Parting and Renewal - January Challenge
Viola Sonata No. 1, Op. 15 I. Adagio
Hello Everyone
Quite a rare occurrence that I publish twice in a week, but this piece is something I've been working on for a long time that I finished for the January Challenge. First time submitting something btw.
I have plans for extending this piece significantly once the challenge is over- the Flat challenge only allows 4 minutes.
The different sections in this piece represent different times- the past, the present, the future.
I like to describe my emotions through romantic classical music, and I think the viola fits this piece particularly well. Romantic classical music is incredibly complex which is why it is perfect for describing emotions. Over the last 3 years of my composing journey it has been my goal to work towards creating a new classical renaissance for people on flat and to share my passion for music.
I selected a poem by Walt Whitman to represent this piece:
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
I hope ya'll enjoy the piece, I always appreciate feedback! ( Listen to the whole thing, I think the ending is probably one of the best I've ever written :D )
Thank you everyone,
Henrik Kollmeier
Quite a rare occurrence that I publish twice in a week, but this piece is something I've been working on for a long time that I finished for the January Challenge. First time submitting something btw.
I have plans for extending this piece significantly once the challenge is over- the Flat challenge only allows 4 minutes.
The different sections in this piece represent different times- the past, the present, the future.
I like to describe my emotions through romantic classical music, and I think the viola fits this piece particularly well. Romantic classical music is incredibly complex which is why it is perfect for describing emotions. Over the last 3 years of my composing journey it has been my goal to work towards creating a new classical renaissance for people on flat and to share my passion for music.
I selected a poem by Walt Whitman to represent this piece:
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
I hope ya'll enjoy the piece, I always appreciate feedback! ( Listen to the whole thing, I think the ending is probably one of the best I've ever written :D )
Thank you everyone,
Henrik Kollmeier
Published
Viola
Piano58 likes
256 plays / 1093 views
Aaron Liyoooooooo you got 2nd.
Groovy Sauce@classical_works_only they called him "Henrick" lmao
Aaron Li@groovysauce lmaoooooo still unfair
Henrik K@groovysauce bro like MY NAME IS RIGHT THERE 😭😭😭
Groovy Saucealso the F# version was fire, wonder why that version wasn't published instead of C major. But it's still beautiful anyways
Henrik K@groovysauce I originally had it in C major then transposed it to A then back to C
Groovy SauceCongrats on second place! but flat comps are rigged. yep. I was right. they're rigged.
Henrik K@groovysauce not trying to throw any shade at JM, but, I lost to a 4 chord loop 😭 how. Flat needs to do a better job at hiding their bias, I don’t even see his connection to the prompt
Henrik K@groovysauce I mean I guess he needed the premium
Anhtnd MC@groovysauce groovy please elaborate
Groovy Sauce@anhtnd Have you seen Perry's piece?
Groovy Sauce@anhtnd also I don't mean to judge Aaron Li but somehow he placed higher than Rylan Brown
Groovy Sauce@anhtnd N.M and Rhubarb also weren't on the list
Aaron Li@chopin_apprentice yea groovy is right I shouldn't have placed higher than RYlan Brown
Nolan LiIf you replaced the viola with violin you would definetely win (cello is accceptable too)
Henrik K@followplz okay, so if I win with the viola then you can’t trash talk the viola anymore
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice that aged well
Anhtnd MCComing here again. I listen to this piece at least once every week otherwise I experience symptoms of withdrawal
🎵👑 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔖𝔠𝔞𝔯 👑🎵This is such a great, emotional piece! If this doesn’t win, my life is a lie
Henrik K@imsurroundedbyidiots Thank you so much! I honestly don't know what to expect, there are so many good entries
Groovy SauceWalt Whitman is a legend, I love his poem "O Captain, My Captain" (idk why i'm saying this but yea)
Henrik K@groovysauce nice
Groovy Saucequick question: did you make this in musescore? cause I downloaded the musehub playbacks and idk how to use them
Henrik K@groovysauce I didnt compose this in musescore, I only imported the mxl file for the audio. You can access the musehub sounds under mixer
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice ok, thanks :)
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice sry for asking but how to you import flat audio in musescore?
