So, lets talk about some more “serious” composition. Typically, I am the kind of person who writes a lot in one sitting with a long cool down period. I’ve written many pieces in the course of a weekend (or shorter) after thinking about it for weeks beforehand. But, rewind back to the fall of 2010, and I was trying something different. It took some dedication, but two days a week in between classes, I sat in the library to write. This method proved a bit less frantic, and I did get some good music; perhaps some of the best music I’ve written (or at least, my favorite of what I've written).
My assignment was to write a piece in compound ternary form, meaning that tit was comprised in thirds which were subdivided into thirds. Basic ternary form (which I have much experience writing in) could be represented as ABA format. The piece I was working on was much more complex, being ABA, CDC, ABA (hence, compound ternary form). After this project, it became one of my favorite forms.
My assignment was to write a piece in compound ternary form, meaning that tit was comprised in thirds which were subdivided into thirds. Basic ternary form (which I have much experience writing in) could be represented as ABA format. The piece I was working on was much more complex, being ABA, CDC, ABA (hence, compound ternary form). After this project, it became one of my favorite forms.
The performance here is from my senior recital. The performers had only a few weeks time to learn their parts, but they did so rather well. This piece remains one of my favorites, so much so that I wrote a second movement, and I plan to write two more. Here we have Matthew Weiner on Violin, John Mescall on Cello, and Megumi Ito on Piano.
The video was too huge to post here, so I posted it to my new professional Youtube account KVAudio (fancy!), and embedded it here.
Typically, I name pieces early on, or come up with a name then compose a piece that the name inspires. This one was different. Going by the assignment I had been given, I wrote the sections to be as contrasting as possible; the first and final thirds are fast, in phrygian mode, and use asymmetrical or compound meters. The middle section is comprised of a far more steady pulse (4/4 time), but with contrasting 3 vs 2 rhythms in dorian mode. As I was close to finished, I named the piece Fire and Water because of its contrasting feelings (I was gonna call it Oil and Water, but it just didn’t have the same tone).
Its worth noting that I break away from the strict form in a few places, most notably in between sections. The "throwaway" theme inbetween the first and middle third of the piece is actually one of my favorites (around 2:48). Going into the final third of the piece (at 7:16) is a rather chaotic section that I wrote to introduce an element of random chance. Here the pianos left hand plays an eighth note ostinato to keep the beat while the right hand plays several chords in a dotted quarter rhythm in a random order. Similarly, the cello plays quarter notes while the violin plucks eighth notes, both randomly selected from a pre-set group of notes. This goes on for only two measures, but those two measures are repeated In this way as long as the ensemble chooses, all while steadily crescendoing. It builds the tension nicely into the final third of the piece. The ending finishes the ABA form, but keeps going as the piece builds and the meter changes rapidly, evoking the random nature of fire. The very last two measures are meant to be played "as loud as possible".
Whew, 'nuff said! Enjoy!
The video was too huge to post here, so I posted it to my new professional Youtube account KVAudio (fancy!), and embedded it here.
Typically, I name pieces early on, or come up with a name then compose a piece that the name inspires. This one was different. Going by the assignment I had been given, I wrote the sections to be as contrasting as possible; the first and final thirds are fast, in phrygian mode, and use asymmetrical or compound meters. The middle section is comprised of a far more steady pulse (4/4 time), but with contrasting 3 vs 2 rhythms in dorian mode. As I was close to finished, I named the piece Fire and Water because of its contrasting feelings (I was gonna call it Oil and Water, but it just didn’t have the same tone).
Its worth noting that I break away from the strict form in a few places, most notably in between sections. The "throwaway" theme inbetween the first and middle third of the piece is actually one of my favorites (around 2:48). Going into the final third of the piece (at 7:16) is a rather chaotic section that I wrote to introduce an element of random chance. Here the pianos left hand plays an eighth note ostinato to keep the beat while the right hand plays several chords in a dotted quarter rhythm in a random order. Similarly, the cello plays quarter notes while the violin plucks eighth notes, both randomly selected from a pre-set group of notes. This goes on for only two measures, but those two measures are repeated In this way as long as the ensemble chooses, all while steadily crescendoing. It builds the tension nicely into the final third of the piece. The ending finishes the ABA form, but keeps going as the piece builds and the meter changes rapidly, evoking the random nature of fire. The very last two measures are meant to be played "as loud as possible".
Whew, 'nuff said! Enjoy!