New String Quintet (and some important questions about it....)

[Guy Shahar]

So, I finally finished my 5^th String Quintet today.  The movements are as follows:

i-Allegro (0:00)

ii-Adagio (02:48)

iii-Andante (06:15)

iv-Allegro, ma non troppo (10:08)

 https://soundcloud.com/guy-shahar/track-12-string-quintet-no5

 I have a few questions about it that would be really helpful to me:

1 – Are the movements appropriately named?

2 – Which is the strongest and the weakest movement?  (I want to enter this for a competition but I’ll need to cut or abridge at least one of the movements to make it short enough to be eligible.  I have an idea which, but would like to hear others’ thoughts too)

3 – How many instances of Baroque influence do you find in the 4^th movement?  Where are they and how obvious would they be if you weren’t looking for them?

4 - How devastating is the MIDI programming?  I know it’s bad, and I’m currently looking for a collaborator who can focus on that side of things, but how much do you feel it undermines the music itself?

 

(BTW - I found this forum a few weeks ago, and really liked it, but it doesn't seem anyone posts anymore.  Is it still active?)

[Dave Dexter]

Given there's never a shortage of new music, I personally would welcome a few more of the latter members - as long as they actually know what they're talking about - who post no music but can give good feedback. It balances better, in my opinion at least, since more people post music than simply act as phantom theorist-critiquers. But I agree such people would need to show their credentials with one or two pieces first. 

[David]

yes I would at least look for one or two pieces so we can see what the feedback is based on. But your point that there are are people who merely want to draw attention to their own music than to engage seriously with that of others is valid -- I'm not talking about this forum particularly but as a general point.

 

[Dave Dexter]

I was in a group once where posting your music was only allowed once a week, and you had to listen and comment on another's post to justify your own. It fostered a good environment, in some some respects.

I don't mind talking about this forum particularly. Has Saul Gefen died? Normally he posts music about once an hour. 

[David]

don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back!

 

[HS Teoh]

You'll be surprised, in recent times even Saul has commented on my music every once in a while.  Perhaps still not beyond the point of lip service in order to draw more audience to his own music, but hey, progress! ;-)  Who knows, maybe we might even get to see feedback from him in this lifetime, if this trend keeps up!

I myself have been very busy with other (non-music) things in the past months; so I guess I bear some of the blame for the general inactivity on this forum lately.  I recently started writing a new fugue, but have not been able to make much progress on it, and the frustration is driving me to set aside music for the time being.  Hopefully not for too long, but I needed some fresh air after grappling with musical issues so intensely.  But currently I don't feel ready to listen to new music -- not just casually listen but focused listening in order to give feedback -- that can be quite taxing on a mind already tired from grappling with the complexities of fugal writing. :-D (OK OK, that's just a lame excuse and you know it and I know it too. But it's my excuse and I'm holding on to it. :-P)

[Stephen Ferre]

I must confess that I am remiss that I don't comment on other people's music enough. To be honest, music of a certain (common) aesthetic doesn't interest me, and sometimes it is better for me not to say anything unless there is a specific question. Actually, this post did ask specific questions which I might have been able to answer if the piece was still available. I'm always afraid to cheerlead, since that might encourage them to keep writing similar music. On the other hand, if I say what I'm really think, then I might really offend people.

Mostly, that is why I stick to more theoretical discussions.

In the above, I might have asked Guy why he wants it to sound Baroque. Is he trying to write music for a film in which they asked for a baroque sound? If not, then why? Yeah, I can write baroque counterpoint - I've even taught it - but would I use it in a composition other than for an artificial effect? No. I urge people to write their own music, not something in someone else's style, unless (say) they are writing a theme and variations and each variation is supposed to be in the style of a different composer. I've sort of done that, but in the end the music was still demonstrably mine.