Henrik K@groovysauce you download the mxl file and then use the import file option on musescore
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice it's saying import pdf
Henrik K@groovysauce dont download the pdf download the mxl file
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice i did but when i went to the file tab on musescore song it says "import pdf"
Anhtnd MC@groovysauce just click the "open" option under "files", it accepts all sort of file types
Groovy Sauce@anhtnd oh thanks :D
Groovy Sauce@anhtnd it worked
Daniel Sedyankovthis is amazing, i might try playing the viola part.
Henrik K@tag_youre_it thanks Daniel! Good luck
PhilddleThis is amazing 🤩. Can I play this for a solo but use a choir (SSAA) instead? It’s sounds so pretty great job.
Philddle@chopin_apprentice so I’ll take the Viola and add choir on it. I’ll Add harmony’s and take out certain parts. If you listen to “essence of winter dreams” you can see what I do. I’ll take what you have and add my spin on it. Ofc Crediting you. The reason why I do this is first because it’s fun and second to show other ways people interpret your music if you don’t want me to you can just say so and I’ll understand. Happy Composing 😁
Philddle@chopin_apprentice i’ll tag you when I’m done and you could just tell me how you feel about it. It’ll take me about a week.
Philddle@chopin_apprentice I finished. I cut a lot and changed a bit but like how you feel about it.
🍁🔱☆☾BloodBorne☽☆🔱🍁This is so good!
Henrik K@thepianogirl thank you!
Nolan Liwhy not just violin?
Henrik K@followplz What kinda question is that!? Viola is so much better. And specifically for the lower notes
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice no, violin is better irl
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice if you played violin or cello you would know
Henrik K@followplz I played viola and I'm in the orchestra. Trust me I know
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice can u hear urself playing though?
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice actually? Can you hear your stand partner play?
Henrik K@followplz yes...?
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice oh, well I can't hear the violas AT ALL IF they don't have a solo in my orchestra
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice yes, finally someone who appreciates viola.
Henrik K@groovysauce of course. Viola for life
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice i don't get why people hate viola, but one thing I don't like about it is that it uses the alto clef normally
Henrik K@groovysauce Boohoo. It's only a 1-note shift, easy to learn.
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice yep i already learned the alto clef through viola
Classical IntuitionI really like the use of the middle voice for the piano. It sounds really pianistic.
Henrik K@classical_alex thanks!
Perry Gills’ AltReminds me of a mix of classical and romantic!
Henrik K@8704075811360599 Bingo!
_parrotyou forgot the times table
4259291193140986fantastic!
Henrik K@4259291193140986 thanks 😊
iiiyeI just finished listening - this is truly incredible! Much better than my submission in many ways lol, there are too many good aspects to name in a comment. Great job!
CIRO Cstunningly beautiful
Henrik K@ciro_bandtwins thank you 😊
Bezakosthis is so late-romantic-era coded. it gives your personal sound (chopin-y) and some rachmaninoff. thomas mentioned this having hints of ravel, and tbh, i can see that. im not familiar with bolero itself but i know how ravel sounds. this is amazing!
as a piano dude, love the piano accompaniment here. you did a great job balancing the spotlight for both instruments, and you did an even better job at making sure that the piano isn't just playing chords and simple variations in the background. this is just great, good job henrik :)
as a piano dude, love the piano accompaniment here. you did a great job balancing the spotlight for both instruments, and you did an even better job at making sure that the piano isn't just playing chords and simple variations in the background. this is just great, good job henrik :)
Nolan Li@chopin_apprentice actually you're probably winning
Anhtnd MCSorry im a bit late, took me a while to get to listening lol. Ive listened to it in dms only a few times and can still vividly recall the theme and harmony. Its just that addicting. I initially thought the phrasing of the second theme was a bit weird but it works wonderfully here. Always impressed with your ability to compose so fast, the quality per time is way off the charts lol
Anhtnd MC@chopin_apprentice you dont have to, I barely helped lol
- ɴᴇᴘᴛᴜɴᴇ -this is really good :]
Henrik K@hamilbean thank you!
Henrik KNote: I added Musescore audio, and it did not sync very well and I'm not going to try to sync it because I'm too lazy. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Anhtnd MC@chopin_apprentice I actually prefered the flat audio for this one especially the ending. The musescore sound overdid the ending note on viola, just too much vibrato added distastefully. idk how to tune that in musescore tho
lagnsBeautiful. The melodies are stunning, the harmony is exquisite, and the ending is amazing (bVI bVII I is epic). The key change is also extremely pretty, the viola and piano writing in this is excellent.
