Day 7

Looking forward to making the practice process more enjoyable today!

Downloads:

One for today

reward ideas

Today’s Recommended Listening:

Andrea Casarrubios (b. 1990?)
SEVEN for Solo Cello
Andrea Casarrubios playing
[Spotify] - 10 minutes

Colombian cellist/composer was nominated for a Grammy for this recording of her own album of works, including this fantastic piece written about seven bells during covid. The work is for scordatura cello (meaning, we change the notes of the open strings) with the C-String tuned down a half step to B. The string-crossing section with the left hand pizzicati mixed in draws from Alfredo Piatti’s 1st Caprice for solo cello and the natural harmonics show that she probably played some of Kaija Saariaho’s cello works along the way, too.

The other major work for a “drop B” is Oramamor by Osvaldo Golijov, although the tradition of changing the tuning goes all the way back to Bach. In Bach’s 5th suite, the A-String should be tuned down to G (So, G D G C). The next major work for solo cello, ~175 years later, is Kodaly’s Solo Cello Sonata, with A D F# B tuning. Many other works exist for scordatura, but it’s interesting to know that some of the “earliest works” in the solo cello repertoire required it.

Andrea did degrees in cello performance and finished at Juilliard with a doctorate in composition, studying with John Corigliano.

What to explore next:

  1. Andrea Casarrubios | Caminante for Cello & Choir

  2. Osvaldo Golijov | Omaramor for solo cello [drop B]

  3. John Corigliano | Phantasmagoria for Cello and Piano

See you tomorrow!
—Eric