Rejuvenation

An hour ago I presented to the class about a dozen bars of my new cliché for 2 violins, cello, and harpsichord and it may surprise people but I found it to be the most helpful and influential presentation I made to date.

I presented the opening of what will become my piece. It starts with violin and cello, and then the second violin enters with the material the first one entered in an imitative fashion, very similar to many slow movements in the trio style. I opened the floor for recommendation and suggestions and the result is a page full of possibilities.

First I'm doing away with the sort of Jazz inspired destination. Everyone agreed that it is what I have to do right now.

Dylan's comments were very helpful at the moment to help prune what I have so far and embellish it. Personally I was just playing simple chords over the figured bass, and had the full intention of later making a more elaborate keyboard part. Dylan brought up this fact which will be done. I plan on having a moving continuo part. This will also feature trills and mordents. I didn't thing of it, but using trills and mordents will make the piece more baroque which is my aim.

Now for the meat and veg:
My current thoughts are an accumulation of both things said in class and thoughts of mine that they spawned. Slow trio movements also have a theme introduced then that theme keeps reappearing in the two melodic voices but in different keys (as did my example for class). Then I thought I should have the cello get the melodic theme at one point, which will be a movement away from the norm. Then I think I'll introduce two new themes in succession and develop upon them in succession, similarly to the late fugues in Bach's Art of Fugue, where he will present a fugue subject, develop it, then introduce a second one and develop upon it all within the same fugue. I think I'll take a similar approach, but my second theme will be of extreme expanded harmonies, then the third will be atonal. I think the result will be a satisfying piece that I won't mind having my name attached to.

I don't like our class’s method of composing atonal music. We are recommended to randomly select pitches to make music that 'sounds' atonal. I'm not a fan of this aleatoric method of composing, to me it seems like I'm cheating a bit. So for the third subject in my trio I will base it on a twelve tone row that I devise myself. This way I am guaranteed atonality and one where my conscious can rest easy to how it was written.

That's the end of the major beef of the piece. I have many other notes that are insignificant to post, such as no vibrato, and b minor, and other little things that are completely not certain at this point. I do feel much better about this project, much more guided, and less frustrated with the process.