Romantic Melodies: Cello: Instrumental Work

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was an Austrian composer working in the early Romantic era. His ever-popular Ave Maria was composed in 1825 as No.6 of his Op. 52 a setting of seven songs from Sir WalterScott?s epic poem The Lady Of The Lake. The text came from a part of the poem called Ellen?s Song.The melody has been re-used many times and is often set to the Catholic Prayer that starts with the samephrase (?Hail Mary? in English). Most memorably it was adapted by Walt Disney for his 1940 film Fantasia. It has been transcribed here for Cello and Piano by the Italian cellist Alfredo Piatti as one of his ThreeMelodies.

Favourtie French Melodies-In creating these dozen arrangements I am unashamedly cherry-picking from a long and rich seam of French music. I feel confident that younger players and those relatively new to the cello will enjoy my selection. Forgive my tongue-in-cheek title for the book French Baguettelles (I'm half French so I don't feel too guilty!) for the music herein has more than a hint of garlic about it. Although there are certainly serious overtones to one or two pieces there is a healthy dollop of silliness to lighten the mood. Apart from Sur la Pont d'Avignon which was reportedly written in the 15th century Frère Jacques which was a popular 18th century song and Tambourin which wasin all probability also written in the 18th century (Gossec did however live well into the 19th century) all of the pieces come from composers who lived in the Romantic period. Ravel and Debussy were of course known for their impressionistic colours though for the most part it is the accompaniments which reveal this characteristic most fully. I have endeavoured to keep the piano parts playable by mere mortals conscious of the fact that cello teachers may not possess a virtuosic piano facility but may nevertheless wish to turn their hand to accompanying pupils for concerts festivals exams etc. Many of the pieces were originally written for the piano either in its solo capacity (Ravel's Pavane Pour une Infante Défunte Chabrier's Idylle Satie's Gymnopedie 1 Debussy's La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin) or in duet form (Fauré's Berceuse from 'Dolly Suite'). Three orchestral pieces Bizet's L'Arlésienne Offenbach's Can-Can and Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre lend a welcome dramatic overtone to the book while Franck's exquisite Panis Angelicus originally conceived as a choral piece rounds off the selection admirably. In the main it is the cello's capacity for lyricism that has steered my choice of music so really open up your sound and enjoy yourself with these ageless melodies.I wish you bonne chance!Baguette: a thin loaf of

The second string quartet by Philip Glass is a lyrical almost romantic piece with strong prominant melodies and deceptively simplistic arrangement that reflects his pioneering minimal compositions. The piece began life as a scorefor Mabou Mines the New York theater company that counted him as 'unofficial' composer for almost three decades and the name comes from the Samuel Beckett play Company.

8 Irish Melodies arranged for String Quartet-Carson Turner’s latest instalment to The Schott String Quartet Series is a wonderful collection of traditional Irish folk tunes. These intermediate-level arrangements make perfect performance material.The Schott String Quartet SeriesWith the first books in the series focusing on baroque classical and romantic styles The Schott String Quartet Series has expanded to cover music ranging from traditional pieces through to Eastern-influenced works. Aside from 'Indian Summer' which features original compositions each book contains original arrangements of well known themes which have often never been arranged for string quartet before. An important characteristic of thesearrangements is that they allow all four instruments to demand the attention throughout the music. The pieces are suitable for amateur musicians or school students and are ideal for public performance.