This category contains articles that analyse musical works, discussing what they can teach us as composers, orchestrators and arrangers.
Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, nicknamed “Little Russian”, opens with a melody presented on its own on solo french horn. Tchaikovsky then uses this melody as his only material for the opening three to four minutes, presenting it in three full re orchestrated forms, and then several fragmented forms. The first full version sees bassoons take up […]
Many of Chopin’s Nocturnes follow a ternary structure, or ABA form, where melodies of the A-section repeat and flank a different middle section. Interestingly, however, Chopin’s Nocturnes often implement subtle embellishments to each repetition of these A-themes. His first Nocturne Opus 9, Number 1 is a good example of these melodic variations. Taking a closer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqfTcI3Ztk&t=9s&ab_channel=AnyOldMusic Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897) is a musical composition based on a poem, of the same name, by 18th-century German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe was a product of the later Enlightenment. However, he had a profound impact on the European 19th-century and Romantic culture. For instance, Dukas is only one of many composers
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Paul Dukas (Music Composition Techniques Analysis) Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYUPk1vKxQk&ab_channel=AnyOldMusic Witold Lutosławski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables is a song cycle for soprano voice and chamber orchestra, completed in 1991. Textually, the songs use the poetry of twentieth-century French surrealist Robert Desnos (1900 – 1944). A series of children’s poems, compiled and published posthumously in 1955, under the title Chantefables et Chantefleurs (Lutosławski reverses the title
Chopin’s 20th Nocturne in C#-minor, published posthumously, is a brooding piano solo that boasts, unsurprisingly, facets quintessential to Chopin’s Nocturnes. These qualities, in Chopin’s nocturnes, have long fascinated me as a composer. Simple in design and modest in development, they demonstrate that complexity and quality are not synonymous. Instead, it is about doing enough and
Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp Minor, F. Chopin – Composition Analysis Read More »
Analysing Bach’s Badinerie, I discuss texture, harmony, tonality and melody. It is a treasure trove of composition technique presented by the prolific master and 18th-century musical craftsman Johann Sebastian Bach.
Badinerie (Orchestral Suite No. 2 – B-Minor) – J. S. Bach – Composition Technique Read More »
Delineating a string quartet and string orchestra in the instrumentation and engraving of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro for Strings impacts its composition, orchestration and arrangement. The reason is that it imposes a compelling dichotomy between a string quartet (solo strings) and a string orchestra (sectional strings). Doing this allows and, undoubtedly, encourages Elgar’s exploration of the solo
Introduction and Allegro for Strings (Edward Elgar) – String Orchestration Read More »
In this article I look at Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ 5 Variants on Dives and Lazarus. A study in blending string timbres, I discuss Vaughan-Williams’ use of divisi and blending of solo, section and specific-string timbres.
Dives and Lazarus (RVW) – String Orchestration Read More »
In this article, I analyse and discuss Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina. Unearthing facets of tintinnabuli, I also discuss its origins and how these influenced the composition of Für Alina.
Für Alina – Composition Techniques Read More »
In this article/video, I take a look at the composition technique used in Christopher Tin’s composition for Civilisation 6, Sogno di Volare. Unearthing more than I expected to, there is a range of techniques to take from this piece. For example, the interconnection of musical structures and the use of established form.
Sogno di Volare – Music Composition Techniques Read More »