Jess' Compositions

Started by ComposerOfAvantGarde, October 14, 2015, 01:37:37 AM

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ComposerOfAvantGarde

Here it is folks. Stuff I've wrote on paper and fed into software/musicians to perform.

This first piece is something I had to whip up in a month for a school assignment so it isn't that great. Kudos to my soprano friend who basically sight read all of it (my voice is a bonus at the end) accompanied by Sibelius 7.5 software computer sounds attempting to recreate the accompanying forces of 2 cellos, harpsichord and guitar (classical).

It's called 'The Sand Timer' and it is set to a poem of the same title by my sis who is amazing!

I was gonna upload scans of the manuscript but the file was too big and the scan wasn't very clear  :-[

Anyhow, here is the audio:

https://soundcloud.com/composerofavantgarde/the-sand-timer

And the names and numbers and letters on the top of the final draft is unimportant stuff that means nothing apart from school stuff. REMEMBER: THIS PIECE IS JUST AN EXERCISE!


Anyhow...


Enjoy! Any and all feedback is welcome! I shall post more compositions in the future :3


Karl Henning

Welcome!  I shall take a look and have a listen later today  :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Oh and btw, I didn't know how to make the note stems sprechstimme on Sibelius software so I opted for funny looking note heads.

Is there any way I can upload a photo to here? I am only allowed 500kbs which is extremely small and impossible to work with. Other forums seem to have a capacity for larger uploads.....just a small inconvenience really.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

OKAY here is the first page of the first version of The Sand Timer!

Karl Henning

Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on October 14, 2015, 01:37:37 AM
Here it is folks. Stuff I've wrote on paper and fed into software/musicians to perform.

This first piece is something I had to whip up in a month for a school assignment so it isn't that great. Kudos to my soprano friend who basically sight read all of it (my voice is a bonus at the end) accompanied by Sibelius 7.5 software computer sounds attempting to recreate the accompanying forces of 2 cellos, harpsichord and guitar (classical).

It's called 'The Sand Timer' and it is set to a poem of the same title by my sis who is amazing!

I was gonna upload scans of the manuscript but the file was too big and the scan wasn't very clear  :-[

Anyhow, here is the audio:

https://soundcloud.com/composerofavantgarde/the-sand-timer

And the names and numbers and letters on the top of the final draft is unimportant stuff that means nothing apart from school stuff. REMEMBER: THIS PIECE IS JUST AN EXERCISE!


Anyhow...


Enjoy! Any and all feedback is welcome! I shall post more compositions in the future :3

As "just an exercise" goes, very nicely done.  And your soprano friend carries it off beautifully.

Bring us more!  :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

I'm currently working on a sonata for solo guitar....the third movement is finished and I'm working on the first now. I'll,leave the short second movement until the end. It's exhausting work and a complex piece written for my teacher who will perform if if he manages!

I have a commission of sorts from a local guitar quartet, seeing that I know half of the members well (my teacher and the teacher of a friend of mine) and sorta know another (but I haven't met the fourth) it seems pretty much logical to write them a piece anyway.

I'm thinking of quartal/quintal harmonies at the moment......

ComposerOfAvantGarde

The Sand Timer will receive its world premiere (with all real musicians) on the 23rd of November.

Karl Henning

Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on October 15, 2015, 07:45:21 AM
The Sand Timer will receive its world premiere (with all real musicians) on the 23rd of November.

Splendid!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

jochanaan

I like the Sprechstimme, and agree with Karl that it's a lovely "exercise." :)
Imagination + discipline = creativity

ComposerOfAvantGarde

As I am beginning my tertiary education at the end of February next year, I had applied for a composition scholarship to boost myself along. I am very excited to say that I have been awarded the scholarship for my composition The Sand Timer. ;D

It will be given a more public performance on the 23rd of February 2016. 8)

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

At the moment I'm stuck on ideas for the guitar quartet piece though.

Karl Henning

In the calm interval between Christmas and New Year's, I can [begin to] attend to your guitar piece.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Oh! I am sorry! I forgot about that!!! I must set out to compose your clarinet piece immediately......after I sleep that is!

Karl Henning

If I haven't already advised you, no extended techniques . . . perhaps it's lazy of me, but I just work with our usual notes and in the usual methods  8)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

No extended techniques is fine by me! Writing idiomatically for solo guitar is a feat enough in itself!

I am underway with coming up with ideas for a little solo clarinet piece btw ;)

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

About to put pencil to paper for the Caprice for Karl! Writing for solo is something extremely daunting for me but I'm certainly up for the challenge. :

And I've started a new piece which my girlfriend and I have jokingly named 'chord absorption'

Here's the story:

It's a piece for two mixed quartets, each placed separately on a stage. In the first section, each quartet's harmonic and melodic material are derived from a different chord each. The 2nd quartet's chord gradually gets 'absorbed' by the first quartet like the first quartet is a sponge soaking up the second quartet's chord.

I'm writing this piece for a composition competition run by my local symphony orchestra. Each year four composers under 30 are selected to have their piece workshopped and performed, and then a couple of them have their piece performed once again at the following new music festival conducted by someone else, eg Olli Mustonen a few years back, Robert Spano next year and so on.


Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Unfortunately I'm not here to post Caprice for Karl (Kaprice for Karl) but I have something which has been trying to burst out of my mind and onto paper since last year.

So here's something (for that competition I mentioned) which I decided to put into the computer—feed the beast, as I like to put it—from a pile densely notated A3 sheets of manuscript paper. It was written with much gusto, lots of patience and attention to detail, because I'm trying to make something of mine actually good for once!

https://soundcloud.com/composerofavantgarde/work-in-progress-january-2016

It's the first three minutes of what is potentially a 10 minute piece....any ideas on what I should do next in the music and how it should end?