Exemplar 3: The Masterpiece

To enter the guild, everybody must start with an Apprentice Piece, and to reach this level a Journeyman Piece must be accepted. After being a Journeyman for a year, the guild member is then eligible to submit a Masterpiece as soon as the second year's worth of Journeyman dues are paid. If the member wishes to proceed to Master early, that is not a problem: Just submit the second year's worth of dues early: Everybody pays the same dues to advance within the guild.

The application fee for Master is $10.00, and the applicant is expected to get it right on the first try. If accepted, that ten dollars covers the first year of master's dues. All accepted masterpieces are entered into the Best of Ten Masterpieces contest, which pays an award of $50.00 (Half of the total application fees, as with every other level within the guild).

While the apprentice piece and journeyman piece exemplars were of modest dimensions - between thirty and forty measures of music - the masterpiece will have to be a four-voice fugue of significant dimensions - say, between 50 and 100 measures. It may be for solo guitar - that, I would like to see - solo keyboard, vocal choir, string quartet, as this example is, or wind quartet. The reason for limiting the potential ensembles is to facilitate recordings of the Best of Ten winners for guild compilations, which will be one of the primary guild benefits.

I composed this fugue for a graduate level Invertible Counterpoint and Fugue class when I was a doctoral candidate at UNT, so this should be a reasonable model for an advanced polyphonist to emulate. It is an approximation of Bach's late Musical Offering and Art of Fugue style, but earlier styles - even modal - are acceptable (This is why there is no requirement for harmonic analysis). Please note, however, that the submission should be a clean urtext score free of dynamics, fingering indicators, &c. Only the analysis points should be included.

Here is the sound file:

Fugue in F Minor

And here is the score with the required commentary:



The basis of this fugue is a five-measure subject that works as a four-voice canon at the octave and with one measure entrance delays. At measure six the answer begins, and it is tonal. Accompaniment parts are free: There is no countersubject or counter-answer per se, but the motives used reflect my preoccupation with fractal compositional strategies at the time.



Only the original statement of the subject is not in stretto, as one measure dovetails begin at measure ten. The figure labeled as Thematic Trill is an important motif that reaches two different fulfillments during the course of the fugue. At measure 14 the answer begins with its one measure dovetail with the subject.



The first episode begins at 19, it does not modulate, and it is based on a sequence of the thematic trill.



At 23 the first middle entries begin, and they demonstrate a stretto at three measures of delay, or two measures of overlap.



The second episode that begins at 31 modulates the piece to the dominant level.



The middle entries on the dominant (Should be labelled second, not third) display a stretto at two measures of delay, or three measures of overlap, so the main organizational strategy for the fugue is ever closer stretti.



The third episode which begins at 43 is based on a diminished form of the subject with a modified tail over a descending chromatic tetrachord. This modulates the fugue to the relative major. The middle entries there then present a stretto at a single measure of delay, or four measures of overlap.



During this closest two-voice stretto, the pitch climax occurs at the end of measure 48. Then, at 51, the fourth episode begins, which takes the piece to the subdominant region. It is based on a sequence of the thematic trill, as the first episode was.



The fourth middle entries comprise a false recapitulation which has the inverted form of the subject as the answer. Even here I was able to present a single measure dovetail.



The return to the tonic level begins in measure 64, and the episode is built on a rising chromatic line.



The thematic trill reaches the first of its fulfillments above the drawn out half cadence which prepares the true recapitulation.



At 71 the recapitulation begins, which is a four-part canonic stretto at the octave and one measure of delay: This is a true recapitulation because it is every stretto demonstrated previously combined into one. The thematic trill figure reaches its second fulfillment here as a sixth measure to the canon.



Since there is more to come, the four-part canon ends with an unconvincing cadence at 80-81, and then the pickup into the coda. The coda is a three-part hyper-stretto that has the subject, its inversion, and its augmentation beginning simultaneously.



The piece concludes with a perfect authentic cadence and a picardy third.

I don't expect any masterpiece submissions to be, "this good." In fact, I seriously doubt that there is anybody currently living who can best this fugue. Sadly, even ivy league music departments have been so overrun with post-modernist, no-talent, know-nothings, that I don't even think anybody at Harvard or Yale could touch this today. Don't get me started on the conservatories: They just teach kids how to acceptably execute dead-guy music, so conservatories are dead themselves, and have been for decades.

If you think I'm wrong about that, you'll have to belly up to the bar and prove it.

