Complete, but unorchestrated, draft of my Missa pro Defunctis [Mass for the Dead]

[Philip Daniel]

Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElVr9DCcoW0 or alternatively https://soundcloud.com/philip_daniel/missa-pro-defunctis-complete-but-unorchestrated

Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BynfBbgK-wD7THVyVlBuRnVxdkE/view

[Daniel Zarb-Cousin]

I hear lots of things that remind me of Bach Oratorios, like the beginning of St Mathew.  I'll have to take some more time to listen to the full thing.  But one thing I've noticed is the lack of any remarkable thematic material.  

[Philip Daniel]

Well, I'll be overdramatic and say that, having just graduated law school (fortunately with a scholarship that covered most of my tuition) after having been "forced" to do so, and not wanting to practice law (I'm probably going to fail the bar exam at this rate, and I simply hate the profession), would it be worth my time and effort to seek admission to a conservatory musical composition program?

Dave Dexter said:

If you're after critique or feedback I think you should do better than just leaving the links without a word of context, as if it's a given we'll take the time (it's not). What are you after? Are you trying to improve any sections? Are they finished and you're simply promoting . . . what?

[Philip Daniel]

I sacrificed remarkable thematic material for thick suspension-laden harmony and counterpoint. Guilty as charged.

Daniel Zarb-Cousin said:

I hear lots of things that remind me of Bach Oratorios, like the beginning of St Mathew.  I'll have to take some more time to listen to the full thing.  But one thing I've noticed is the lack of any remarkable thematic material.  

[Daniel Zarb-Cousin]

I'd like to think that those things need not be mutually exclusive.  See: Bruckner, among others

Philip Daniel said:

I sacrificed remarkable thematic material for thick suspension-laden harmony and counterpoint. Guilty as charged.

Daniel Zarb-Cousin said:

I hear lots of things that remind me of Bach Oratorios, like the beginning of St Mathew.  I'll have to take some more time to listen to the full thing.  But one thing I've noticed is the lack of any remarkable thematic material.  

[Philip Daniel]

I don't think there's an absence of attractive melodic material. 

Daniel Zarb-Cousin said:

I'd like to think that those things need not be mutually exclusive.  See: Bruckner, among others

Philip Daniel said:

I sacrificed remarkable thematic material for thick suspension-laden harmony and counterpoint. Guilty as charged.

Daniel Zarb-Cousin said:

I hear lots of things that remind me of Bach Oratorios, like the beginning of St Mathew.  I'll have to take some more time to listen to the full thing.  But one thing I've noticed is the lack of any remarkable thematic material.  

[Socrates Arvanitakis]

I had a quick look at the score and… I couldn't understand the text :-) Is it some sort of Invisible Latin (given that the title is in visible Latin)? So how am I to relate to it as a vocal piece? To check metre, accent, rhythm, rhyme, metaphor, meaning, sentiment, alliteration, allusion, parable and a lot of other textual elements that may be present or absent, and then consider and comment on the way that they materialize in sound? (or Just to check if the text bores me so much that in no way I would listen to the music, however good it was. Well, I didn’t yet, but I would like to ask why it’s not divided into the ordinary movements of the mass for the dead, like Introitus, Kyrie, Agnus Dei, Diesirae, and so forth (?)

 

Btw, I'm an atheist by belief, so it’s more than likely that I'd prefer ordinary erotic poetry to religious texts. Bach's vocal works may sound better if you change the lyrics a little, I believe.

[Philip Daniel]

You're right; I should repost it once I've entered in the text.

Socrates Arvanitakis said:

I had a quick look at the score and… I couldn't understand the text :-) Is it some sort of Invisible Latin (given that the title is in visible Latin)? So how am I to relate to it as a vocal piece? To check metre, accent, rhythm, rhyme, metaphor, meaning, sentiment, alliteration, allusion, parable and a lot of other textual elements that may be present or absent, and then consider and comment on the way that they materialize in sound? (or Just to check if the text bores me so much that in no way I would listen to the music, however good it was. Well, I didn’t yet, but I would like to ask why it’s not divided into the ordinary movements of the mass for the dead, like Introitus, Kyrie, Agnus Dei, Diesirae, and so forth (?)

 

Btw, I'm an atheist by belief, so it’s more than likely that I'd prefer ordinary erotic poetry to religious texts. Bach's vocal works may sound better if you change the lyrics a little, I believe.