String Quartet No.1 (I am Back!)

Yes! Finally I am back. I was unable to be active on the site lately. But now I will try to get back on posting music as well as reviewing others works. Here I present you with one of my latest composition.

This is the piece I wrote for my final project for the masters degree along with an orchestral piece (which hopefully I will upload soon) It was the most compositionally intense experience I ever had where I had 2 months to complete this piece and the orchestral one. The piece has four movements. Introduction, Serenade, Scherzo and Fugue and Finale. the form of the movements are straight forward using an ABA form. Except the final movement where I joined two different movements and used themes from the previous movements to have a recapitulation of the piece. The piece last 18 minutes.

The First movement is short and has little development. The second movement is very sentimental. It is kind of bittersweet, with dissonant chords and occasional emotional climaxes. It is probably my most emotional piece. The third movement is in contrast with the sadness of the second and the intenseness of the fourth. It is very lively and reminds of a dance. The final movement is the most intense. Even I get tense listening to it. Not all will appreciate this number, that I'm sure. However it portrays my last struggling to complete the piece in time. The ever existent battle against time.

I hope you like it and tell me what you think. tell me what you see in it. Even if you don't like it. Even if you think it's a disgrace to the musical repertoire.

Thanks,

Inal

Music

I. Introduction

II. Serenade

III. Scherzo

IV. Fugue and Finale

PS. The first movement is supposed to be connected to the second. So it will sound weird.

Inal,

First of all, as you must'e guesed I love it ;) It is very close to my personal style, so we are in perfect agreement on aesthetics. (except some minor things... but the style is brilliant!)

Some questions if you don't mind. What samples are you using? It's not live recording is it? It is a very well made rendering (the sul pont, though don't sound really like it...)

Apart from that, your harmony, based mostly in triads (?) sounds absolutely fantastic! Looking really forward to hearing the orchestral one for yout final masters...

One thing I could maybe comment on is the general form (not the form found on every movement on itslef). It sounds and seems deadly clich

Thanks Nikolas for this praise.

I was surprised you liked the samples. Although I also like it, I don't have much knowledge in fine-tuning the score with nice samples. I just used GPO with no fine tuning whatsoever. Like applying sul pont or any other effects.

About the form of the piece. I have a thing about balance which I try to apply to all of my pieces. I try to keep the balance between form and thematic material. For example if I use thematically and harmonically intense material, I try to use the most simple form (or vice versa) to allow the listener to at least understand one aspect of the piece easily. This is something I developed myself, It may sound silly or unnecessary. I really don't know if it works or not. So here it could be appropriate to ask the listener ? ...

Thanks for listening.

The fugue part - actually the last movement, is not my favorite. Unfortunately it has been done under so much pressure it was hard to come up with a more satisfying ending. Still, when I listen it now, I like it more for the fact that somehow it completes a journey with the same manner as it started. and the second and the third movement being slightly different in character than the first and fourth made the fourth movement a logical ending.

......maybe

Loved your string quartet overall. Finallly someone that knows how to write music with more than diatonic triads. Parts of it sounded especially Bartokian, but thats not meant as an insult in anyway.

some critical anaylsis...

first movement. Although its a midi and a live performance (obviously) would be more expressive I think you could do good and milk some of those running passages...followed by a chord. I started to think the chords were a bit (not in their color but rather their timing) a bit too expected. Especially the end. The last chord you have is lovely. How about a slight ritardando before it?

wasnt to crazy about the second movement. Only because I kept thinking it would have make a better passacaglia. And that it seemed to get into the meat and potatoes of it all way to quickly. How about stretching out that opening line with some slight contrapuntal stuff in the harmony. Really make it sing out before you get into all that lovely busy stuff with all the double stops and what have you.

third movement same as the second. Why must all forces be playing all the time? take some time to shift tone color entirely. You know well how to pass the voice around, but how about the color>?

fourth movement. nice fugue. Well fits the harmonic vocabulary of the whole. Very Bachian the way you took that running figure and slowly germed its way inthere until it took particaly took over. Naturally some of the first movement stuff was to return, well done that. The fugue also sounded a lot like the pasacaglia that i wanted to hear in the second movement. haha.

I liked that you brought back the dance like rythmn towards the end. perhaps even a direct quote would have been in order.

again, i realy enjoyed this and most of my comments above are for lack of anything else...food for thought or possible just things that you havent thought about. Overall it was very refreshing to hear. Thanks for the listen.

May I ask you to explain how you organized you pitch structure and form base for this piece?

its annoying

its disturbing

and i loved it :D

the introduction is my favorite

its like a tensed conversation...

"ellerine sağlık"

ToraBora, I dont know if you are turkish or not but "tesekkur ederim"

first movement. Although its a midi and a live performance (obviously) would be more expressive I think you could do good and milk some of those running passages...followed by a chord. I started to think the chords were a bit (not in their color but rather their timing) a bit too expected. Especially the end. The last chord you have is lovely. How about a slight ritardando before it?

