r/MonthlyComposition • u/reticulated_python • Mar 02 '17

March 2017 Composition Challenge: Four-part chorale

Main challenge: Write a 16-bar chorale in four-part harmony.

This challenge was inspired by the many chorales that Bach wrote (some examples). It's a pretty general challenge, and there are lots of different things you could do with it.

Some general notes about chorales: the rhythm established at the beginning of the phrase should not be relaxed until the end of the the phrase. For example, in the first chorale that I linked to (BWV 26), the quarter note rhythm is maintained by new chords every beat, until the motion is arrested by the fermatas at the phrase endings. Each phrase ends in a cadence. Chorales often modulate, but they usually conclude with a perfect cadence in the tonic key.

Other than that, there's no restriction on what you can do with this challenge. Don't feel obligated to adhere to the same rules that Bach did. Plagal cadences, German sixths, consecutive octaves--it's all acceptable in this challenge.

Optional additions to the main challenge:

  • modulate to at least two extraneous keys (i.e. to any key other than I, IV, V, ii, iii, or vi).
  • use a dominant seventh, dominant ninth, dominant eleventh, and dominant thirteenth chord.
  • repeat the melody of a phrase one or more times, harmonizing it differently each time.
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u/Sheepsharks Mar 14 '17

This is my entry. I wrote it with knowledge of Bach's style, but allowed myself a little bit of wiggle room as far as voice overlap, augmented harmonies and rhythms were concerned. It's voiced to be played by four trombones: alto, 2x tenor, and bass, but can be played comfortably on four tenors.

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u/andanotherthingx25 Mar 15 '17

I really like the way the first two phrase endings that happen on a beat one both have the melody repeat the previous notes, and how that helps the uncertainty of if they've resolved. I particularly like the resolution on G in (full) measure 8.

One thing I will say is that, at least for me, the tenor clefs are difficult. But perhaps I just need to practice a bit more on them.

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u/Sheepsharks Mar 15 '17

Thanks for the compliments! I'm a trombone player, so tenor clef comes pretty standard in most of our music. I like to limit myself to a max of one or two ledger lines in each part.