Crépuscule d'automne voice, piano

Hello dear young composers, dear old too, dear in between, neither old nor young...

New piece that I have just committed and whose first I am delivering to you,

Autumn twilight, for piano and singing.

As usual, use of a BBC SO pro piano sample (Spitfire audio), and my voice captured by a Schoeps MK4.

Manuscript photographed for visual support.

The poem is still by Stuart Merrill, which therefore represents a triptych, and ends a cycle for me. (I'm already digging my head to know where my steps can lead me next...)

I hope you will like it despite the somewhat past tense side of the musical language (but I know you are used to it now).

Good listening and see you very soon.

K.

Hey Jean!

I absolutely enjoy this one in a confusing Bb minor which is less post tonal than your previous works. (even though you do not use a key signature in your manuscript) The opening falling third motive is so persistent throughout the piece, which provides an autumnal falling leaves image (both literally and harmonically) which is the reflection of the thoughts of the poet! Your singing of course is always attractive and mellow with your baritone range. Thx for sharing!

Henry

Hello Henry,

Thank you for your analysis, I'm glad you like it.

It is true that we are indeed at the tonal border. "armure" (in French, I don't know the term in English? Key signature ?) Was not necessary in my opinion because if we are indeed in the tone of B flat (m/M, in French I sais "Mijeur" contraction between "Major" and "Minor") during the first two stanzas of the poem, we approach a fa "mijeur" (haha) and then we approach several other "Borrows" (In French harmony, we call "emprunt" when you quickly slip into a tone. It's the same word used for step borrowing (empruntes)..) (like in the snow perhaps or in the Mud from forest roads) from the words "subtle words". The idea is to move towards tortuous paths as slippery as they are frozen as the cold season approaches.

Well seen also for the motif of the leaves, it's quite right.
A death knell (also an angelus, The two are mentioned alternately in the poem) is heard repeatedly and regularly here and there...

In any case, your listening makes me very happy!

WOW This is beautiful!!! Nicely written, love the rolled octaves in the right hand. Also very nicely sung. Since listening to Chausson's Poeme et de la mer I have a weak spot for french songs, especially when they're somewhere between late romantic, impressionistic, and modern. French is just such a great language for music, it really makes me want to learn it.

1 hour ago, AM-Valkyrie said:

WOW This is beautiful!!! Nicely written, love the rolled octaves in the right hand. Also very nicely sung. Since listening to Chausson's Poeme et de la mer I have a weak spot for french songs, especially when they're somewhere between late romantic, impressionistic, and modern. French is just such a great language for music, it really makes me want to learn it.

 

Hey! You can't imagine how your message pleases me.

Thank you for listening. You are right, these pieces recently written on poems by Stuart Merill are quite in the spirit of this crossroads of times in France. (you think of Chausson, I would also quote Lilly Boulanger, or even less known, Lucien Durosoir for some harmonic explorations). I believe that for me it is the texts that induce aesthetic choices: a dark clear world, dark forests, moonlight, haunting and mystery, a few young people who died in passing, in short, the emblematic ingredients of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the Beaudelairien spleen that enveloped all this...

Thanks again!

Hello - I don't think I've reviewed any of your music before since I usually stay away from vocal music as I don't consider it my specialty.  But this is quite a dreary setting of a very vivid poem!  The images of death and dying in nature are quite appropriate to autumn and the music reflects this perfectly.  By the way - did you know that your music has its respite/pause at the golden mean of the total duration of your song?  203 seconds * 0.61 = 123 seconds which is roughly the place where you have a short silence before beginning again in a new key.  Since there is quite a bit of silence at the end of your video I think where you have the division of your piece into two parts roughly does align with the golden ratio.  I think this shows some great sense of balance and proportion in the form of your composition so great job there!  Thanks for sharing.

On 10/7/2023 at 3:40 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Hello - I don't think I've reviewed any of your music before since I usually stay away from vocal music as I don't consider it my specialty.  But this is quite a dreary setting of a very vivid poem!  The images of death and dying in nature are quite appropriate to autumn and the music reflects this perfectly.  By the way - did you know that your music has its respite/pause at the golden mean of the total duration of your song?  203 seconds * 0.61 = 123 seconds which is roughly the place where you have a short silence before beginning again in a new key.  Since there is quite a bit of silence at the end of your video I think where you have the division of your piece into two parts roughly does align with the golden ratio.  I think this shows some great sense of balance and proportion in the form of your composition so great job there!  Thanks for sharing.

 

Hello Peter,

This is a very surprising comment! I would lie if I said it was an aesthetic will... Simple Random is at stake here unfortunately !

The cut was planned to be about 2/3 of the piece, since it is a strophic form with variants. And chance places this gap in this place...

And now you have piqued my curiosity since: by applying the same calculation to another vocal piece (Hantise) I find about the same results with a gap also around the golden ratio!

I am like the vain Mr. Jourdain of the "bourgeois gentilhomme" in Molière's play, who does prose without knowing it... (I do golden numbers without knowing it Haha)

In any case, I would be curious to know what motivated you to make these calculations about my piece!

Have a good day 

8 hours ago, Krisp said:

In any case, I would be curious to know what motivated you to make these calculations about my piece!

I just recently learned about how to calculate the golden mean of any given length or duration and decided to check whether some of my own music has any kind of significant change at that point.  In my case I don't think it does!  LoL  But it's always a happy accident when one finds that one has accorded with nature in some special way by being proportional with the golden ratio.  I think your second piece there is also pretty close!  242 * 0.61 = 147

Good time of day Jean,

Wow, this once again a really good setting of a really good poem. I really love your voice too.

With regards the music itself, the use of dissonance is lovely, and definitely gives the piece a very autumnal feel. 

Well done on another great art song, I hope to hear more from you in the future.

Nga Mihi,

Arjuna