Sonata no 21 in C minor ( binary form)

Hello again, my friends. Here is the latest sonata in Binary form that I’ve written. From a technical point of view, I believe it’s my best one, and I feel quite happy about it. Musically, like every piece, it’s different and has its own beauty. I hope you like it.

Hey @Vasilis Michael!

I really like the hunting character for this Sonata! Lovely touch and articulation for playing this. The modulations get really adventurous in the development from B major to C# minor and then Eb minor and then F# minor, then F major, Db major and back to C major/minor. It's really Schubertian to have this kind of chord progression! Thx for sharing this light hearted piece!

Henry

9 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hey @Vasilis Michael!

I really like the hunting character for this Sonata! Lovely touch and articulation for playing this. The modulations get really adventurous in the development from B major to C# minor and then Eb minor and then F# minor, then F major, Db major and back to C major/minor. It's really Schubertian to have this kind of chord progression! Thx for sharing this light hearted piece!

Henry

 

Dear Henry,

First of all, I’m glad to see you again after such a long time, and I always look forward to hearing your new compositions, which are truly remarkable.

Thank you very much for your kind words. From a technical point of view, I consider this sonata to be my best work so far.

As for the modulations — being the greatest admirer of Schubert, who along with Mozart is my favorite composer — moving from one tonality to another is something that haunts me in a pleasant way, of course, and I feel it’s one of the great tricks that helps me evolve each time.

This sonata may be in C minor, but it carries a touch more of the major mode — and when it returns to the minor, that minor character is heard even more intensely. Personally, I tend to feel the minor quality more strongly when it emerges within a major key rather than purely in a minor one. I don’t know, maybe that sounds unorthodox or strange, but that’s the feeling it gives me.

Once again, thank you for your kind words.

6 minutes ago, Vasilis Michael said:

First of all, I’m glad to see you again after such a long time,

Yeah, because I have just finished listening the 129 examples of the Sonata book I have read, and before writing the Adorned Zither Piano Pieces I have some energy left to review something!

7 minutes ago, Vasilis Michael said:

This sonata may be in C minor, but it carries a touch more of the major mode — and when it returns to the minor, that minor character is heard even more intensely. Personally, I tend to feel the minor quality more strongly when it emerges within a major key rather than purely in a minor one. I don’t know, maybe that sounds unorthodox or strange, but that’s the feeling it gives me.

I think this one is more in major mode simply because the mood is more light hearted and joyful! And Schubert always did that by giving some slight hope in major mode before returning to minor which makes the tragedy more tragic, thus the minor quality more strongly.

Henry

4 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Yeah, because I have just finished listening the 129 examples of the Sonata book I have read, and before writing the Adorned Zither Piano Pieces I have some energy left to review something!

I think this one is more in major mode simply because the mood is more light hearted and joyful! And Schubert always did that by giving some slight hope in major mode before returning to minor which makes the tragedy more tragic, thus the minor quality more strongly.

Henry

 

Exactly as you say, my dear friend. This kind of music and mood is what truly expresses me. That’s my temperament as a person, and it naturally comes out in my music.

Wow, this is so pretty! I think my favorite thing about this are all these little moments that play with different dissonances:
a. 0:21 holding onto the 7th into the EEC,
b. 0:49 on the French 6th, technically resolving to V, bit leaving immediately after the silence.
c. 3:32 holding onto fi.
Maybe not unique per se, but treated with such a light touch that they really pop here! Good job!

Only a couple sections I felt were a bit of a bigger change:
1. 2:40's sequence felt a little odd to me for some reason. It's a big moment, for sure, but maybe the sequence was just so rhythmically formulaic that it contrasted the unpredictable pleasantness of the rest of the piece enough to be marked for me.
2. 2:49's repeat of the low octave feels a little heavy-handed as well, but I get that you want to make the home key a little stronger after all the work you put into modulating.
3. Right at the very end, just a personal taste kinda gripe: going from 8 to 3 to 1 (scale degrees) in your highest voice feels like it's missing the 5, even though this is not an uncommon gambit. I actually quite liked the i chord with the third in the top voice because it balanced out the high SD 8.

