Для Кирила: For My Ukrainian Friend In Time Of Mourning

A two-hour dash off, so not sure about the part leading!  The middle section uses a melody I wrote in college in 1989; just the melody.

Для Кирила Free Sheet Music by Robert C. Fox for Piano/Keyboard | Noteflight  The Ukrainian Cyrillic title is "For Kyrylo."

Midnight in Kyiv.  He is probably asleep and will read it (hear it) in the morning.  He lost his grandmother, his best friend and favorite relative.  Come to think of it, I haven't written much in B Major in 38 years, but that is the key it came to me in!  I think my sister likes it.  She is following this whole Ukrainian friend thing.  This also marks the first time in 38 years that I have just sat down and wrote a piece for a friend in need.  Yes, my sister likes it!

Susan Podzon	4:59 PM (3 minutes ago)
to me

 

 

I love  it! You are so sweet 

 

UPDATE:  Kyrylo usually writes me around quarter to one in the morning, which is quarter to nine in the morning where he is.  I'll let you know what he thinks.

 

Here is a lovely choral piece I sent him when she first had the heart attack, and I obviously did not write it.

This is completely off-topic (you know me) but I just checked the bank, and Noteflight where I enter my music not only held my yearly $49 payment last month for seven weeks showing it as paid, and sent it to the bank when I had no money, they sent it in again this month, and I overdrafted, and I only owe it once a year!  Incompetent bastards!🤣 Embarrassing, but my mommie is going to cover the overdraft, and I hope there is enough left over for some beer, because I really need it!

Also embarrassing, I actually wrote a German Augmented Sixth Chord in this, that hackneyed old trick, and even a diminished seventh chord!  Losing my touch perhaps, but it was done pretty fast.  I am in the lovely stage of having to listen to my very sad piece over and over, to see if I missed anything in the editing.  I'll go on:  I will have to, before I meet Kyrylo (he's coming here) touch up my knowledge of Ukrainian composers!  Prokofiev is the obvious example, born in what is now Ukraine, Glière I know I have heard but can't recall, any others you guys could suggest?  FWIW, I actually WAS thinking of a Prokofiev piece when I wrote the A Section, the slow movement from his eighth piano sonata.  Saddest major-key music ever written!  15:12...

German Variationen I last wrote; German theme, German poem, German title, sure!  This is my first title in Ukrainian!  I suppose I will pick up a few words if Kyrylo can actually manage to knock on my door this December, and he was planning a trip to the states before he met me online.  My brother is married to a Bulgarian, 20 years, and I know more Russian words than Bulgarian or Ukrainian!

Is it appropriate you post your friend's personal letter to a public forum? Does your friend agree? There are lots of personal matter here.

Henry

Oh yes, Henry, he agrees, and it is not personal at all.  I am 56, he is 22, after all.  I copy his letters to my siblings and even if there were anything REALLY personal, and there is not except for friendship, I would just edit it out; what, like his excursions to Kyiv's red light district, naughty movies?🤣 

This piece I pulled out of my arse yesterday is so intermingled with this unlikely friendship, and that is all it is, despite some interesting ways of addressing me, that I really have to give some background.  Sure, if it breaks forum rules, delete the letters.  Could not bother me, and I just won't post any more Kyrylo letters!

5 hours ago, Churchcantor said:

Sure, if it breaks forum rules, delete the letters.  Could not bother me, and I just won't post any more Kyrylo letters!

I think he's referring to you posting personal information, like the person's email address I deleted in a post of yours. Protect your friends, anyone can view public forums and obliterate their inbox with spam 🙂 

2 hours ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

I think he's referring to you posting personal information, like the person's email address I deleted in a post of yours. Protect your friends, anyone can view public forums and obliterate their inbox with spam 🙂 

 

I understand, I try to delete the e-mail addy, but I go fast and forget, miss it...he wouldn't mind, but I can see why as a matter of protocol, no.  HA! Just an afterthought I just thought of:  what if you were a mod for that silliest of "conspiracy forums," Godlikeproductions, GLP, or Satan-Like Obstructions dot CON, as I like to call it.  If people get called out by a mod there, and half the time the mod is in the wrong, they have gone so far as to barrage a moderator's thread with the very sickest gay porn, not that I care, but... 

Hi there!

This piano piece is rather delightful. I love how charmful it is. However, in m. 6, the parallel octaves throw off the charming.  In two part counterpoint, you normally want to avoid that.  You should try mixing imperfect consances with perfect ones.   I notice a lot parallel 3rds and 8ths through the piece. I recommend species counterpoint carefully and maybe reading through counterpoint book. There are a lot members on here who can help you. 

51 minutes ago, Kvothe said:

Hi there!

This piano piece is rather delightful. I love how charmful it is. However, in m. 6, the parallel octaves throw off the charming.  In two part counterpoint, you normally want to avoid that.  You should try mixing imperfect consances with perfect ones.   I notice a lot parallel 3rds and 8ths through the piece. I recommend species counterpoint carefully and maybe reading through counterpoint book. There are a lot members on here who can help you. 

 

Well, I am 56 and have a BM and MM in theory/composition, and all I can tell you about species counterpoint, though of course I know what it is, is that my college Counterpoint manual made for thrilling reading, a real page-turner! 🤣 I like plain octaves in piano, especially two-octave spaced.  Minimalist!  This piece for my overseas friend was a real dash-off job, not my best, but I think pretty good for two hours!  Anyway, if you have been composing for 38 years, if you want to write a piano piece really fast, you use the minimalist tricks, but you might take more time on some things!

Kyrylo has not gotten back to me; he did reply to another e-mail, but I am not sure if he has heard his piece yet.  Yes, HIS piece, for even if he does not know it, he helped write it.  The dude's in Ukraine!  One cannot always have WI-FI, charge a cell phone, but I still want to know what he thinks of my stream-of-consciousness dashed-off piano piece.