Leaderboard

This is the final draft of my best work up to date in my life, String Sextet in G flat major. Posts of seperate movements have been posted before and I'm not gonna repeat it here. If you're interested in the music details, pls check the following YCs: 1st Mov: 2nd mov: Here is the score and YT link of the work: String Sextet in G flat major.pdf Here is the structure of the work: (*denotes parts I love). The two movement structure is inspired by Mahler's 8th Symphony, so the second movement is proportionally much longer than 1st movement: 0:00 Opening credit and structure 0:11 1st Mov, 1st Part: Tao Primo (*3:35-3:47 nice bridge, **4:40-5:26 nice chromatics) 5:34 1st Mov, 2nd Part: Minore, a fugato, some little challenges (**9:40-10:10 nice retransition) 10:10 1st Mov, 3rd Part: Tao Return, a triple fugue and ending (falsely) (*11:45, **12:46 till the end) 14:48 2nd Mov, Lamentoso: Denial of Tao and realization of the realistic World full of tragedies. (*16:54, *19:11, ***19:44 sounds like my version of Bee's op.131 finale!, ***23:38-25:15 most emotional passage for me) 26:33 2nd Mov, Fugue a6: Objectification of emotions and reason. The most difficult passage for me to write technically but easiest emotionally. (**28:10-28:42 includes a 6 part stretto of 1st subject and a nice C minor modultation quoting my own Clarinet Quintet, ****30:07-31:27 a 6 part stretto of 2nd subject and one of my fav. section in the entire work with the very beautiful C minor passage, ***32:58-34:31 nice turn to pentatonics and nice disappointment) 35:03 2nd Mov, The Return. Start picking up the real self and soul and connect oneself with Tao, finding self equals to finding Tao. “I Six Books explain me and I explain Six Books (Lu Jiuyuan)”(*35:03-35:36 try to regain energy, **37:05,37:37,38:11,38:43 Nice color, **39:12 nice folk melody, ***39:15-40:15 Nice pizz.! And a very nice snap pizz! **** 40:46-41:46This passage leaves me in wonder. I don't know how do I compose this, **42:17-43:23 Nice appetizer fugato, ****43:24-44:53 Grand Climax!, ***44:54-45:41 Nice heterophonic passage which ignites my creative power for this movement, *****45:42 till end Pefect ending) This work was first inspired by Chinese Philosopher Tang Chun I's Realm of Heavenly Morality in his monumental book, The Existence of Life and the World of Spirituality, in April 2022. I wanna felt and descibed it hence I finished the whole 1st mov. I thought it's enough, until I met with my dedicatee Johnson, my respected philosophy professor Dr. Tao and my friend Merina in April 2023, and I knew it's not enough since without pain Tao isn't possible at all. After some painful incidents in 2024, I am finally able to finish the whole piece in March 2025. For me this work is about Tao, Tao lost and Tao regained. Since this would be the final post on the Sextet, please let me acknowledge people I would like to thank along my way of composing. This work is dedicated to and in memoriam Mr. Johnson Ho https://youtube.com/@beingintheworld?si=9Ch3hnk1UtluHTRF who sadly passed away in July 2024, and it's a regret the work couldn't be finished when he's alive. I would like to thank him for his great inspiration especially his postive way to deal with his illness. I would like to thank Dr. Tao, without his teaching esp. the one on the book Buddha-nature and Prajñā (?) did I realise the importance of pain and human suffering to morality and humanity, and probably won't have enough philosophical basis for this work. I would like to thank Mr. Vince Meyer @Thatguy v2.0, who acts as my musical Virgil, providing so many inspiration particularly in this piece's fugue and different motivic usage, and also make this great recording. Also, thank him for his encouragement when I kept saying I could never finish this piece. I would like to thank Dr. David Goza http://www.youtube.com/@David_Goza⁨⁩ ,without his videos on YT I would never able to improve my own writing. I would like to thank Merina, Yvonne, Arjuna @expert21 and Peter @PeterthePapercomPoser for staying with me in my difficult times. I would like to thank Mike @chopin for his idea to go back to medieval texture in the Return. I would like to thank Luis @Luis Hernández which helps me solve the harmonic progression btw tritiones. I would also like to thank my ex-boss's mistreatment, as she teaches me a great lesson and the pain helps me reflect a lot which shows here. Also, thanks to everyone who has listen to this piece before and comments, as they help me a lot. Thank you Young Composers Forum and @chopin for giving me a chance to grow musically. Thank you for everyone who has commented on the work's parts before, I especially love the comments by @Fugax Contrapunctus @Giacomo925. Last but most importantly, I would like to thank my mum and family. Without their love I would probably fall much deeper and won't be able to finish this piece at all. Thank you!! P.S. One interesting fact on the piece is that it stays longer in F sharp minor then G flat Major….. Henry

