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Thank you for sharing this video @Luis Hernández! I completely agree with the sentiments expressed in it. Exactly — I think one thing that the twentieth century taught us composers is that not all innovations have the same generative potential, for opening new directions. You cannot create anything meaningful by simply negating what came before, or appropriating it with irony, approaches that reduce history to a museum of dead artifacts. Developing a personal voice requires building upon models, which can be quite diverse and individual in character especially in today’s globalized society. To be a truly contemporary composer, (i.e., con-tempo, “with the time”) you need one foot firmly in the past, and one foot ahead in the future. To quote on of my favorite writers on aesthetics, Jacques Maritain: It is indeed true that there is no necessary progress in art, that tradition and discipline are the true nurses of originality; and it is likewise true that the feverish acceleration which modern individualism, with its mania for revolution in mediocrity, imposes on the succession of art forms, abortive schools, and puerile fashions, is the symptom of wide-spread intellectual and social poverty. And yet the fact remains that art has a fundamental need of novelty: like nature, it goes in seasons. And Baudelaire, himself considered one of poetry’s greatest innovators: It is clear that systems of rhetoric and prosodies are not forms of tyranny arbitrarily devised, but a collection of rules required by the very organization of the spiritual being: never have prosodies and systems of rhetoric prevented originality from manifesting itself distinctly. The opposite would be far more true, that they have been a help to the blossoming forth of originality.

I wanted to share this reflection entitled ‘ORIGINALITY IN ART’ (the trap of wanting to be original). It is by Agustín Calabrese, a great composer and teacher. The video is in Spanish (he’s from Argentine), but I’ve transcribed almost all of it and run it through a translation tool. I think it offers a lot of insight on this subject. We must not worry about being original. At the very least, we must not consciously seek originality. Being the first to do something is not, a priori, a virtue. Claiming to be at the cutting edge today, or even believing that this is possible, makes no sense whatsoever. For the past few decades, we artists have had a global view of the entire history of art. That was not always the case. Bach was discovered and rediscovered several times, first by Mozart and half a century later by Mendelssohn. It is impossible to take things to an extreme that has not been explored before... [...] ‘Adolescent’ avant-garde impulses lead nowhere and fizzle out of their own accord; they are like a snake eating its own tail, and one cannot build in that direction. True innovations are rooted in tradition and build upon it. Innovation as something that breaks with a previous tradition, disparages it and treats earlier practices with irony is an anomaly of the twentieth century. In a healthy culture, styles evolve and transform progressively over a long period of time. Eighteenth-century positivism and the Enlightenment have led to the arts being evaluated using a method appropriate to the sciences. As if art were required to progress indefinitely. This doesn’t mean we have to repeat things that have already been done, but the only way to be original is to be true to ourselves. We shouldn’t write music that we think is politically correct or that people expect of us. Every person is a unique blend of tastes, influences, stories… If we let it flow without worrying about belonging to a particular movement, we will inevitably create something new.

Hello @Grant Weep, thank you four your kind comments. I wouldn't take it too patriotic – or perhaps not patriotic at all, since patriotism tends to focus on a specific country (usually one’s own). I rather would like to see both pieces, the fugue and the prelude, as a dedication to all people who suffer from war and repression in whatever country they live or, let’s say, as a „prayer“ for freedom, peace and humanity. No, I’m from Berlin, Germany but that is – one the one hand – much closer to Ukraine as, for example, the United States or Canada, and indeed we had for about two years Ukrainian people (I do not like the word „refugee“ very much) in the house where I live in, before they fortunately could find an own apartment. On the other hand, I spent my childhood and early youth in East Germany and East Berlin—that is, behind the “Iron Curtain.” And that is why I feel such deep gratitude for the freedom I have been able to enjoy since the fall of the Berlin Wall—and in fact, I was standing on that crowded bridge on that historic night of November 9, 1989. Much time has passed since then, and collective memory seems to be slowly fading, but for me, this historic event is all the more precious because no other people have had the chance to gain freedom since then, and I often wonder why the “terrible” Germans, of all people, were given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But now I'd like to set aside the political and historical considerations – otherwise it would get somewhat off-topic - and return to the music: Indeed, there was an amount of effort with the score – particularly in preparing the „ossia“ staves so that they wouldn’t detract too much from the overall impression. But moreover, I struggled somewhat with the 3/8 meter, which itself is beautiful and thriving, but always has the inherent danger from constantly listening as „hum-ta-taa, hum-ta-taa, hum-ta-taa“. There are a number of recordings of, for example, the opening choir and the choir „Herrscher des Himmels“ from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, which suffer from that problem to be as rhythmically monotonous, regardless of the tempo. So, to mitigate this impression, I introduced some „micro-arpeggios“ and „micro-tempo changes“ to get the chords sounding a bit airier. The moment at 2:47 you mentioned is (possibly) the fourth citation of the fugue subject in the soprano (mm. 86). And although the Schubert Impromptu is quite different – due to its faster runs – the moment is indeed somewhat similar, since it changes the mood from „darker“ to „brighter“ (by the way, when looking in the score (mm. 11-12), I don’t see an E but a threefold repeated F flat …).

