Essay For String Quartet

Hi y'all, first post here :) My assignment was to write a piece that used multiple kinds of "modern" harmony. I settled on a motive harmonized quartally, which could also be a PC set [0,2,5]. This informed all the variations throughout the piece. Hope you like it!

Edited April 18, 2025Apr 18 by Codester

An interesting piece.
But my main quibble: a lot of material that follows one another and in the end doesn't create a sense of unity.
Yes, I think that, partially, the goal you raise is achieved. There are a multitude of “modern” techniques here and there. Some things I think are excessive (like pizzicato chords, that has to sound like arpeggiated). But in many other moments, most of them, the piece sounds tonal. Not that I'm wrong..... But, believe me, knowing how to get out of the cage of tonal and functional music, successfully, is not easy at all.
I think that, whatever you want to do, the overall structure of the work is essential, and it's something we must consider from the beginning.

5 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

An interesting piece.
But my main quibble: a lot of material that follows one another and in the end doesn't create a sense of unity.
Yes, I think that, partially, the goal you raise is achieved. There are a multitude of “modern” techniques here and there. Some things I think are excessive (like pizzicato chords, that has to sound like arpeggiated). But in many other moments, most of them, the piece sounds tonal. Not that I'm wrong..... But, believe me, knowing how to get out of the cage of tonal and functional music, successfully, is not easy at all.
I think that, whatever you want to do, the overall structure of the work is essential, and it's something we must consider from the beginning.

 

Thanks for listening and sharing! Yeah, I struggled with the form quite a bit. It's my first time ever writing a piece this long. I had sketched out all of those different ideas based on the opening motive, so then "the material dictates the form"

Yes the piece is definitely tonal, but the note selection is a bit more modern. There is no tertiary harmony at all, for instance, except maybe incidental passing notes. I would describe it as "neotonal". I like tonality enough and will likely always write in that style.