Fuga

This pieces was my entry to a contest. I wanted to post it here for a long time, but couldn't because it was selected for the finals, that were yesterday.

It is a 12 tone fugue, nonetheless remaining somewhat tonal. There are two 'chorals' (ms 36-8 and 92-4) that break the fugal texture. I can provide you with a more thorough analysis, but prefer that the music speaks for it self.

Edited June 8, 20169 yr by jrcramer
due to severed connection to network, reupload of media files

I have some mixed feelings about this work, although for the most part I really enjoyed it :)

I like the way you break down your material, and the strong structure of the piece -- nothing seemed particularly unnecessary, or out of place, musically. The voice leading also seems very well done, as well as the attention to detail.

But the atmosphere -- I'm not really sure what to think here. On the one hand, the 12-tone row, yet vaguely also tonal, approach is somewhat creepy, and at times my skin crawled. (I have a feeling that this was the main thing you were going for here, and it was partly very effective.) But at other times, it seemed so dark that it was unintentionally funny/goofy to me -- like an over-dramatic vampire had broken into Jojo The Clown's house and started playing on her organ, and I started giggling :lol: Although it's possibly the midi's VST instrument playback that's causing this... but maybe not :dunno: I'm not really sure, honestly.

Overall, though, this is neat, eerie work -- I don't really know what else to say. Thanks for sharing :nod:

I really really enjoy this work quite a bit! I like how it develops and expands: no part seems out of place or unnecessary. I definitely agree: it comes across as both a-tonal and quasi-tonal, which is AWESOME in my book.

What VST do you use for your Organ?

I really like this for the most part. I felt, however, that you held yourself back -just a tad- contrapuntally. Many times, I felt, you could've just gone out there with the counterpoint some more. You seemed to be holding back quite a bit. How did this place in the contest? Did you win?

Brilliant job! This was a great work! Sort of slow at first, in terms of pacing (not tempo), but it quickly got quite interesting around the first tempo change to 42 bpm (my favorite tempo...because it's 42 . Overall great treatment of the subject, lots of variety and different stops used to create an eerie and discomforting environment. While overall the writing for organ was great, I felt you could have used more extremes, low ranges and high ranges, pedal notes, as well as just more or volume in places (meaning more or fewer notes, being an organ. The swell pedal could have also been used...period). There was some of that towards the end, and I thought it was really effective. I would've liked to see more of it throughout the piece.

The organ is the king of instruments, but here it's treated more like the prince.

Amazing job overall, though, I really hope you did well in the competition!

Thanks for all the kind words! This pieces was selected for the finals, and did not win, unfortunately. Nonetheless I am very proud that I came this far, never have been in a final before, until this time. So I think think I did well :D

@Dirk. Interesting remark on 'volume'. In terms of dynamics the MP3 does no justice, in terms of voices I wanted to balance between the 4 voices fugue, and the more chorale-like passages, I think the chorale sections really exploit the plenum options the organ has (cf the tutti in ms 38 and 92f). On the soft side I think the canon-texture of ms 41ff is simple and soft. You would have wanted it to be even less?

BTW: I wrote this for a Baroque organ, so it has no swell ;)

@Jason. Can you elaborate? Do you think I am holding back within the fugal sections, or maybe because this pieces has become a fugal-choral hybrid

@prestidigilicious. I use no VST but a good old Soundfont: Stefans Cathedral Soundfont.

@Serge, you horror interpretation was by no means my intent, more melancholy. But causing you to giggle counts for something ;)

Well, a lot of the time you're counterpoint doesn't seem to be really that 'independent' of a line. You largely have it serve as an accompaniment to w/e voice happens to have the melody. Your episodes generally aren't that contrapuntally oriented which doesn't really exemplify fugal form at all. I felt you could have gone 'out there' in terms of your contrapuntal usage.

Say, do you have a human recording of this, then?

I think you've done a good job here. The final version is more polished and refined. I did not hear any sections of abrupt change, so well done. Quick question, though : did you apply serialism to the rhythms as well? I notice some odd rhythms here and there ...

Yes, I have a human recording, which I prefer not to upload here...

I don't know if I really used serialism in the rhythmic sense of the word. I did use some of methods I have seen by Messiaen. cf. ms 97, where the fugue motif rhythm is added with a 16th