Prelude (Passacaglia on theme of Buxtehude)

I like Baroque music.... and not Bach. I like older composers, like Buxtuhude, Froberger, Frescobaldi, and Sweelinck.

So if you haven't heard much early Baroque or Rennaissance music, than this will probably only sound strange. But I still want to hear your comments.

1. This piece is called a prelude... but it is in the form of a Passacaglia. It is in my rough approximation :P of 17th century style: lots of counterpoint, and a mix of tonal and modal harmonies. A passacaglia has a bass melody (the basso ostinato) that repeats through the entire peice, with different contrapunctal and harmonic figurations above it. I decided to call it a prelude because most true passacaglias were in triple meter.

2. The final work took about three days, but I had been mentally developing it for a few weeks.

3. The theme is initially stated alone. The next few variations have a dotted rhythm. Then follows many faster variations based on tiny melodic tidbits, sometimes broken by less contrapunctal sections. A triplet section follows. Finally the end brings back the dotted rhythm.

4. Ordering all the varitations purposefully took much carefull thought.

There are some hidden parallel octaves and fifths, but none are very noticeable... I hope. ;) The theme is aken form an awesome ostinato section in one of Buxtehude's g-minor preludes.... but I forget which (there are three).

Hopefully someone will enjoy it.

I have a nice MP3 but I'm not sure how to post it.

Praludium g moll.mid

I like Baroque music.... and not Bach. I like older composers, like Buxtuhude, Froberger, Frescobaldi, and Sweelinck.

Actually, IMO it sounded alot like Pachebel in places, but that's just cause I hear everything all weird.

But wow, nice piece, only thing I would disagree with would be the bass line, IMO a few little change ups (ie. Different notes) would have been nice. :P

Keep Composing!

PS: To upload an Mp3, it's better to have a host site, Soudclick.com is one of the best out there ;)

this is a very beautiful piece!

I'm surprised, because I don't normally enjoy the neo-baroque music.

it's beautifully done.

at first I was worried while reading, since you had chosen to do a passacaglia. I figured it would be boring and repetitious, and remain firmly seated in the same harmony measure after measure. You very pleasantly surprised me with this. Your set of variations is lovely.

here is an MP3 recording of it using the GPO harpsichord.

echurchill_prelude_passacaglia

BTW, I'd still like to see a score of it at some point to better examine it.

But wow, nice piece, only thing I would disagree with would be the bass line,

I'm really glad someone liked it...

Yes... looking back it needed some textural variety... it never really goes below three voices, although the bass line does depart from the strict repetition like the second triplet variation. I could have moved the theme up to the soprano for a few variations... or just had some monophonic arpeggiations for contrast... maybe in my next passacaglia.

And the resemblance to Pachelbel makes sense.... the sequence I V vi iii IV V I is the bass of the famous (maybe too famous?) canon and gigue. That sequence was relatively common in Baroque music... probably because it can harmonize descending parallel thirds. I used a minor mode variant i v VI III (or i6) iv (or ii0) V(7) i

I like using the minor dominant... in the right context it adds a slight modal feel to music.... although it definately doesn't work at candences.

I uploaded my MP3 on a website. It uses a two manual harpsichord, so dynamic contrasts can highlight the various variations.

http://www.geocities.com/ernernernernernern/Praludiumgmoll.mp3

It's only on free Geocities, though... so it will probably exceed the download limit soon.

Unfortuantely I don't have a score... I always write on paper and make MIDI's with a midi editor, not a notation program.

Here's another link: http://www.dosblanc.ca/music/echurchill_prelude.mp3, but on a single manual (Italian style?) harpsichord.

I uploaded my MP3 on a website. It uses a two manual harpsichord, so dynamic contrasts can highlight the various variations.

http://www.geocities.com/ernernernernernern/Praludiumgmoll.mp3

It's only on free Geocities, though... so it will probably exceed the download limit soon.

Unfortuantely I don't have a score... I always write on paper and make MIDI's with a midi editor, not a notation program.

if my recording is ok for you (I could redo it to give more separation to the instruments - you'd have to let me know which channels are to be one instrument, and which the other) just copy the link above into your post. I don't mind hosting it for now.

The piece is pretty good. Keeps up the interest well, while the counterpoint remains good thoughout.

Can I ask what tuning you used for the harpsichord in your Mp3?

Qc's mp3 was rather nicer.

Zarlino's 2/7 comma meantone - it gives perfect minor thirds

Qccowboy, your MP3 is very good how it is. Musicians have to understand that computers never play quite as well as real people :P. My only tiny problem with it is that some of the rhythms (especially the trills) seem to have been changed... some programs might do this to create realism, but I already did that in the MIDI file. If possible, could you disable whatever is chaging the rhythms?

Either way, thanks for hosting it.

Qccowboy, your MP3 is very good how it is. Musicians have to understand that computers never play quite as well as real people :). My only tiny problem with it is that some of the rhythms (especially the trills) seem to have been changed... some programs might do this to create realism, but I already did that in the MIDI file. If possible, could you disable whatever is chaging the rhythms?