This is a massive improvement from your other versions of this theme. Honestly, I can't believe this is the same piece you've been working on, it's the same theme, but an utter transformation. Apparently this also works very well as a string quintet! Your themes are beautiful and memorable, and the harmonization is gorgeous. I can seriously sit down and listen to this a few times in order to learn from your work. This version just goes to show how good structure and a good recording can completely transform the same melody (something I've been trying to tell you for awhile). Your key changing is also really well done. Honestly I feel like you made a massive leap from the previous version(s) to this version. Whatever happened, something must have clicked!

Hey everyone! Happy to share my finished piece - Metamorphosis! I'd love to hear any and all feedback 😁 -Metamorphosis-.mp3 Metamorphosis - (Score).pdf

Thank you thank you thank you!! After getting feedback, I went and reread some Caplin, and brushed up on my counterpoint a little bit and chord voicings. I played with the idea of a core in the developmental section (C section), and a dominant pedal, all that fun stuff. WOW - that means a LOT. Wow. Thank you so much. I really wanted to push myself as a composer and really just commit to the material I had, and instead of scrapping it, repurpose it and find a way to improve on it and make it work. I am very pleased with the end result.

Entry: "Your Daer Beauty lovelier" Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 6 7 7 10 5 5 9.5 6 total; 55.5/80 Average Score:6.9 Review: Melodic material: Cello line, which carries the melody, is even balanced. It introduces the main theme of the piece that is sung in baritone voice. However, we can't hear baritone signing the melody for the other instruments are overshadowing it. It would nice if instruments would drop out when the male voice is signing. Or giving a lighter texture. or only have one or two playing. This is paramount when writing for voice and orchestra. Score prep, instrumentation, playability. : There are several issues with the score. The hairpins are not readable with in the harp part; the bliss is not connected; solo indicators when you only instrument per player. Solo is used in strings where there is more than one player per part, and the composers wants only player to play. Holst did this in Venus. When he wanted to signal a solo player in the string section, he marked "solo". For the areas, where the solo is marked, it is preferred not to have the other instruments playing. This is applicable for oboe part, too. The held note in the reeds is not ideal. When you are writing for wood instruments, you have to remember, that need to breathe. Because there is no phrase markings in the cello part, the bowing will change on every note. I feel you can add more depth here. The triple stop at the end is incredible hard to play. You have wrote out the range of the Oboe'd natural range. In fact, that instrument is no longer in use. It is not in balance with the rest of the ensemble. Execution: Yes, this piece has met the core requirements for this competition. However, the over all mood just seems off. Creativity: this is indeed and creative and orginal piece. Form and time: It was difficult to what the proper formal structure of the composition was, and the timing was slow. Harmony and textures; Overall, the piece is mainly diatonic. There are moments of other modes with in the piece. The piece has colorful textures. Side note: Cantai can be used with Musescore.

Honestly, I think it's a weird theme for writing variations because it's very bare. Even though there's an implicit harmony, it's really just a melodic line, not very rich rhythmically, doubled across three octaves. I feel like you have to break away from that vertical pattern because it gets monotonous pretty fast. Meaning, I'd try to write some variations that explore melodies hidden within it, and also fill in the harmonies that are sometimes incomplete in the original theme.

Not being a string player I can not add anything to the discussion. So I'll respond as a listener. It is a delightful work ... full of energy. It reminds me of French works at the turn of the century. Mark

This is a lovely piece, @kaiyunmusic. It would be wonderful to listen to this while sipping coffee in the morning sunlight and gazing out the window! Or perhaps playing it quietly by yourself on an upright piano at night... that would be lovely, too! The piece itself isn't long, but it is really nice and deeply evocative. It creates such a peaceful atmosphere. Thank you for sharing! Best, Lithl.

Thanks everyone for the constructive feedback! I have some learning to go, especially with notating music😆 @PeterthePapercomPoser I agree it should be 3/4 instead of 6/8. I don't know why I didn't catch that. The time signatures and notation always gets me. Thanks for pointing that out! @Grant Weep I am glad you enjoyed the piece and it's simplicity! Feel free to use it in your home video. All I ask is that my name, Kaiyun Music is credited to the piece. Thank you!!