Author: DHRmusic

I am a studying composer of musical scores. I would like to write music for all types of orchestras and ensembles. "Where words fail, music speaks" - Hans Christian Andersen
Listening Log

Research point – Wöht Tempier Clavier in G minor

DHRmusic

“Fuga XVI”

In this page I have analysed one of Bach’s fugues from “The Well Tempered Piano” to see how he used the mechanisms of imitation, inversion, augmentation and diminution rhythms and phrases to build his composition.

Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G minor performed by Richter. (Fugue starts at 1:58)

The first phrase is completely transparent. It starts just off the first beat of the bar. Bach is just stating the original theme for all to hear the “subject” of the Fugue. The phrase is just 6 bars long. Within bar 2 we hear the phrase comes back in on the right hand as an imitation of the initial phrase. In bar 3 on beats 1 and 2, we hear an inversion of the original theme.

In the pick up of bar 2 Bach uses imitation and slightly develops the rhythm in bar 4 at beats 3 and 4. He also augments the phrase. The phrase is imitated again in bar 5. This time the phrase is an octave lower. The rhythm is imitated at the end of bar 6, only, this time, Bach has augmented the phrase. He also used the same mechanism at the start of bar 7. During Bar 8 Bach sustains a long D note in the bass line. It is my hypothesis that Bach sustained the dominant note in the bass to punctuate a diminished phrase. It also draws more attention to everything else happening in the left hand. In bar 9 the whole phrase is inverted.

In the right hand at beat 4 of bar 10, we hear a diminished rendition of the initial phrase. The original phrase then recapitulates in bar 12 where it is further developed with the addition of further notes and transposed in to the relevant major key of Bb. In bar 15 the subject of the fugue returns but transposed in to F major (the dominant major.) The overall phrase, from bar 12, ends on beat 2 of bar 17. In bar 13, however, we hear a similar rhythm that is augmented on beats 3 and 4 of bar 17.

At Bar 17, we hear 2 versions of the main theme being performed. One is at the start of the bar 17 and the other version ends at the end of the bar. In the bass line the rhythm is slightly developed at the end of beat 3 and in beat 4. This is overlapped with an inversion in the right hand. The phrase then returns back to the original in both bars 20 and 21.

The returning Rhythm inverts at bar 23 from where the rhythm is developed in to the inversions of scales at bar 25. These rolling scales run through until bar 29, where the bass hand announces the presence of the returning theme. Bar 30 is based on an inversion and the theme then re-occurs one last time at bar 31 this then takes us to the end of the piece.

Original Works

Olympus Suite

DHRmusic

Olympus Suite is the first large concert item written by David Healy and is a suite in 5 movements. This composition follows the journey of Hercules ash e becomes the hero that saves the world from Hades evil plot to take over as head of Olympus and therefore take over the world.

Movement I – The Pilgrimage to Olympus

Movement I of the “Olympus Suite” written by David Healy-Richards
Movement I performed by the “Wadhurst Brass Band”

Movement II – Aphrodite’s Serenade

Movement II of the “Olympus Suite” written by David Healy-Richards

Movement III – Hades and the Army of Lost Souls

Movement III of the “Olympus Suite” written by David Healy-Richards
“Hades and the Army of Lost Souls” performed by Wadhurst Brass Band

Movement IV – Alcmene’s Lullaby

Movement IV of the “Olympus Suite” by David Healy-Richards performed by Wadhurst Brass Band

Movement V – The Great Battle of Olympus

Movement V of the “Olympus Suite” by David Healy-Richards
“The Great Battle for Olympus” performed by Wadhurst Brass Band
Part 2 - Project 5, Projects

Project 5 – Vocal Melodies

DHRmusic

Today (105/08/2018) I focused my efforts on to project 5. I had to compose 3 contrasting melodies for vocal solos based around the pentatonic scales.

Vocal Melody 1 in A minor.

My first piece “Vocal Melody 1 in A minor”, is completely based on the A minor pentatonic scale. I instructed “Meno Mosso” or “with movement” as it is important to keep this particular phrase moving. The first part of the phrase up to the minim with the wedge mostly jumps up in intervals this represents a joyous start. The piece dims down in to the second section of the phrase. In a contrast to the first section, the second section is still loud but instead of ascending intervals the intervals mostly descend. The study still has a joyful beat to it but the phrase finishes on the sub-dominant of the A minor scale. This provides the listener an insecure feeling. It leaves ambiguity in the interpretation. The third section of the phrase is a lot more quiet and as the tonic rises from the dominant this provides us a melancholy perfect cadence.

Vocal Melody 2 in E minor.

In my second vocal melody in E minor the phrase is a lot slower moving than my first melody. I instructed this melody to be “expressive.” It is also a lot more quiet than the first movement. It is because of the expressivity and the dynamic that this melody has more of a lament feel to it. The first phrase is transposed up a 3rd which introduces a strange augmented Sub-Dominant A#. This music has a tormented feel to it and the phrase climaxes to it’s top note, a desperate and high tonic E before it descends and before returning back to the leading note before we rallentando and diminuendo until the bitter end.

Vocal Melody 3 in F major

As a complete contrast, my final melody line is in F major. and in itself has a lot to say. The melody starts off allegro (quite quickly) almost like a fanfare with sharp tidy quavers announcing the start of the phrase. The melody mostly ascends to its climactic top noted on the Bb, before a contrasting middle section reduces in rallentando to a pause on the tonic. The rall, is instructed “dolce” or “sweetly” and the notes are marked tenuto as the melody decrescendos to another pause. The third part of the melodic phrase is then picked up again except, this time, marked “quickly, with spirit” and ending on a major perfect cadence with a fortissimo on the tonic.

Vocal Melodies 1, 2 & 3 scoreDownload