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Prelude in d minor with some contrapuntal flavour


Willibald

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To improve my skills, I am now in the process of writing a set of six small preludes for piano (or any other keyboard instrument with a range of four octaves) with a contrapuntal flavour. Four of them are somewhat finished, and one of them is this prelude in d minor that is planned as number 6 of the set. It has a rather simple structure that in the literature is sometimes described as reminding of simultaneous double fugues, because the main building block is a small subject and an fixed accompaniment in double counterpoint, quasi a countersubject. The subject and countersubject visit in a quasi-fugal way several keys; these visits are connected by sequences that use some material from the subject or countersubject, though sometimes the relationship is difficult to see or hear. I am still a bit unconvinced by the sequence connecting the subject in g minor and the reprise in d minor, but haven’t found a better solution. The same for the final cadence.

Please feel free to comment, criticize etc.

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@Rabbival507 Thanks for your comment. How do they say? You don’t need to be a hen to judge the quality of an omelette ;-) So, please don’t hesitate to comment on music outside of your domain – such a fresh look can be very valuable.

@bkho Thank you for your kind words and your suggestion. There are definitely some passages where I could use the descending bass figure; I’ll give it a try. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for your comment. Yes, I wanted to have a Gigue-like element in it, as it is boring to always write in 4/4  ;-) In the cycle of six preludes I am writing, the third and the sixth one are in compound triple meters (No. 3 is a Pastorale-like 6/8, and No. 6 this Gigue-like 12/8-piece), the first and fourth one fast 4/4, the second and fifth one slow 4/4. As for the modulations, you certainly have a point, as I tried some more daring methods to modulate. E.g. I coloured the circle of fifths sequences with secondary dominants; the modulation in m. 11-12 from C major to f minor to Eb Major is something I didn‘t attempt before. Also, the sequence in m. 6-8 is something I am idiomatically accustomed to -- I didn’t even plan it but wrote it rather spontaneously --- but is certainly not everybody’s cup of coffee.

If it is possible within your time schedule, I would be very happy if you could point out where the bass line felt awkward. Tastes may differ, but it is also very possible I simply made a mistake. And even if I thought these notes would sound fine together, it would be of interest for me to revisit the relevant passages and see if I could come up with other solutions. 

 

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I like it overall, but there are a few twists that make it sound non-Bachian in spots - that  - I dont know how to say, inflection, around 3-4 seconds in. Somewhat modern. It's not bad per se to my ear, and if I had written it, I'd like it and be loathe to lose it. But as an outsider, it mars the symmetry, the bland perfection of it in some ways. Basically, the more boring it is, the more normal it sounds. The more interesting it is, the more it sticks out like something you want to hammer flat.  If the inflections were more consistent, they would define the piece and sound fine. But as it is, they jar slightly against the perfection of the rest of it (I dont mean lack of mistakes, I mean the way it sounds professional).

I'd be proud of it if I were you.

 

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