Elegy and Dance for Viola and Piano

Hey everyone, long time no posts....

This is a work written for viola and piano. The opening material basically sets the precedent for the whole work - and all the later material is based on these opening ideas.

It was written for a take-away paper at the end of last year, the main condition was that both sections were based on the same material.

I chose tango for the dance section partly as an homage to Piazzolla, and because I thought the mournful character of the dance complemented the elegy.

Recently performed by one post-grad and one ex-student from the Royal College of Music London.

Please leave any comments you can on any aspect of the piece, I'm very interested to know what you think.

Click to listen

elegy-tango-binder.pdf

That was fantastic! The tango part was superb! I loved your score and the performance as well...I felt it should have been lengthier...

Applause!!!!

Hey thanks very much Mano,

Yeah looking back I should have written more, it was a take-away paper and I only had a few days to get it done... amongst ten million other things I'd left to the last minute... Really glad you liked it so much.

Ahem, maybe you could...expand it?

Really glad you posted...and nice to have more viola music around!

Well I guess, but now I've had it recorded I sort of feel like it's time to get on with the next thing If you know what I mean...

I thought this was gorgeous.. Some of the rhythmic elements in the tango section made me smile pretty big. The piece sort of gives the impression of a ''micro concerto'', if you know what I mean. :huh: The duration was just right, too - not too short, and just long enough.

Thanks for posting!

PS: Viola > Violin.

Hey Anders thanks for the comments. Any other opinions anyone? Good or bad?

Looking at the score there is some ties that tie to nothing....other wise NICE!

Looking at the score there is some ties that tie to nothing....

You clearly haven't examined any score from past 1900. :huh:

Um yep, those are called laissez vibrer (let ring) ties, and have been in major use since about 1890 (look at page 16 of this), thanks for listening though RM, glad you liked it.

Very nice!:) Interesting rhythmic ideas as Anders said.

Thanks Bob, any other comments? Criticism welcomed...

Hi Matt

I found my way in here, at last, and a good thing I did.

The music is a pleasure to listen to! It is, perhaps lacking a bit of undividuallity, but I think it is because I've not heard anything else from you. :) So point me to the right direction please. (unless everything is in acidplanet, in which case I'll check it out myself:).

As I said, a pleasure!

Both performers, do their job! Was wondering if you were happy with the performance of the 6plets and then 7plets straight in the row. It's a difficult rhythm, and it felt that you used rubato to faciliate it a bit. But never the less it felt right for me, so consider this (and the next question) as "academic" questions, and ponderings.

why no rhythm in certain parts? I mean why only the notehead, and not indicate further what you want the violonist to play? Cause to tell you the truth, whenever I do suck things it's usually because I'm bored to find a "proper" (musical) reason to have a certain rhythm, so I leave it to the performers! :D

On the score, the score was excellent, don't mind RM Clarinet, he indeed doesn't appear to know l.v (which could be LET VIBRATE you French liking you! :D) and there is no problem as far as I could browse hastily. Only a bit of spelling here and there. (bar 31, for example, viola, why an E# and not an F? Makes me wonder for a typo, actually in that place, and a few more here and there). As far as I know it's far more difficult for a string player to play C-E# than a simple C-F.

Either way a very very enjoyable work of music. Thank you for sharing

Hi Nikolas, thanks for looking. You have actually seen some of my work before! Remember hexachords?

I guess you're right to an extent about the 'improvised' rhythm (the falling chromatic part), I think the main reason I left it like that was to leave some room for interpretation - depending on what the violist was doing with the cadenza at that point. In the recording I think Marine took it quite quickly, and aggressively at that point. Anyway I think that now I would have come up with a different solution to the problem.

I hope you don't think it's too un-individual, the main comment I've had back so far elsewhere is that the harmonic language in particular is quite personal - but I'd be very interested to know what you think.

Spelling, you're probably right also about that E-sharp, although it's actually approached from a C-sharp, which in tonal terms is probably easier to play (e-sharp c-sharp d-sharp) (as if it were in C-sharp major).

Just bumping this thread because anyone who's been having trouble with viewing the enormous pdf score should now be able to view it without any problems. As always comments welcomed of any kind!

Cheers!

I really like this a lot. I'm a huge fan of the viola (one of the most overlooked common instrument), and this piece is written very well for the instrument. You utilize both the low range and the higher range of the viola very well, keeping it within a comfortable range for most of the piece, while occasionally pushing it up, but not so much that it's unplayable.

The glisses were really neat effects that you incorporated well. I'm a huge fan of effects if they're used properly, and you use them well; it helps that you use them so often and so consistently. It almost becomes part of the language you use for this piece.

Very well done, and I'm very happy that you managed to get a good recording of this; a midi would not have done this piece justice.

I love the degree of control you wield over your material, Matt. Particularly with regards to harmony. I can't say I was a fan of the gliss.'s because in my mind it detracts from this overall feeling of precise control. But it's a small quibble.

The cadenza is interesting and just generally well put together. Those disjunct lines are a world apart from what I'd normally write, but they still "work".

My impressed-ness is veiled with a thin layer of commissioned criticism here. ;) I haven't got much else to say, other than good job as per usual.

May I ask how you got the performance, purely out of interest? Are they people you know?

Hey Mike, thanks for your comments it's actually nice to hear some criticism, especially when it's about the music and how it's constructed. I managed to get the recording because my uncle teaches at the academy, and met the violist at a master class somewhere like sydney or something so he recommended her to me, and because she's a student it wasn't too expensive. Actually she's not completely happy with it, and wants to rerecord in the RCM studio at some point, which would be great.

Hehe, you know what they say...it's who you know, not what you know. :P

As for the comments, you're welcome. :)

Sorry to be bumping a fairly old thread

Matt, from just looking at your piece, it looks very beautiful not only in the music but the score itself - what program to do use?

This reason I am bumping this is because I am having some trouble in getting to actually listen to you piece and I was wondering if anyone else was having the same problem.

Hey raining-hail! The recording seems to be working fine as far as I can tell - just click play song, and a pop-up window should come up. It's nice to have my thread bumped!

The score was actually done in lilypond, a free program that produces beautiful results but is very hard to use and learn. Still if the appearance is what matters to you I recommend giving it a go.

Thanks for looking, it's nice to see some interest in my stuff!

Hey raining-hail! The recording seems to be working fine as far as I can tell - just click play song, and a pop-up window should come up. It's nice to have my thread bumped!

The score was actually done in lilypond, a free program that produces beautiful results but is very hard to use and learn. Still if the appearance is what matters to you I recommend giving it a go.

Thanks for looking, it's nice to see some interest in my stuff!

I managed to get it working! Your piece on listening to it isn't entirely my cup of tea (if you have heard my new work in progress, you might understand why.) However I did enjoy you work.

Thank you for the link about lilypond. Once I have finished composing this latest work, I will try it out. Might help in getting my lecturers to chose my work :P.

I am guessing from you response to one of my threads, your a postgrad(?). Where do you study and with whom?

EDIT - WOAH just seen what Lilypond is like :blink: Give me about a month and I'll have worked out how to write C major scales :thumbsup:

Hey.

Still undergrad actually at KCL - 3rd year, and have just been offered a place on the MMus at Guildhall...

Hey.

Still undergrad actually at KCL - 3rd year, and have just been offered a place on the MMus at Guildhall...

Hey that's great! Contrats!

Do you have other work on this site? I would be interested in listening to it.

Hmmm...the Elegy reminds me of the Serenade from Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, except the Serenade is more normal (you should take that as a compliment).

Wow, this is old! How did I manage to dredge this up?