Ken's Composition Assignments

Assignment ? - write an overture.

I looked up overture in Wikipedia, and got the history of it, and it seems it sort of turned into "symphonic poem" in modern day usage.. so I'm a little confused, yet intrigued by the idea of a symphonic poem (since I write poetry also). This is just a snippet, the beginning of an idea.....


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Assignment 4 - write a waltz using some quartal harmony, with variations.


Notes: theme with retrograde and inversion variations. This is not good music, but I am taking the approach of just letting myself "play" with sounds without worrying about making a finished product yet. However, I did use some of the quartal and other more unusual (modern) harmonies in Raise the Palm Leaves High - in a separate post.

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Assignment 2 - take a well known melody, harmonize, then create variations on it.


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Notes:
Variations on Dona Nobis Pacem by W.A. Mozart

Assignment 1 - Composition assignment: create and melody for a poem or bible verse and harmonize it.


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Notes:
The melody is played, then the first and second parts, then the 1st-3rd parts, and finally all four.

Poem:
I have a letter hidden in my heart -
Set down upon a sheet of whitest silk,
Laid down in script of a still whiter milk -
Of a love from all the others set apart

It nests alone, rolled up for none to see,
and tied with ribbon
tight as lock and chain,
It now chains me.

- poem by KE Peace circa 1979

Psalm 139

This is actually based on Psalm 139; some of the words are altered and some added by me.
For SATB choir, piano, flute, string quartet and glockenspiel.
The string solos represent the SATB parts.


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Lord, you have searched me
Lord, you have known me
You are inside me
And all around me
You discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path
You watch as I lie down
You know all my ways,
know all my ways.

Lord, you have searched me
Lord, you have known me
You are inside me
And all around me
Your hand rests upon my head.

You walk before me,
You walk behind
You watch from above,
lift from below.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

Where can I go where You are not?
Where can my eyes turn,
In what direction?
North, south, here, there,
East, west, near, far,
Length, breadth, depth, height,
That's where You are:

If I ascend to heaven You are there,
there at my side.
If I suffer pain and sorrow
You are by my side.
And if I ride the wings of morning,
You are there.

Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia, Alleluia!

(north south, east, west,
up down all around,
that's where You are,
that's where You are!)