The level of Master is not the end though. It is, however, the end of the beginning of becoming a competent composer with objectively demonstrable technical skills, and it is the beginning of the end of having to justify yourself to other composers or guild members.

In coming posts, I'll provide exemplars for Esteemed Master and Honorable Grandmaster.

Exemplar 2: Journeyman Piece

The only way to enter the guild is with an Apprentice Piece, so you'll have to begin there. This exemplar is for the next level of Journeyman.

In order to be eligible for the level of Journeyman, a guild member will have to be accepted as an Apprentice first, and then be an Apprentice for a year. Once the second year's worth of dues are paid, the Apprentice is then eligible to apply for the level of Journeyman. If an Apprentice wishes to progress to this level early, that is fine: The second year's worth of dues - only $2.00 in the case of Apprentices - can be paid early. This guild is a level playing field, and everybody will have to pay the same dues.

The Journeyman Piece shall be a three-voice work of modest dimensions that displays fluency with counterpoint. It may be for solo guitar, solo keyboard, vocal trio, string trio, as this piece is, or wind trio. The application fee will be $5.00, and the applicant has two tries to get it right before another $5.00 will have to be paid. If the applicant is accepted, the $5.00 covers one year's worth of dues. Accepted Journeyman will also have their pieces entered in a Best of Ten contest, which pays an award of $25.00. The reason for limiting instruments and ensembles is to make recording guild compilation albums easier and more efficient.

The application must consist of a PDF file of the score, a MIDI file of the music, and the $5.00 application fee, which must be paid via PayPal. All submitted materials become the property of the guild, which simply means the guild can post them and record them if they become Best of Ten winners. The composer is otherwise free to do with them as he wishes.

This piece is a lament for my late father in the form of a three-part invention that I composed when I was a master's candidate, so it should be no problem for an experienced student of counterpoint to emulate. The Journeyman Piece does not have to be fugal or imitative though.

Here is the sound file:

Three-Part Invention in D minor

And, here is the score with a brief commentary:



This three-part invention is based on a subject that begins on the mediant of the key, instead of the tonic or dominant. That is why it begins with accompaniment: To properly define the key at the beginning. The answer is in inversion and on the subdominant level, with the third entry being the subject again in a higher octave. Note that from the G-natural in the fourth measure of the viola part to the second thirty-second note of measure six, that all twelve notes of the chromatic scale appear in descending order.

The first episode starts at measure seven; it is a sequence of the head of the subject, and it modulates to the relative major.



The first middle entries are in F major, and this variant of the subject starts on the tonic instead of the mediant. The second sequential episode based on the head of the subject begins in measure 14, and it uses the inverted form of the head as well. The dominant level of A minor is reached at 17, and that middle entry demonstrates the invertibility of the counterpoint while reaching the melodic peak of the piece in 18.



Invertibility of the parts is again demonstrated at 19, and the third episode begins at 21. This modulates the piece to the subdominant level of G minor - where another melodic inversion of the parts is presented - and this then allows for a direct modulation back to the tonic at 26, where the stretto section begins.



After the stretti are concluded, there is a short codetta to end the piece.

Unlike with the Apprentice piece, where the music must speak for itself, a brief description of the Journeyman Piece will be required, as I have provided above. Remember that, at first, I will be analyzing and judging these, so the description will aid in that work (Later, when there is a quorum of Masters - three - they will do the judging of Apprentice and Journeyman Pieces).

In the spirit of gentlemanly competition, if you think you can compose counterpoint this well, you'll have to prove it. A guild requires members to put up, or shut up.

Exemplar 1: Apprentice Piece

The only way to enter the guild is with an apprentice piece. An apprentice piece shall be a short piece in two-part counterpoint. It may be for solo guitar, as this model is, for solo keyboard, for two voices, or for two wind or string instruments. Each entry must contain the following: A PDF file of the score, a MIDI file of the music, and the $2.00 entry fee, which will be paid via PayPal only (I will absorb the PayPal fees that arise on my end).

The entry fee will be the first year of dues if you are admitted, and applicants have three tries to get it right without having to pay an additional $2.00. Applicants will also be entered in the Best of Ten Apprentice Pieces contest, which pays an award of ten dollars. Accepted Apprentice Pieces will be posted here for now, and permanently on the main site once that is up and running, so the PDF and MIDI files become the property of the site. That doesn't mean you can't use them for whatever you wish, just that the guild can use them in compilations if they end up Best of Ten winners (One of the main benefits of guild membership will be having your submitted pieces professionally recorded in guild compilations).

