The latest challenge from r/24HourCompositions.

This time the rules were:
• Instrumentation: Must NOT use the piano
• Form: Fugue
• Harmony: Must NOT be in a major key

I will edit with a more in-depth description at a later time.

Fugato No 2 for String Quartet

Stay tuned to http://brianalandelaney.com for a more detailed description. 

Score.

Sonatina  for  Solo  Oboe

This short nocturne starts with a fugato section based on a four octave scale based on the fully diminished seventh chord. As the piece progresses, it becomes more agitated, using a version of the scale condensed into a single octave.

Nocturne for String Quartet

Score

Nocturne For String Quartet

Monster – Invitation

S3RIAL – Assault (Excerpt)

S3RIAL – Aftermath (Excerpt)

Monster - End (Excerpt)

Monster - Richard And Mary (Excerpt)

Monster - Title (Excerpt)

S3RIAL – End Credits

This track was composed live on YouTube. I was given a random setup of form, instrumentation, meter, and scale. This week it was an Intermezzo for Piccolo, Tenor Saxophone, Tuba, and Piano in 6/8 using the "Scale of Harmonics" (ex: C–Eb–E–F–G–A). 

I am hoping to make the live composition a weekly occurrence. You can see this piece being written here: https://youtu.be/lXvJ6bSU7Ow

Live Composition.

Intermezzo | composed live 04.29.19

This is the second of my series of pieces that are composed live on Youtube. This time the random music generator stopped on a Ballade for English Horn, Xylophone, and Marimba in 4/2 in the In scale (ex: D–Eb–G–A–Bb). 

If you want to see the video of it being composed, please click the link: https://youtu.be/WmDKktyUfc8

Live Composition

Ballade | composed live 05.06.19

This week's live composition was a Fugue for English Horn and Tenor Trombone, in 5/8 using the Altered scale (C–Db–Eb–Fb–Gb–Ab–Bb). 
For those of you familiar with fugues, you will notice that this particular scale does not contain a traditional dominant. This posed a unique challenge, but I tried to stay with traditional counterpoint rules as best I could. 

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/uuzxr9jTkv8

Fugue | composed live 05.13.19

This week's live composition was quite a challenge. The criteria was a Courante for Alto Flute and Xylophone in 5/8 and 4/4 using the Half-Diminished scale. 

The Courante is traditionally a triple meter dance so getting both 5/8 and 4/4 was not the best combination. I think my computer hates me sometimes. I used a very traditional Courante rhythm and adapted it for the shifting meter for the A section, and let it become a little more free for the B section. I rounded it off with a return to A with an additional short coda at the end.

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/tVHb6khiJn4

Live composition.

Courante | composed live 05.20.19

This week's live composition was a Waltz for Flute, Viola, and Contrabass Tuba in 3/8 and 9/8 using the Promethean scale (ex: C–D–E–F#–A–Bb). Being a huge fan of Scriabin, I was excited to see this scale pop up. I decided on keeping the harmony quite simple, but using quartal chords. I used the measures of 3/8 as sort of punctuation at first, and then interruptions of the melody later on.

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/TXwLOSOelbg

Waltz | composed live 05.27.19

A few days ago 12tone put out a video (https://youtu.be/xC6xLhSy7uw) about a scale with two faces, they named the Sideways scale. It was a octatonic scale that was composed half of traditional scalar features, very much like Phrygian, and half chromatic movement (ex: E–F–G–A#–B–C–C#–D).

 At the end of the video, 12tone challenged us to write a piece using the scale, here is my take. I really tried to play up the "two faces" aspect making a AB form. The A section is slow and very wide, using an expansion of the scale. The B section is fugue like, making use of the chromatic aspects of the scale.

You can check out the score in video form here: https://youtu.be/ANAqkVbY3J4

Score video.

SidewaysʎɐʍǝpᴉS

This week's live composition was a Minuet for Solo Cornet, in 9/2 and 4/4 using the Locrian scale. Trying to convey the harmonic aspects of Locrian on a monophonic instrument was not an easy task. I tried to point towards the tonic at places of rest as best I could, and outline specific harmonies to bring out the Locrian flavor. Since a Cornet is slightly more mellow than a Trumpet, and I had 9/2 as one of the meters, I went for a more stately feel and used the 4/4 measures as a sort of tuplet feel.

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/BOPZLv8Hx0Y

Minuet | composed live 06.03.19

This week's random composition challenge was a Passepied for Alto Saxophone, Contrabass Trombone, Violin, and Contrabass, in 13/8 and 11/2 using the Dorian scale. I think it went ok, the 13/8 lended itself nicely to a dance that is traditionally in 3, and I was able to get a very contrasting section thanks to the 11/2. The instrumentation was very reminiscent of the Intermezzo I started these challenges with, both of them had a focus on Saxophone and Violin.

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/_FyVUOKp7oA

Passepied | composed live 06.10.19

Impromptu | composed live 06.17.19

After being sick last week, I am back with another randomly determined composition. This week was a relatively easy one, a Prelude for Flute and Piano in 7/2 using the Half-Diminished scale (eg. C–D–Eb–F–Gb–Ab–Bb). I kept it in a relatively simple AB form, but divided the piece into several strata each using different intervals as a basis. For example, the lower part in the piano was mostly fourths, the rhythmic pulse in the middle was thirds, and the highest part was in fifths, all while the Flute stayed in seconds. This is a process I have been experimenting with a lot recently. 

Video of the composition is here: https://youtu.be/R4IRTwYwJVc

Prelude | composed live 07.01.19

This week, my randomized composition is a Bagatelle for Piccolo, Tenor Trombone, Xylophone, and Harp in 3/8 using the Half-Diminished scale. I tried to go for the "light, unpretentious" quality usually associated with the Bagatelle, and went for a somewhat improvised feeling. According to Wallace Berry's Form In Music, Bagatelles are often found in compound ternary form, so I went that route, using basically a ABCDCAB form, with a few repeats. 

There was a huge problem with my stream this week, the ISP was doing work on the lines in my neighborhood which caused an outage. If you would like to see at least the beginning of it, you can check it out here: https://youtu.be/wGwPbAhYoGA

Bagatelle | composed live 07.08.19

Every year, on my birthday, I take a day and write a "musical self portrait". The piece is a either a snapshot of how I am feeling at the time or an exploration of musical ideas/techniques. 

This year was an extension of some of the ideas I have been exploring for the past few years. It starts with a polymeter of several bars of 2⅔/4 over a couple of 3/4 and a 2/4, before diversions in several irrational meters such as 4/12 and 1/6, finishing with a return to 2⅔/4, this time no longer a polymeter. 

Harmonically, it is more investigations into harmonic expansions. 

Click the link above for the score if you are interested.

Self Portrait 2020

Fugato for Solo Piano

Composer interested in the combination of Electronic/ElectroAcoustic/Acoustic instruments.

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