YCF Composition Competition - Halloween 2025 (Submission)

I had NO Idea what to name this piece. The score's name has been updated to "Ghost Town Requiem" 😉 But I've worked diligently on it, and I feel that it's as good as I'm able to make it. Really just shot for the Halloween/Spooky vibe with both the Instrumentation, key, and rhythmic inflections. Hope y'all enjoy my fun lil' sextet  quintet (sorry my brain wasn't all there when I posted this) piece 😉

Score has been updated; @MK_Piano so kindly took it upon himself to download my score and edit the engraving to make it look purdy 😉 ... I have also had a change of heart on the timbre of the score being in C minor, and have transposed it to B minor, one half step lower for a slightly more rich tonality. I also took some advice from @Omicronrg9 regarding the visibility of the Dal Segno mark early on in the score. 

YCF Halloween Composition .pdf

What a cool ensemble, having the bass clarinet and bassoon. I think you really hit the mark with instrument choices, I imagined a black cat walking a wooden fence with the full moon out. Very much a picturesque halloween piece, and you write so fast too! The balance of quirky parts (my favorite was the clarinet rhythm section at like 2:50) and lush UncleRed-type chordal figures with piano worked really well. 

Score looks good, some enharmonics issues (watch the leading tone) but definitely clean and neat. You're pretty good about your score editing, so nothing new there. 😄

6 hours ago, UncleRed99 said:

Hope y'all enjoy my fun lil' sextet piece

Quintet? 😛  

4 hours ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

What a cool ensemble, having the bass clarinet and bassoon. I think you really hit the mark with instrument choices, I imagined a black cat walking a wooden fence with the full moon out. Very much a picturesque halloween piece, and you write so fast too! The balance of quirky parts (my favorite was the clarinet rhythm section at like 2:50) and lush UncleRed-type chordal figures with piano worked really well. 

Score looks good, some enharmonics issues (watch the leading tone) but definitely clean and neat. You're pretty good about your score editing, so nothing new there. 😄

Quintet? 😛  

 

Yes, Quintet. I was discomboulated when I posted this xD Thanks

Also, I'm glad that I've left an impression with "unclered-type" chord figures xD I didn't realize I had a unique way of structuring chord voicings 😅

Welp, we have a clear front-runner here. Man, this piece is almost flawless.

The only thing that comes to mind I could point out would be that the Segno could be better marked. It's not that the way most software and people usually do it is bad, but I myself found it's quite good (performer-wise, reader-wise and lastly it's a matter of tastes) to mark it with segno bars &/or a rectangle surrounding the segno symbol. Example here:
                             .                                                                                          

Just a suggestion.

The piece itself as I was sayin' was very enjoyable to me. It's fluid, its structure works, you know how to connect the dots very neatly. The instrument choice is very good as well. I like how you don't need to deviate from tonality to get the spooky feeling you. It reminds me of PvZ OST at times, and at other times, you remind me of another composer whose work I have listened to a lot, Paul F. Page. The instrument entries are very balanced, you're stepping into solid ground! 

What I liked the most though, the return to the segno al fine. It's seamless.

The score is alright, perfectly readable... Little I have found to be worth mentioning (I'm very sleepy though so my writing capabilities are diminished). Some overlaps here and there, misplaced dynamics due to software being stupid by default, but nothing else. 

Congratulations, UncleRed. My kudos. A long day awaits, may you sleep as well as this piece was enjoyed by my brain.

Kind regards!
 

Hey Kyle @UncleRed99!

I am going to agree what @Omicronrg9 said wholeheartedly, as I enjoy this one very much. This one sounds very seamless in creating the spooky dancing mood of a Halloween in the fast sections. And this one has some sadness in it too. If an accordion (the main instrument of @Omicronrg9) is added in the score it can be a totally beautiful Spanish dance.

I really like the opening Andante section for its emotions. However, for a Halloween piece I think it's a bit too beautiful and tragic to be here! I may just cut the entire section out and have it developed as an individual piece, and start this piece right at rehearsal mark B! Or I will at least make the A section a bit more spooky to fit into the festival!

The B section is a wonderful mix of sadness, spookiness and a bit of fun with the dance rhythm. B.36 with the polyrhythm even weirdly reminds me of the first movement of Mahler's 2nd!! I absolutely love your usage of Bassoon and bass clarinet. They really enhance the grotesque mood of the piece. Beware of the Cb in b.40, they should be B natural. The C# in b.66 should be Db. 

Thx very much for sharing this wonderful piece to us Kyle!