This is a nice idea. As a composer sometimes it is hard to foresee what will be predictable and what will be not. And now I come to agree with you that, that section will need some more work. Thanks.

wasnt to crazy about the second movement. Only because I kept thinking it would have make a better passacaglia. And that it seemed to get into the meat and potatoes of it all way to quickly. How about stretching out that opening line with some slight contrapuntal stuff in the harmony. Really make it sing out before you get into all that lovely busy stuff with all the double stops and what have you.

I am very happy about the second and third movement. I especially love the second. thank you very much for your detailed thoughts about the piece.

May I ask you to explain how you organized you pitch structure and form base for this piece?

there is not a way that I create my pitch structure. Before writing a piece (after deciding the form) I collect my chords and create a page or two of just chords by improvising or using chords that I picked before and creating chords by superimposing two traditional chords (B7 in the lower / Dmaj7 in higer is a typical Inal chord)

And then, I lay down my chords on paper, see which one comes where, put the melody and transpose some chords if necessary. By doing this I crate the basis of the composition and now have something to look and imagine what can I do next. This is basically how I form my pieces.

Introduction:

Nice use of counterpoint and triadic structural points. Got tired in the first part of it with the repetitive sestuplets shifting from voice to voice - I feel like you do a much better job with rhythmic interest later in the piece. You shift into a diatonic sound in the middle section very smoothly. Wouldn't have used that second long chord at the end, just moved right on in from the first one - I feel like it halts the energy of the piece.

Serenade:

Nice chordal work. I feel like the bass nature of it drowns out the lovely melody in the violin, however. Perhaps move the ranges up for the opening in order to clarify that melodic motion? Again, nice use of counterpoint in the harmonic vs. melodic motion. More and more I feel like the opening chords are too much for their placement in the movement, especially with the chords throughout the middle sections coming in the way they do. It feels much more stagnant than it is. Nice antiphonal counterpoint in that middle section. Again, your transfer into more traditional harmonies is smooth and engaging, as is your transfer out of it. I like your use of melodic development and repetition, though three-quarters of the way through, it seems rather repetitive, rather than repetitious. I feel like you could cut the part where the three strings play the melody in 4ths - move straight on into the recapitulation with the chords. Those chords, again, make me want less in the beginning, to give the movement somewhere to build to. I like the ending - I wasn't expecting a consonant almost-authentic cadence, but it didn't feel out of place.

Scherzo: Why the chord at the beginning? You just came off a whole movement of chords. You don't need another one to justify it. I like this movement more in the places where there are no chords accompanying the melody. This is an opportunity to really cut loose with melodies. I do like the little chordal accents that you have in some places. Your counterpoint is really excellent. Why halt the motion with these chords towards the end? It kills the energy of the piece, right at a moment when you could really build it.

Fugue/Finale:

Nice new texture! Again, nice counterpoint. This is a texture I feel you could use more often in the earlier movements in place of some of the chords. The shift is interesting and sudden. Perhaps a smoother transition is in order. I like the use of melodic lines converging on a structural chord. More rhythmic variety needed to keep the audience attention - after the other three movements, it's necessary. You start to bring it in before the second shift, and then in the Finale section. Much better. Nice counterpoint here too. Nice use of chords as accents in melodic and harmonic contexts. Ah! There's the rhythmic interest. See if you can work it in throughout the movement. The use of the solid off-beat chords is not unprecedented, but perhaps occurs a bit suddenly. The chord before the final gesture is unnecessary, and is not justified by anything in the rest of the movement. Strong ending, good job there.

I would have commented earlier, but I only got a chance to listen to the 1st movment. I wanted to hear the entire piece before I left any comment.

So here goes...

I like how the structure and the melodic material work in the first movement. As I listened I almost feel that the 1st movement is either a rondo or related to the rondo form.

The opening theme in the second movment is beautiful. I really like around 2:44 through about 3:04 and also at 3:25 through 3:40. I enjoyed how you arrived at those points. I could imagine a very intense build up in a live performance. To me those moments are very touching. I agree when you say this movment is very sentimental.

The thrid movmenet is very playful. In a strange way I am reminded of playful elements that exist in Dvorak's 1st symphony.

Last movement -

I did enjoy the build up that started at 1:54. The concept of a steady and tense persisting cello line with the other parts playing more decoratively made for a very dramtic build up to 3:36.

I thought there were a lot of really interesting ideas throught the entire piece.

Good work!

Where to start where to start?

hm...

After reading all of the previous reviews and comments, i was ready for some grand peice of work. Not that this isnt, but...

The intro: a good effort. Not quite what i expected. The intro seemed to have no melody. It almost sounded as if the players were playing random notes. And maybe next time, focus a bit more on harmony. Lots of the sudden chords kind of ruined the peice for me. If they went with a wonderful harmony then MAYBE i would find it more enjoyable. Overall, an excellent effort. Just needs a little work. 7/10.

