix us up. It's not the clash intentional or hard or not but it's strange, since it only appears fortuitously here by appearing for just one bar twice. Either you remove the D natural to maintain the supremacy of D sharp there, or lengthen the D natural to enhance the contrast between the modes, or you can even use tone clash with D sharp and D narutal, but not only appearing for half a bar that to me is random and fortuitous. Well I think in some parts you can change the accompaniments and move the themes to the lower register even though you want some repetition. Minimize those whole notes accompaniments on the organ will help as well as it makes the music too thick unnecessarily sometimes. But in b.146 and 158 you mark Subject dim, so I think that's the subject lol. If the countersubject appears alongside the subject at the beginning it is already a double fugue or something. But to use a Do-So for a subject can be really boring though, even you could use that. So it does its job in terms of presenting the themes to be used in latter movements? But if the first movement itself is not attractive enough then no one cares about the motivic development and cohesion! Even though the idea may be great, the sound itself does not attract audiences to listen to the relationship! Henry

The raw part, it's true, because at the time I was really bad at composing in sonata form. Before that work I usually just compose fugues that are considered "not so baroque". (I can't say that for now I am getting better lol) What exactly is development? I really don't understand. Tone clashing part, it's really intentional lol By achieving the copy-pasting(X), I did succeed on doing what I want, a bit like Soviet's offkey works, especially the one you pointed out. Here I do have my first inspiration on Khrennikov's Piano Concerto No.2 (specifically Kissin's performance) D-sharp D-natural part, it lost the min-maj feeling if I change the next note to D-natural. Especially when you consider that D-sharp is in the important musical phrase of the B section in exposition. Also I don't hear the clash of them that hard. Texture part, yes. I was disappointed on that as well. But I find no way to change it without destroying any details I prepared for the work after I finished this movement and working on the finale. For the fugue in this movement, I can tell you it could be. Besides, that is a countersubject. (Even though it appears a lot outside of the subject) I would say that this part is definitely not very good in terms of musical content, but in service to the aim of this part (and all the setting up behind this) it does its job well.