Noah Burdullis@chopin_apprentice I think he means the ending; the Ab-Bb-C chord progression, which is just going up major seconds with major chords. I agree it's a great way to end a piece and you used it especially well here.
Henrik K@noah_burdullis oh okay, thanks for the explanation. Thank you 😊
Thomas BozarthThis is absolutely wonderful! I hope this does well in the challenge. I hear hints of Bolero rhythmically.
Henrik K@thomasbozarth thank you Thomas! What’s bolero?
lagns@chopin_apprentice Bolero is an orchestral piece by Ravel. It's a really unique piece, you should check it out
Anhtnd MC@thomasbozarth I dont hear bolero here man
Groovy Saucedude, the accidentals are amazing!! I love how the viola works in harmony with the piano.
Here are two things that I wanna say:
1. I've been learning your piece "Romance Without Words" cuz it' truly amazing.
2. Sometimes, the flat competitions are rigged (for example October and November Challenge 2024)
Here are two things that I wanna say:
1. I've been learning your piece "Romance Without Words" cuz it' truly amazing.
2. Sometimes, the flat competitions are rigged (for example October and November Challenge 2024)
Henrik K@groovysauce Aw Thanks so much! That's awesome that you're learning it, send me a recording when you are finished! I actually want to master it myself, but I can't play it perfectly and I'm still working on Loving Memories atm. As for the flat competitions, I just thought I had a good piece for the prompt so I thought I ought to give it a try
Groovy Sauce@chopin_apprentice this is one of the easiest prompts not gonna lie, but with this you have a good chance!!!
also looking forward to LM :D
also looking forward to LM :D
Henrik K@groovysauce thank you!
Nolan Li@groovysauce novemember challenge was only rigged for 1 person
Groovy Sauce@followplz BlueArthropod had an excellent submission
and for the october challenge TJ Bruce didn't make it with his submission "The Curse of Palushire"
and for the october challenge TJ Bruce didn't make it with his submission "The Curse of Palushire"
Groovy Sauce@followplz Aaron also had an excellent submisson
Nolan Li@groovysauce ye the one person was BlueArthropod.
Nolan Li@groovysauce aaron probably missed some points accidently
Nolan Li@groovysauce Who do you think would win so far for the January Challenge?
Groovy Sauce@followplz there are amazing submissions, such as Rylan, NM, this, and Christian
Nolan Li@groovysauce Rylan's and this is my favorites so far
Groovy Sauce@followplz fr, they're amazing
Nolan Li@groovysauce I'm def not gettin top 10 but maybe I can get the honorable mentions
Nolan Li@groovysauce btw do you know how to add echo?
Aaron Li@groovysauce no I didn't
Very_Cool_BirdThis is amazing man! Great job! Could we try to work more on the Duet part for the piano battle soon?
Henrik K@the_coolest_bird Thank you! Yes I will work on it soon
Christianholy moly this is gorgeous
Henrik K@someone244 thanks Christian!
FireFairy316Beautiful! I really love the melodies, and I think you are going to do wonders in the competition! I have an All-State Performance today, and I bid you a good day! :)
Henrik K@firefairy316 Thank you FireFairy! I will also let you know when Im available to work on the collab
FireFairy316@chopin_apprentice - Your welcome, and no problem! I will be ready for you! By the way, I got done with my All-State Performance, and it was amazing! How's your night?
Groovy Sauce@firefairy316 oooh nice how was it?
FireFairy316@groovysauce - Really good! We played the first and fourth movements of the Serenade for Strings by Dvorak, Air and Simple Gifts by and arranged for String Orchestra by John Williams, an arranged version of Mambo from West Side Story, and others!
Groovy Sauce@firefairy316 omgg that sounds so fun, wish I was there!
FireFairy316@groovysauce - It was pretty fun, and I wish we were playing more than six songs (counting on the movements from the serenade). The Symphony Orchestra was insane, though! They were playing the fourth movement to Shostakovich's 5th symphony, and Procession of the Nobles by Korsakov, and two others!
Groovy Sauce@firefairy316 wow, i love Shostakovich's pieces a lot. by any chance is there a recording?
FireFairy316@groovysauce - Um, I tried searching for one today, but I couldn't find one unfortunately.
Henrik K@firefairy316 So glad your performance went well!
FireFairy316@chopin_apprentice - Thank you! I'm glad too honestly!