Obviously, all of the above are just personal taste things. This is a really excellently crafted work!
 

21 minutes ago, Monarcheon said:

Wow, this is so pretty! I think my favorite thing about this are all these little moments that play with different dissonances:
a. 0:21 holding onto the 7th into the EEC,
b. 0:49 on the French 6th, technically resolving to V, bit leaving immediately after the silence.
c. 3:32 holding onto fi.
Maybe not unique per se, but treated with such a light touch that they really pop here! Good job!

Only a couple sections I felt were a bit of a bigger change:
1. 2:40's sequence felt a little odd to me for some reason. It's a big moment, for sure, but maybe the sequence was just so rhythmically formulaic that it contrasted the unpredictable pleasantness of the rest of the piece enough to be marked for me.
2. 2:49's repeat of the low octave feels a little heavy-handed as well, but I get that you want to make the home key a little stronger after all the work you put into modulating.
3. Right at the very end, just a personal taste kinda gripe: going from 8 to 3 to 1 (scale degrees) in your highest voice feels like it's missing the 5, even though this is not an uncommon gambit. I actually quite liked the i chord with the third in the top voice because it balanced out the high SD 8.

Obviously, all of the above are just personal taste things. This is a really excellently crafted work!
 

 

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time and care to listen to my work so attentively — I truly feel grateful for that. I’m really glad you liked it and appreciated the effort I put into it.

Also, thank you very much for your feedback.

If you’d like, I can share my own perspective on the points you mentioned.

At 2:40, since there was a modulation to B major with the initial theme — and because of its nature, it didn’t really lead anywhere — the only way forward was through a series of modulations, starting with C-sharp minor. Then somehow, in a dynamic way, I had to wage a sort of “battle” of modulations to find my way back to the tonic. From my point of view, that section is actually one of my favorites; it just felt like it needed to happen that way.

At 2:49, I wanted to keep that drone note more as a timbral element and to add a more dramatic texture due to the constant alternation between major and minor. From a technical standpoint, you could say it’s nothing particularly special — it’s really more about the color I wanted to convey.

In general, I truly enjoy hearing everyone’s perspective and how each person approaches the piece with their own unique viewpoint — it’s very interesting.

Once again, thank you, my friend, for your kind words and appreciation. Wishing you all the best!

1 minute ago, Vasilis Michael said:

If you’d like, I can share my own perspective on the points you mentioned.

I'm glad you did! For me, I was going to have those reactions anyway, but obviously I'll have a different perspective. It's great we get to share potential reasons for feeling differently.

2 minutes ago, Vasilis Michael said:

From my point of view, that section is actually one of my favorites; it just felt like it needed to happen that way.

Don't get me wrong; it's an incredibly smooth little sequence! It's actually possible that I thought it almost needed to stand out more, in a way, you know? Like the character is so different I might have wanted to hear it be a little wilder to reinforce that in my brain, you know? Not entirely sure.

Kudos, again. Lovely stuff. 

8 minutes ago, Monarcheon said:

I'm glad you did! For me, I was going to have those reactions anyway, but obviously I'll have a different perspective. It's great we get to share potential reasons for feeling differently.

Don't get me wrong; it's an incredibly smooth little sequence! It's actually possible that I thought it almost needed to stand out more, in a way, you know? Like the character is so different I might have wanted to hear it be a little wilder to reinforce that in my brain, you know? Not entirely sure.

Kudos, again. Lovely stuff. 

 

Don’t worry about it at all — and I didn’t take it the wrong way whatsoever. On the contrary, I really want to know how another musician perceives something from a different perspective than my own. Everything you said has a solid basis, and when those ideas make musical sense, they’re absolutely valid.

Thank you again! I’d be very happy if you checked out my channel and listened to some of my other works — it would really mean a lot to me.