Hello everyone, I have just recently joined and would like to enter this composition.
A Sad Sonnet
7 Likes
Hello Patrick, welcome to the community! 
Would be great if you could write a nice description of your composition. For example, what was your creative vision, what main sounds/instruments did you use, and perhaps share some composition insights like tempo, key or anything like that.
Good luck in the contest! 
Thanks, Mikael. The key was A minor and the tempo is 80 BPM. I used strings from BBCSO by Spitfire Audio.
I used Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 for inspiration as it speaks to so many human emotions.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
3 Likes
Wow interesting to start a composition with a poem in mind.
Listened now, I get a subtle gentle yearning feel from the introduction. Like trying to find something, but not knowing where to look. Trembling and stumbling until the melody takes your hand and guides you. I like the delicate and fragile sound overall as well. Good job for definitely nailing a “sad music” vibe.
1 Like
Patrick - I like the sad and fragile tone of your sad piece. For string quartet, having some moving inner voices (vs steady pads) to bring out more emotions is something to consider for the future. Those viola players will also thank you. Welcome to the forum!
Brandon
also - great job matching the mood of the sonnet.
Thanks, Brandon. Some very useful thoughts.
1 Like
Great piece! I like the key changes as well. Definitely giving me that sad/longing vibe. Great work!
I like the mixture of sounds. It keeps the sad feeling perfectly.
In my opinion, it is a little minimalistic, and I loooove minimal pieces, but in this case I feel that I need a broader use of the possibilities of a string ensemble. I agree with @brandowalk that more complex second voices would add power to a minimal but intense main melody.
Anyway. I like your piece. Good job. 