The serenade: Again with the harmonies. Better this time but still a little displeasing. I liked the sustained notes by the violin(s) in the beggining. I though that was a welcome touch. It was a very warming melody. Very enjoyable to listen to.

It did seem to me that the tempo was a little too fast for the peice.

The Scherzo: Very bouncy and playful. Wonderful to listen to. I felt like dancing.

The fugue and finale: The opening cello solo (i think it was cello) was awesome, as was the rest of the finale. No criticism.

The whole work was good. Enjoyable and relaxing. Just work a little harder on the harmonies. Or maybe that was just the MiDi...

Ahh, finally some more modern work in the Maor Works!!!

I have absolutely no criticism that hasn't already been said (actually, I wrote a full review... but i saw that all of my comments had been, well, commented on). So, good piece.

And, since I see no Trout around... 9.5/10.

But, when I hear a live recording- maybe a 10 is in the works...

-Morivou

I was not expecting this much attention !! Thank you all very much for your kind remarks and thank you for taking your time to listen and Analise the piece and supplying me with your valuable feedback.

Christopher,

Introduction: ...Wouldn't have used that second long chord at the end, just moved right on in from the first one - I feel like it halts the energy of the piece...

This final chord is meant to be connected with the second movement without a pause. But maybe the whole idea was not good. Thanks for bringing this up. I'll consider it.

Serenade: ...I feel like the bass nature of it drowns out the lovely melody in the violin, however. Perhaps move the ranges up for the opening in order to clarify that melodic motion?...

Very nice idea. However I tried to create more mellow and deep sonorities in this section. And to have the melody sing loud in the high register without other instruments getting in its range. But still, nice idea.

I like the ending - I wasn't expecting a consonant almost-authentic cadence, but it didn't feel out of place.

Believe me I was also amazed how this kind of cadence fit well to this kind of music ! I was just experimenting it to see how will it be, but it turned out so nicely I just didn't erase it.

Scherzo: Why the chord at the beginning? You just came off a whole movement of chords. You don't need another one to justify it. ..... Why halt the motion with these chords towards the end? It kills the energy of the piece, right at a moment when you could really build it....

The chord in the beginning is the same chord that is present in the first movement. I was just trying to make some connection within movements. Not in terms of thematic material but harmony. So, when all of them is listened together it would somehow sound complete. ..I agree that the ending is not as effective. I simply didn't have much time to concentrate more. I think I will fix it with something better.

Christoper, I appreciate you taking time to write your comments. Thanks.

Majesty,

I really like around 2:44 through about 3:04 and also at 3:25 through 3:40. I enjoyed how you arrived at those points. I could imagine a very intense build up in a live performance. To me those moments are very touching. I agree when you say this movment is very sentimental.

Thank you for understanding my point ! That section is meant to be the climax of the movement. And I also believe it will create an intense build up in a live performance.

Last movement I did enjoy the build up that started at 1:54. The concept of a steady and tense persisting cello line with the other parts playing more decoratively made for a very dramtic build up to 3:36.

When writing this fugue I thought I should employ some more baroque elements such as basso continuo as an instrumentation tool to help me out. It turned out to be quite nicely.

Majesty thank you for listening

Eddwin,

The intro seemed to have no melody. It almost sounded as if the players were playing random notes. And maybe next time, focus a bit more on harmony. Lots of the sudden chords kind of ruined the peice for me. If they went with a wonderful harmony then MAYBE i would find it more enjoyable. Overall, an excellent effort. Just needs a little work.

I really did spend alot of time with choosing chords and with harmony. Maybe they were just not your favorite. There is a lot of thematic material and development inside the melody, however it may sound random believe me there is.

Thank you very much for commenting !

I read the comment that someone felt the second movment would work better as a passacaglia. I think the second movement would work well that way but I like the fact that you didn't use a passacaglia for the second movement. To me, writing the sescond movement as a passacaglia seems to "obvious". I liked the fact that the music wasn't "obvious".

If you think this music is not obvious, I would be very happy as this is mostly what I try to create. But some other members found it was obvious.

I have only had time to listen over the intro, here are my thoughts. Overall, I thought it was very good, although, having heard some of your other work, it's not my favorite. As far as the actualy piece goes, I really loved the sections that involved the stabbing strings. I felt this was a nice touch, and maybe my foundation of interest in this particular piece. The harmonies were also quite interesting, and another high point. If there's anything negative I have to say about it, it's that (in my opinion) it didn't have the drive or purpose I've grown accustomed to hearing in music, this isn't an overall bad thing, just something that I personally don't consider positive. That may be why I liked the string stabs so much, as they represented most of the drive, wheras the harmonies felt more like phrases.

Nice work though!

Jared

I have been looking around for a string quartet to record this piece. no luck yet.

If anyone knows a string quartet who are likely to accept this offer can you please tell me ?

this my friend is genius. haunting and brilliant. sorry i cant leave any constructive criticism, mostly because you seem to know what youre doing a lot better than me:thumbsup: im sure your career as a musician will treat you with praise. just stopping by to pat you on the back. good work!