Voluntary in F-sharp Minor - Fantasy on the Hexachord

Fantasy on a PDF!

So I decided that I would use the hexachord, kind of, for a voluntary. The hexachord is usually a reference to ut (or do) - re - mi - fa - sol - la, a six-note scalar pattern. I'm following on the centuries-old heels of my Renaissance-era predecessors, writing on a simple repeated pattern - although the pattern is transposed, stepping up with every repetition, and isn't really found in it's "natural" form except once, near the end.

We have here a four-voice work, with the bass (pedals) and the soprano reiterating this hexachord pattern up and down, and the alto and tenor getting slowly more and more agitated heading towards its final conclusion.

And speaking of final conclusions: Four more voluntaries to go, and I'll be done a second set of 24! D major, B minor, G major, and finally, E minor are all that's left to cover. I'm kind of excited!

The stuff at the end of every post is at the end of this one, too:

Voluntary in F-sharp Minor by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Hymn-A-Week 44

I'll just leave this here and be on my way before anyone murders me.

Cheers!

This hymn by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Voluntary in A Major - Dance!

If you want a PDF, here it is!

No April Fool's joke here. Because this post is going to exist tomorrow and the next day and for years after that. And because I'm half-deaf and grouchy and my ear hurts.

So this is a minuet. And why not? It's written almost entirely in hemiola - and, again, why not? - to enhance the fun, dancing character as much as possible. The harmonies are fairly conventional and consonant; I wasn't feeling all that experimental this week, what with the ear infection. Just like it's hard for me to think about what I want to write here.

It's time for some painkillers. Also some end-of-post stuff. I'm going back to bed.

Voluntary in A Major by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Hymn-A-Week 43

The 43rd weekly hymn, another unusual rhythm. Because why not?

I'm doing seven more, then switching projects. I'm getting bored with hymn tunes!

Here's the legal stuff and ... yes, I still want money!

{This} by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Voluntary in C-sharp Minor - I'm not really sure what this is

PDF hither!

I'm... really not entirely convinced of this. Mostly because I don't really know what exactly this is. I mean, it's sort of an ostinato, almost, which slowly slides up. And it's kind of polytonal... polytonalish, I suppose, in a couple spots. I'm not sure what it means, but I like it. I'm just not entirely certain as to what my composition process hath wrought in this particular case.

This is definitely a solid moderato. It shouldn't feel fast (or slow, for that matter), nor, I think, should it be loud (or too quiet). There's not a lot of need to make registration changes; the piece has a written-in crescendo as the texture thickens with each iteration. This feels like it's neither fish nor fowl, which I suppose means that it's ... beef? I'm not great with metaphor.

At any rate, we're nearing the end of my second set of 24 short organ works. I'm starting to think about what I might like to do for a third set. Suggestions gleefully considered. Suggestions with money attached even more gleefully considered... Hint hint.

Speaking of hints! Copyright info and also donation button!

Voluntary in C-sharp Minor by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Hymn-A-Week 42

With a two-day lead on Easter Sunday, here's a tune which will work for "The Day of Resurrection."

This afternoon, a short all-Bach recital left me kind of worn out, and choir practice finished me, so really not much to say. I have a Good Friday service tomorrow and a prelude in C-sharp Minor to write... And a niece to wish a happy first birthday.

Stuff! Things!

This hymn by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Voluntary in E Major - Alto Solo

Here's some PDF for anyone!

Here's a short, gentle piece, kind of in the style of a Romantic trio, although it's more of a quartet. The idea was to write a four-part piece with an alto solo, something which can be kind of tricky on the organ without playing the right hand on two keyboards (although I'm sure we'll get there...)

So instead of a chorale-like setting, there's this option, of having the left hand played off the keys and taking care of the tenor and soprano. Or at least what might generally be considered soprano; the solo voice does cross over it from time to time.

C-sharp Minor coincides with Good Friday, which should be interesting!

Licensing and money request below!

Voluntary in E Major by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!