This exemplar is a two-voice Menuetto for solo guitar in B minor that does not even modulate. I wrote it when I was 29 and just getting decent with polyphony, so it should be no problem for a bright student to emulate. I put the MIDI file into iTunes and made an AAC version using the RealFont 2.1 Nylon Guitar 1 soundfont. I will perform that work for you as m4a files are too big to email easily. Here is the sound file:

Menuetto in B Minor

And here is the score:







There will be no descriptions or analysis required: For the Apprentice Piece, the music must speak for itself. If I do not admit the applicant to the guild, I will email back the reasons and suggest improvements or corrections. This is part of the immediate benefit: Counterpoint lessons with me for only $2.00. As I mentioned previously, the applicant will have three tries to get accepted with the original $2.00 entry fee.

The only requirements for applicants is that you be at least 18 years of age, that you have a PayPal account, and that you have the means to submit a PDF file of the score and a MIDI file of the music. It does not matter who you are or where you live.

In the spirit of gentlemanly competition: If you think you have what it takes, you'll have to prove it. This is a put your money where your mouth is kind of place, so just hit the donate button to get started.

Welcome to The Guild of Able Polyphonists

This humble Blogspot site is the first step in building a fraternity of contrapuntal composers, which is an idea I've had for a few years now. This will not be an organization that just anyone can join, but will rather require members to display ability in polyphonic composition to gain entry into the guild, and then submit progressively better compositions to advance within the guild hierarchy.

The problem, as I see it, with online communities of composers thus far is that there is no benefit to membership: It costs nothing to join, and there is no reward for membership other than vacuous online friendships - regardless of how fun those may be - and the whole thing just becomes a mutual admiration society. A guild structure, on the other hand, requires members to perform to certain levels of proficiency, and provides benefits to membership and status that are concrete as well as honorary.

As I pondered how to structure this, I came upon the idea of hosting a gentlemanly competition that is ongoing, no matter how large the organization gets. For example, the entry level of membership in a guild is that of Apprentice. For this guild, an Apprentice Piece will have to be submitted and an entry fee of $2.00 paid. For every ten apprentice guild members chosen, one Best of Ten winner will be selected with an award of $10.00 given, which is exactly half of the total entry fees.

For the next level of Journeyman, a Journeyman Piece will have to be submitted along with an entry fee of $5.00. For every ten Journeymen selected, there will be a Best of Ten winner and $25.00 awarded. For the level of Master the fee will be $10.00 and the Best of Ten award will be $50.00. You get the idea.

Dues will also have to be paid. An Apprentice will only have to contribute $2.00 per year, and the entry fee for the apprentice piece will cover the first year. The level of Journeyman is $5.00 per year, and again the entry fee covers the first year. Likewise for a Master: $10.00 per year with the entry fee covering year one.

There will be eligibility requirements as well: Nobody will be allowed to go straight to the top, so to speak, without paying their dues. In other words, an Apprentice will not be eligible to progress to Journeyman until a year has passed and the second year's worth of dues are paid. If a member wishes to progress to the next level before the year is up, that is fine: Just pay the second year's worth of dues early, and you are all set. This will allow young students to get their money's worth in terms of membership time, while more established composers can progress at a faster rate, while still paying the same dues as everybody else.

Requirements for the first three levels will be thus:

An Apprentice Piece will be a short piece in two-part counterpoint that displays basic competence.

A Journeyman Piece will be a three-voice work of modest dimensions that displays fluency.

The Masterpiece will have to be a four-voice fugue that displays a comfortable mastery of the idiom.

Once the organization is off the ground, additional levels of Esteemed Master and Honorable Grandmaster may be added. I will never hold any of those levels, by the way: I will simply be the founder.

In the posts to come, I will provide the exemplars for each level as well as fleshing out more details.

These dollar amounts may seem trivial - and they are, to a point - but the idea is to engender actual competition among composers of counterpoint while keeping the trolls out. Also, the residual money will form the basis if the main site to come, which will allow for the provision of more benefits for members. For example, all accepted submissions will be hosted on the site, both in standard notation and as MPEG audio. All Best of Ten winners will also have their own pages. Every Journeyman and above will also have a micro blog: There will be much more.

Eventually, I would like to expand this into a physical location: A Guildhall. I happen to have the resources to get such an establishment going, but that's down the road a piece.

Feel free to add suggestions in the comments, but note that I review all comments before posting them.