Simile est regnum caelorum

I’m curious to see what you think about this piece. It’s another attempt of mine at something “modern.”

Very nice piece. I don't know of any advice that I could give because the piece seemed pretty well knitted up. Of anything I would of chosen different notes in various spots(but that's probably because of preferance)

(By chance did you get a recording of the performance?)

(By chance did you get a recording of the performance?)

No, I'm sorry to say. It never occurred to me to take a tape recorder with me, and an "official" recording of the event would likely have been frowned upon - Roman Catholics don't particularly care for recording devices in the sanctuary.

Thanks for the comments. There are moments in the B section that I think need to be re-written...my choice of notes, as you say. I chose notes that seemed to make sense for the individual lines, knowing that while there would be some dissonance, in a modal context they were bound to resolve satisfactorily. Still, some of the choices seem flawed to me, though I can't quite put my finger on what needs to be changed. The voicing is so very close together, which might be part of the problem. I might need to thin out the texture to 2 or 3 voices in spots, instead of 3 or 4.

hmmm.... I know music notation programs like finale can magnify dissonance or create more dissonance than there really should be. Such as finale ruined the cminor chord for me. Though in a live performance its a brilliant chord. (I hope that makes sense:))

:thumbsup: wonderful piece Lee!!! when i grow up i wish to compose such tender, flowing and delicate pieces like this one! :blink: delightful harmony spiced with wise dissonances and a very appealing overall texture. loved it at all. it must make a very charming effect in live performance and inside a reverberating hall such as a church, for exemple. i have just 3 suggestions to you.

in the bar 37 the tenor 1 could sing A# and the bass 2 the same (at the bar caput)

bar 22 the last A could (tenor 2) be sharpened in order to lead to a more climaxical conclusion of this phrase

bar 9 both first notes of tenor 2 and bass 1 could be sharpened (G# and E#). this same motive occurs in other places but here i felt it could be adorned with a subtler harmony.

just adornments, of course.........

warm congrats!

ps: these changes make more sense with the human voice tender sound than with the strings as they are in the original midi file.

Thanks for the compliments, and for the ideas! I'm not sure how I feel about a couple of them, but I'm going to see if I can get them "in my ear"...I heard this piece modally, so I have trouble featuring much chromaticism - which may be part of my problem, if there is one. This is the kind of input I was looking for here. Thanks!

BUMP!

Someone asked whether I'd ever used any 20th Century compositional techniques, and this is my answer. This failed to attract much notice when I first posted it almost 3 years ago. I've updated the files and links. Cheers!

It's great! The mp3 is a bit 'clunky', but the music itself I love. Very coherent, melodic and with a clear sense of direction.

Good balance of triads and other types of harmony; the E major chord somewhere near the end was great -- partly because of the sparing use of triads.

It's great! The mp3 is a bit 'clunky', but the music itself I love. Very coherent, melodic and with a clear sense of direction.

Thanks. The piece naturally made better sense with live singers. The melodic quality and sense of direction are in fairly large part attributable to the chant source, with me helping things along a bit.

Good balance of triads and other types of harmony; the E major chord somewhere near the end was great -- partly because of the sparing use of triads.

The chant was again very suggestive of the largely modal harmonies. I rather like that E-major chord, too. :D

Don't know if it made itself apparent, but there is a lot of imitative counterpoint going on, too. It was more obvious with live singers responding to it and bringing it out.

Very nice piece, but it doesn't sound terribly modern to me.

I can see why you would say so. "Modern" is a very relative term. My model was Durufl

Graham - I promise to listne to this as I inquired. Annoy me if I don't do it in the next few days.

Take your time! It's the holidays...we're all busy. :D

A General Perspective

I really like the sound of this piece. The individual voice parts move well and in interesting ways. The pseudo-Gregorian chant figures provide a stark, yet intimate contrast to surrounding structures. The way you weave in and out of dissonance, while not entirely new, is refreshing and a delight to hear. The way you approach your cadences is also very effective.

Very nice piece, but it doesn't sound terribly modern to me.

It isn't Modern in the sense that Cage, Copland, Ives, or one of the living Minimalists is, but it is using sounds not really heard until very recently. You can also tell this isn't exactly your comfort zone, but I think that very fact works very well for this piece. Given the liturgical Latin text, it's charming to hear the antique, Renaissance/Baroque sound under the Modern facade--an amalgamation of old and new, if you will.

Suggestions and Advice

Everything in this piece--the way things are shaped, your harmonic choices, the text on which it's based--is similar to something that Morten Lauridsen (I've been bringing him up a lot lately...) would write, which isn't a bad thing by any means. I'm not sure if you drew inspiration from his music or what, but it sounds just a touch derivative. The only thing I would suggest is, in the future if you plan on experimenting with Modern sounds, listen to more Modern choral music and try to create a sound that's uniquely you. Perhaps be a little more tonally adventurous?

Other than that... Post a recording! :P

Final Thoughts

I think this is an excellent effort. This, in my opinion, is better than what Lauridsen would have done; it seems like this piece is more in tune with the text compared to works of his that I know of. Good work!

the harmony touch my soul

I quite like this piece. It's very much the kind of music that I like to listen to and such, the kind of choral music I aspire to write. It's written very well, and the playback definitely ruined a lot of it.

I'm not sure if it's intentional or what, but it seems like you stay in one kinda mode throughout the piece, only changing it at the last page, for 2 bars. Makes that part sound very important, but then again, at the same time, make the whole piece sound crooked. I don't know, it just seem like it needs those "wow" and "ahh" kind of passages.

Great piece! Do post a recording if you have any. Thanks!

Dustin Morningstar: You're very kind indeed. I take it from your subtitle that you're a choral person, which makes your praise all the more gratifying.

Everything in this piece--the way things are shaped, your harmonic choices, the text on which it's based--is similar to something that Morten Lauridsen (I've been bringing him up a lot lately...) would write, which isn't a bad thing by any means. I'm not sure if you drew inspiration from his music or what, but it sounds just a touch derivative.

This is a fascinating observation, because I was not aware of emulating any composer but Durufl

This is a fascinating observation, because I was not aware of emulating any composer but Durufl

Graham -

Beautiful job and quite good handling of modal harmony. I am not familiar with Lauridisen's work though I have heard of him. Strangely this music reminds me of Copland - his more tonal/Americana stuff - but as if Copland were living in the 16th century!

So I hear an original voice which with further cultivation would blow away many of the choral composers today. Oh, btw I am NOT a big fan of what I have heard of Whitacre. I don't dislike but neither am I that excited by it. Maybe I need to listen to more choral stuff though I swing between the more traditional stuff and something like Xenakis' choral stuff. This inspires me to return to the Advent Mass I planned awhile ago after you kind assessment. Just so little time ....