[classical] daily20081219a-scriabin-etude-op-2-no1 (mp3)

[uncloned]

http://clones.soonlabel.com/mp3/daily20081219a-scriabin-etude-op-2-no1.mp3


Psi,

Here is another one which develops nicely in melody. This is unusual in that the melody and harmony (to many people) sounds Russian and is tightly woven in this piece. It is a very romantic piece in style and feeling (to me).

I gotta say - I've been only expressing my personal, subjective taste, and trying to explain why I like certain music and not others. I most definitely do not wish to insult someone else's taste or imply that I have some "correctness" or "eliteness" that other people do not have.

The fact is everyone listens and writes all kinds of music - and variety is great - and often really good things come from "cross-fertilization".

Chris

PS that is a picture of my paternal grandmother from the 1920's whom I never met - she was from Lithuania and died before I was born.

[uncloned]

Not sure where else to put this....


musings on music and scales and organization with links

If you are unfamiliar with some terms I will try to translate.


Chris,

I'm glad it had some sense for you, thanks for feedback. You are
welcome. Please use my message as you like, here down I just repaired
small mistakes, so use this version.

In my opinion Berg was the most interesting personality in "2nd
Vienna School" despite the fact Schoenberg is the best known and
Webern the most influential on the next avantguarde generation of
serialists. You mentioned Wozzeck - every scene in opera is composed
as a different music form.

Daniel F
- Show quoted text -


On 18 Feb 2009, at 8:33 AM, Chris  wrote:

 Daniel,

 Thank you so much for the reply. I have read it several times over
 the hours since receiving it.
 There is an tremendous amount of good information here. I have
 printed it out to ponder. If I learn nothing else on this list -
 this point of view towards organization makes it worth it. I have
 been tending to work in intervals but not as fluid as your writing
 describes - this is a path forwards for me.

 If I can sum - the object is the conceptualized organization - and
 then execution of that organization in a fashion that translates
 into the communication of the composer's intent. Kinda sounds
 stupid I think but that is what this is saying to me.

 I had not heard Berg's violin concerto before - the tone row is
 *brilliant*

 For those not familiar

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Berg)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xtiBEc4RUc

 I had remembered mostly Wozzeck and I didn't really care for that.
 The Concerto is brilliant though - blindingly brilliant!!

 Would you mind if I re-post your letter on a couple forums I
 frequent for others to discuss as well?

 Chris


 On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 12:02 AM, Daniel F
 wrote:
 In jazz those historical modes are used mostly for melody, harmonic
 concept is usually not modal, it's more based on extended tonality,
 chromatics. Jazz harmony sometimes can't be explained only as based
 on classical thirdal structure, there are also quartal chords and
 combination of thirdal and quartal harmony, or even bi-chordal or
 poly-chordal combinations.

 It's important to understand another thing essential for music
 composition, which is work with intervals. It's applicable to any
 system, be it pentatonic, diatonic, chromatic, microtonal, modal,
 tonal, atonal, dodecaphonic, serial... And it's responsible for
 creating basic atmosphere of composition, much more than scale
 itself. If scale is subset of tuning, then series used as a melodic
 motif is a subset of scale and is based on work with selected
 intervals inside the scale. Scale is ordered, series can be
 considered unordered, as there are jumps, smaller or bigger intervals
 between adjacent notes, even repeated notes - which all scale itself
 hasn't. Scale is abstract theoretical term (but of course used in
 passages in some music styles - Classicism, Romantism...), series
 made from scale notes represent music itself.

 For example inside 7-tone diatonics we can create series which are
 based on small intervals with rare bigger intervallic jumps (typical
 for vocal music), or series with bigger intervals (typical for
 instrumental melodies). Melodies using let's say seconds, thirds and
 fifths will sound differently than motifs using seconds, fourths and
 sevenths. Relations between notes in series can follow relations in
 tonality, but as well we can compose atonal diatonic melody which
 doesn't follow classical rules, and has no central tone, dominant
 etc. In extreme we can have diatonic pointilistic structure with very
 big intervals, yet still diatonic or even tonal (which would be maybe
 difficult to consider as tonal when hearing).
 On the other side we can create 12-tone dodecaphonic series which
 sound quite
 modal or tonal, even diatonic (do you know Alban Berg's Violin
 Concerto?). Everything depends on interval selection.

 Another simple example of extended 12-tone music is to combine
 diatonics on white keys of piano with pentatonics on black keys.

 Together they create 12-tone music, but not so boring like pure
 dodecaphony which sound often too sterile. Here every layer in music
 uses different principle (even more principles are hidden inside,
 thanks to different modes). In the extreme use any music can be
 simulated by a clever selection of tones from both layers. In the frame of this
 system we can easily travel from modality to tonality to atonality,
 from pentatonics to chromatics. Motifs can be created as modal,
 tonal or serial. Besides it's possible to jump to folklorism easily, as with
 traditional scales hidden here lot of traditional associations are
 connected.

 I personally consider this very important point, and in my
 compositions I extensively work with this attitude. Thus is possible
 to create even such unusual combinations like "diatonized
 chromatics", "chromatized diatonics", "atonal tonality", "tonal
 atonality", "serial modality", "modal seriality" etc. This border
 field offers still a lot.

 Daniel F

[mrvegas]

This is one of my favorite piano pieces.  Interesting take on it.  The strings work well with the piano.  The tempo didn't really "breathe" enough towards the end for my taste, but I always like hearing this etude.

[Sam_Zen]

Well, so sometimes even me can enjoy 'classical music'.

[uncloned]

it is one heck of a melody no matter how you slice it!

[Sam_Zen]

you're absolutely right.

[psishock]

Haven't got time to check in this section in a while, but i have a few hours to kill just now. Lemme check to some missed posted pieces.

Psi, Here is another one which develops nicely in melody

Ah, listened to this and to the other four linked pieces in Rakib's post, well every one of them focuses on different type of melody developing, the most mindblowing one must be Britten imo . I have some ideas now how could be some more advanced melody developing implemented to electronic genre example, ill c what can i do.
Oh and very much thanks for the great examples!

[uncloned]

You are most welcome Psi.

I have midi files for all of these if you'd be interested in them.

[Screaming Egg Notion]

hmmm... first time I ever heard this piece... quite pleasing but it never really strikes me in an emotional way...

I'm not really that educated when it comes to classical and orchestral music but I do listen and like...

Here is one of my favorite pieces, to give people an idea of what I like..

Glover Gill and the Tosca Tango Orchestra - Ballade 4 - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeY5VS1JCjU&feature=related

I also like Chopin's Nocturnes and pretty much anything with a romantic, yet haunting feel such as 'moonlight sonata' or 'clair de lune'..

[uncloned]

Interesting piece Egg

Though parts are most definitely 20th century-ish and not romantic period.
(if that matters at all)