P.S.

On 10/21/2025 at 5:45 PM, UncleRed99 said:

Hope y'all enjoy my fun lil' sextet  quintet (sorry my brain wasn't all there when I posted this) piece 😉

I am sure you brain flows into my own Sextet right? Say Yes!!!!!

Henry

15 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I am sure you brain flows into my own Sextet right? Say Yes!!!!!

Uh. Yes 🤣🤣 

thank you for your feedback! 
And I’d have to disagree on the first section, respectfully. 
 

I noticed a theme with my compositions, and this one isn’t particularly different from my approach to the rest, when I step back and look at it;

I tend to start out with a slow, melodic introduction, that then graduates to a more robust/intense motif, concluding to the originally introduced feel. 
 

I was aiming for a suspenseful, and drawn out start to the short story that I was writing here. 
 

also thank you for adding in the corrections. I must have missed those on that last pass I made over it to correct accidentals for voice leading accuracy. Thanks Henry!

17 hours ago, Omicronrg9 said:

Welp, we have a clear front-runner here. Man, this piece is almost flawless.

The only thing that comes to mind I could point out would be that the Segno could be better marked. It's not that the way most software and people usually do it is bad, but I myself found it's quite good (performer-wise, reader-wise and lastly it's a matter of tastes) to mark it with segno bars &/or a rectangle surrounding the segno symbol. Example here:
                             .                                                                                          

Just a suggestion.

The piece itself as I was sayin' was very enjoyable to me. It's fluid, its structure works, you know how to connect the dots very neatly. The instrument choice is very good as well. I like how you don't need to deviate from tonality to get the spooky feeling you. It reminds me of PvZ OST at times, and at other times, you remind me of another composer whose work I have listened to a lot, Paul F. Page. The instrument entries are very balanced, you're stepping into solid ground! 

What I liked the most though, the return to the segno al fine. It's seamless.

The score is alright, perfectly readable... Little I have found to be worth mentioning (I'm very sleepy though so my writing capabilities are diminished). Some overlaps here and there, misplaced dynamics due to software being stupid by default, but nothing else. 

Congratulations, UncleRed. My kudos. A long day awaits, may you sleep as well as this piece was enjoyed by my brain.

Kind regards!
 

 

Very good advice here. Thank you for your feedback. I’m overjoyed and very thankful that you enjoyed many aspects of the piece, AND pointed them out to me. It helps to know what I’ve done right and what I can subsequently improve upon later. 
 

I hope you get a great restful night of sleep! Thanks, Omicron!

8.5/10

Hey Red! I've been making it goal to comment at least once on the halloween submissions and here I am!

In our separate conversations, we have already spoken a lot on the piece, from how you created it, to how a new key/ scale can affect it, and how engraving can make or break a musicians understanding of the work. For those who have known your previous works over the last few months -> year, there is a clear sophistication in this work. I can see the clear sense of structure and harmonic language you presenting and I cannot state that enough. In the halloween sense, I am a big fan of the little dance after the A-section. It is very fun to listen to.

Good work my friend! Let this only be a stepping stone to your greater works 🙂

13 hours ago, MK_Piano said:

Hey Red! I've been making it goal to comment at least once on the halloween submissions and here I am!

In our separate conversations, we have already spoken a lot on the piece, from how you created it, to how a new key/ scale can affect it, and how engraving can make or break a musicians understanding of the work. For those who have known your previous works over the last few months -> year, there is a clear sophistication in this work. I can see the clear sense of structure and harmonic language you presenting and I cannot state that enough. In the halloween sense, I am a big fan of the little dance after the A-section. It is very fun to listen to.

Good work my friend! Let this only be a stepping stone to your greater works 🙂

 

You da G O A T my friend

This gives me a spooky romantic vibe. Perhaps lost souls on Halloween trying to find love or meaning to existence. It's very enjoyable to listen to not only because of how emotional this is, but because this type of harmony resonates well with me. Furthermore, I find this piece to be well structured, and easy to follow. I love how you break up the momentum at around 1:20. As a YouTuber, I learned that this is incredibly important to do on longer videos. Especially with the the shorter attention spans these days.

Melody and Motive + Harmony: I just find these to be very clear throughout your piece, with logical breaks and great emotional supporting harmony.

Form and Creativity: Highly structured, easy to follow.

Score presentation + Playability: Beautiful score and this seems very playable.

Execution and Taste: This is a highly romantic piece that does give off Halloween vibes, and I resonate well with this style.