Either way, thanks for hosting it.

it's just playing the MIDI file you posted, so I don't know what to change!:happytears:

it's just playing the MIDI file you posted, so I don't know what to change!:happytears:

Thats OK, thanks.

I'd just like to say this piece is an amazing tour-de-force upon the ground...

How did you learn to compose in a baroque style??? I've been trying to learn for the past year and I can never get close.

Well, get a hold of as much music as you can... listen to it all. If you just know Bach and other 18th century composers.... forget them for a while. Go back further and look at 17th century composers... much of what they wrote is just as good as Bach.

Of course, study scores as much as you can, and know a bit about the history.

Theory wise.... I haven't really had any formal training. I taught myself tonal harmony from a cheap book for about a year, and that has helped me more than anything else. Study everything about traditional harmony that you can... but then look at Baroque music and notice how the composers used it. Baroque music follows standard progressions like Classical music, but remnants of modal harmonies still enriched their music alot. I would write a phrase or two of simple chorale-style harmony every day. Counterpoint, on the other hand, I've never practiced well yet.... but I plan on improving.

Also, if you haven't seen one yet, check at a music school for a harpsichord. Ask if you can play it a bit. I've been studying harpsichord for half a year, and its been much more rewarding than the piano. The way the trills and mordents spill out feels amazing to pianists.

;) That gives me too much credit. I might not have explained myself well enough... Some people absorb things kinda spontaneously, but not me. I had to start with the small things... basic notation and such. I tried to learn harmony before I could properly read the bass clef, and you can imagine how difficult voice leading and disposition is when you still confuse C with E. I knew I had to work up step by step....so after I mastered notation I really began to understand harmony... after a while it becomes natural, but at first I had to look up the voice leading foprmulas for every progression. Once you try enough, you can break free of the formulas and really understand why harmony works the way it works.

Counterpoint, on the other hand, I've just begun to study. I still haven't written any fugues. I'm not quite at that level, and I'd rather do it properly than not. (And anyways, I think fugues are given too much credit. Freer forms are harder to manage in my opinion because thay are so open) I'm thinking about writing an aria with variations next or something like that. I also kinda want to learn 16th century vocal counterpoint in the "stilo antico." I bet you absorbed stuff, but those who don't so naturally still have as much hope.

Thanks for listening to the prelude. It's hard to find people who appreciate this sort of music. vbmenu_register("postmenu_79532", true);

Very nice piece, I can see you understand baroque harmony very well and better than I at this point. No criticism I can really give, your choice of variations is free to your artistic judgement. My only suggestion would be why not add more variations and extend the piece more?

Here is your .mid file played thru my Yamaha CLP-130

http://www.mektek.net/j2k/music/other/Praeludium_g_moll.mp3

I would.... but I already did.... my harpsichord teacher heard three variations I wrote of this and made me write more; this is the result. I still don't know quite how to stucture lager works, though I'll investigate into it.

gvancleef, your mp3 is awesome, especially because it has that click when each key is realeased, that really makes the articulations clear. And articulation is how harpsichord technique works, since there is no dynamics othert than changing stops :innocent:.

Thanks for the advice, all who gave it.

My problem these days is that I love anything baroque, but I always seem to turn things into a more classical style. I know what I'm doing wrong, but I don't know how to make it right... I should probably post something to that account, and ask for help...

I like Baroque music.... and not Bach. I like older composers, like Buxtuhude, Froberger, Frescobaldi, and Sweelinck.

First of all, your piece is very interesting, keep up the good work, I have NO comments. It is as it should be; sufficient lenght and style, and imagination. It is beautifully composed. You can always extend the ending, making it stop gradually. Frescobaldi's passacaglias in his "Fiori Musicali" are excellent, study them for further ideas.

4. Ordering all the varitations purposefully took much carefull thought.

You succeeded, friend. Compose more. You are talented. Your composition sounds excactly like my improvisation in church.

God bless

but I always seem to turn things into a more classical style.

The reason is that your ear forces you to do so. Baroque can be moving and ingenious, as can renaissance and romantic music, but no music more pleases the ear than classical music, Mozart most of all.

Those who disagree are either deaf or lying.

I like this piece very much, keep on composing you will be outstanding!!!

hi ! thanks for commenting my pieces, that lead me to search for your threads and i discovered this lovely piece of music of yours! very beautiful indeed, liked it very much, very well shaped and as others said it holds the listener engaged throughout. congrats and keep up the good job!:)

Hopefully someone will enjoy it.

I enjoyed it echurchill. You've done a good job of adding interest in the variations of the theme. However, the constant unchanging base notes and static harmonic rhythm make this piece just a little rigid.

I've just heard this again and it is a lovely piece. I'd love to hear more variations, and left as a standalone passacaglia rather than a prelude. You have a nice prototype here with which to exhaust more possibilities and make the piece less condensed. More variations!!!

I like Baroque music.... and not Bach.

That's probably one of the most strange comments I have ever read.

The piece was nice, I enjoyed it. It was pure baroque.

Good work.