I realize I'm quite late to the party on this piece, but I wrote up a running log of my thoughts as I listened to this. Henry, this is the best piece I've come across on this forum. First of all, kudos to you for taking on a piece like Mahler's Eighth for formal inspiration - I've attempted such a thing myself and have nothing to show for it. The first movement's unification of pentatonic and chromatic harmony is quite unusual in sound, it strikes me as being somewhat similar to Dvorak's "Wagnerian" period - around the time of his third string quartet's composition. Anyway, there are many striking aspects to this movement; one thing I can't help but notice is your use of recurring textures. Even when motivic material itself may not recur necessarily, the settings that those motives were heard in are recast and developed in increasingly colourful ways so the whole thing hangs together anyway. The pizzicato passage at about 8:00 is one such example. That said, I would be curious to see the result of potentially stripping back just some of the figuration around the end of the first movement - I wonder if it might help clarify the polyphony in the final triple fugue. It is very beautiful as written though! Okay, second mvoement: This introduction is suitably mysterious, and at the Agitato the music takes on a nicely turbulent affect. The counterpoint here is quite rich, and I almost wonder if perhaps a little more time could've been taken before the lines came into full effect. I wonder, have you listened to the 0th and 2nd string quartets by Arnold Schoenberg? You may find some interesting common ground with him. As you noted, the passage beginning at 23:38 is extremely special, I can hear the intensity of the feeling behind it quite clearly. You communicate your thoughts very well in this piece - it is perfectly followable from beginning to end and never wastes a moment. One final thought, have you considered orchestrating this? I think some of my little things about the density of the texture could be greatly improved with a little more breathing room in the ensemble. Not to mention it would bring out many of the fabulous colours of the piece in even more vivid detail. In short, thank you, Henry, for sharing this with us. This is a wonderful work that deserves to be performed. I would like to also thank you for all of the feedback you have offered on my music over the last few years - you've been a real voice of encouragement. (P.S. I see you also cited David Goza as an important influence in your initial post, his videos have been massively helpful to me as well!)

Hi @Crescent Roulade! Just a personal preference but I will put it in Db major for a calmer atmosphere. One thing to consider is that, if you really want to use flute as the solo instrument, the G major one contains notes lower than the middle C and won't be playable by the flute (not even an alto flute with the F#3). Henry

That's covered by the "Musicologist" badge. Google: "Musicology is the scholarly study of music, exploring its history, cultural contexts, theory, and social impact, encompassing all musical traditions from classical to popular music, beyond just performance. It uses various methods, including analysis, history, and anthropology, to understand how music functions in life, its development over time, and its relationship with psychology, sociology, and other fields. Traditionally divided into historical, systematic, and ethnomusicology, modern musicology is broad and interdisciplinary, focusing on meaning, practices, and the "web of culture" surrounding music."

@TristanTheTristan I can help you

Good if we can cite sources meanwhile, as an amateur accompanist, I must allow audio deviations from the score such as improvisations and cadenzas though, illogical deviations should be regarded as suspicious