Posted by Dave Dexter on September 30, 2023 at 2:13am
A piece long since finished and recorded, but have at it if you don't like it and enjoy if you do. It broadly follows the strictures of fauxbourdon, a triadic form of medieval choral harmony where - very generally - the top and middle lines unison to harmonise a perfect 4th apart, and the bottom line follows at a 6th to complete the chord harmony. This piece is for strings rather than voice, adds a 4th lower voice and regularly deviates from fauxbourdon structure. But you can see the bones of it there. Inspired, as I recall, by hearing Guillaume Dufay's "Ave Maris Stella", and this association with an ancient choral form led to the title "Relics". The video contain most of the score and some of the recording session footage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9XvLZBr-3I
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This is probably the most beautiful of your string chamber music pieces (having listened to all of the ones on your website soon after you joined) so a good choice to post here. The composition gives the impression of being effortless and I'm curious what happens if you try to push the envelope of writing something on a rather larger scale (such as a full sonata development)? But perhaps that's simply not your style and certainly you seem to have achieved mastery in the areas you've chosen to write.
Thanks a lot, David. I recall this was a comparatively simple and quick one, probably due to the parallel movement, but certainly not effortless :) I recently finished a quartet of orchestral tone poems ranging from 12 to 20+ minutes so I did, finally, write large scale. The reason for my pieces being mainly shorter is boringly pragmatic - I wrote them to be recorded and recording costs money...
understandable. I of course wouldn't mind if an orchestral work was recorded but certainly don't expect it and don't have the £30,000 or so it would require to finance a symphony from my own resources.
Very interesting and a very nice sound. To modern ears, this might sound a bit dull, but that is to be expected if you take a dive into medieval harmony.
Thanks, although it must be said that my ears are modern by definition and I don't find it dull. But medieval harmonies are one of my various things *baroque recorders intensify*
Very nice and medieval-sounding. :-) Could almost envision this being used as a soundtrack for some medieval rustic scene with weaving women and laboring farmers. Perhaps with a poet in the foreground lost in thought. I've no idea what a fauxbourdon is (the first image that came to mind is a silly pictorial pun involving a fox with a burden strapped to its back), but whatever this is, it's a nice few minutes of soothing music.
It's funny how I wasn't exactly trying to make it sound medieval, it's just a function of the form I suppose. And HS! I explained what a fauxbourdon is! It's RIGHT THERE MATE
Yes, the harmonies are not medieval even though the overall tone mimics the medieval. However I don't see that as "inaccessible" at all; in fact it's quite a fresh take on the medieval tradition.
Using hybrid idioms of new and old is one thing I like doing, such as my not-so-baroque fugues. ;-)
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Using hybrid idioms of new and old is one thing I like doing, such as my not-so-baroque fugues. ;-)