Things Aren't Always What They Seem #3

[Fredrick zinos]

#3 from a suite of little pieces, collectively "Things Aren't Always What They Seem"

[Robert Hunter]

Thanks Fredrick. The reason I asked is that I really liked the key/scale you used, and was wondering if it was a Satie (Gnossienne) scale...

[Fredrick zinos]

Raymond

 

Rameau  was the father of much, including, possibly, the way we think about harmony and tonal music in general. A very cool dude. Certainly he is justly credited for his invention of a pick up truck that bears his name, the Dodge Rameau. (Dodge Ram being a popular mode of transport in the US of A.)

Lookie here now:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zegtH-acXE

 

Les Sauvages (the savages ( of north america)) from Les Indes Galantes

[Fredrick zinos]

Robert.

I'm not sure what key this thing is in. An argument could be made for E major because this is how this particular catastrophy ends. OK lets call it E major with an augmented 4th. Nothing new here. It could have been written 200 -300 years ago.

If you or anyone else has any opinions as to key center I'd be interested in hearing them.  I am merely a scribbler of notes, not a musician. 

[Boneman]

Did you get the pdf Fred?

[Fredrick zinos]

HI Kevin, yes I did, it looks very clean and cleaned up. Thank you very much.

[Mikolaj Holowko]

Im usualy not interested in that kind of melodic progressions, however it did got my attention. Good job!

[Fredrick zinos]

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the fact that you spent some time listening and that you found something enjoyable or at least provocative in the melody and / or harmonic progression.

[Matthew Pelandini]

wonderful piece of music.  I loved it!  melodically interesting, and harmonically fun.

[Fredrick zinos]

Mathew, thank your kind words. Im glad you enjoyed it

[Tombo Rombo]

I found it to be exactly what it seems: a piece that is very cutesy quirky, featuring harmonic ambiguities, expected unexpected chord changes, a piece that aims for brevity and clarity and wittiness.  In honesty, I listened two or three times and never made it all the way through because there was nothing compelling there; I wasn't exactly gripping my chair is what I mean to say, not that there is nothing of value, concision and clarity are good qualities for sure.  Perhaps it lacks  the requisite amount of narrative tension, or maybe I'm a lazy listener, take your pick : )

[Ondib Olmnilnlolm]

I have to say I genuinely enjoyed this.   I have a few biases here that make it difficult for me to be critical of this piece.  These include my predilection for Prokofiev solo piano works, my love of odd or quirky waltzes, and my attraction to what Tombo Rombo calls "harmonic ambiguities."  

(I am especially fond of some of the deliberately abortive waltz passages that appear in sections of Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, the waltz from the opera, "War and Peace," and waltzes from "The Stone Flower," and "Cinderella," by Serge Prokofiev.)

The main melody in Fredrick's piece was particularly lovely, I thought, and reminded me a bit of sections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.  Many of the modulations and changes in tempo sustained the interest for me.  Some of what I heard around 2:00, seemed pleasantly reminiscent of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 8.  And yet, I am not saying the piece is at all derivative, or a blatant imitation. Far from it.  There is a balance between humor and some intelligently placed passages that lend weight to the piece, and prevent it from becoming merely "cute." The humor in the piece is not as sardonic as that of other mid-twentieth century composers, especially the Russians, who have written waltzes in this vein, and I might have liked it even more if there had been more extremes.   But that is a matter of style, and I respect what has been done here.

 I've listened to it twice, all the way through, and could listen to it many more times. 

(Make that THREE times.  I just listened to it again.)

Thank you for posting this, Fredrick.

[Fredrick zinos]

Ondib,

 

thank you so much for your comments and input. I am on vacation in the Sierra Mountains at the moment and have very limited access to the internet, but your message which I received this morning was certainly welcome.

 

Fred