Shostakovich Waltz No 2

Hedwigs Theme

 

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This number from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is my favourite on the soundtrack by John Williams. Above is a backing track for the piano accompaniment. The opening section is repeated. Don't forget, you can slow down the speed in settings. 

Wednesday Paints It Black

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 It is the starting week of a new term. In her first lesson, I  asked a new student what had inspired her to take up cello. "Wednesday in the Addam's Family" was her reply. I love it when students introduce me to new music. So here, for you all to enjoy  are the cello scenes in the Netflix 2022 series. They are terrific.

Apparently the  actress learned to play the cello for the role but although, Netflix make much of that in their publicity, it is probably fair to say that it is not Jenna Ortega heard on the soundtrack but she does a great job of looking as if she is really playing. 

Covers of well known rock and pop songs can make great party pieces. If you know a verse or two of the lyrics, it makes them easier to learn. The second piece heard in the clip is by Vivaldi. 

So click on the lick for a version of Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. 

Paint  it Black https://youtu.be/O4irXQhgMqg?si=ET7zQBKESMfwomo1

Irish Cello Air The Snowy Breasted Pearl

 

As St Patrick's Day approaches, the focus this week in the studio has been on Irish repertoire. Have a listen to this lovely version of The Snowy Breasted Pearl from Cork based cellist, Ilze de Ziah.  In preparation practice an A major scale and the forward extension. The cello with its rich timbre makes a great solo instrument. Check out also Sheku Kanneh Mason's solo rendition of a Welsh air here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gKXfDnsiJg

Hi Says the Blackbird Grade 2 Cello RIAM

 Hi Says the Blackbird 

When you are tackling repertoire that is a song and has lyrics, it is worth knowing even one verse of the song to help with phrasing and to catch the mood and tone of the piece. The Bird Courting Song is an American folk song. I include just three of the ten or so verses here.

Watch the video for a charming sung version of Hi Says the blackbird. The video below is a cello instrumental version that is on the grade 2 RIAM syllabus. Remember you can adjust the settings on youtube to slow the video speed down.

Hi! says the blackbird, sitting on a chair,
Once I courted a lady fair;
She proved fickle and turned her back,
And ever since then I'm dressed in black.

Hi! says the blue-jay as she flew,
If I was a young man I'd have two;
If one proved fickle and chanced for to go,
I'd have a new string to my bow.

Hi! says the little leather winged bat,
I will tell you the reason that,
The reason that I fly in the night
Is because I lost my heart's delight.

I'm Shipping Up to Boston

 

Two tutorial videos below to help you learn the tune. I think the whistle one is the easiest one to follow.

https://fiddlingwithmywhistle.co.uk/im-shipping-up-to-boston-dropkick-murphys-tin-whistle-play-along-tab-tutorial/

https://fiddlingwithmywhistle.co.uk/im-shipping-up-to-boston-dropkick-murphys-violin-play-along-tab-tutorial/

I had a request for this jig. It is an instrumental break in a song originally by Woodie Guthrie. 

2CELLOS - Pirates Of The Caribbean [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Hugely popular Croatian duo tackle this catchy film theme. 

Kol Nidrei

 Mischa Maisky plays Kol Nidrei with Max Bruch 

Today is Yom Kippur, a day of atonement and the holiest day in Judaism.  The Yom Kippur service traditionally includes an ancient and mournful melody called the "Kol Nidre," which is also the basis of a concert piece by composer Max Bruch, written for solo cello and orchestra in 1880.   

The German National Socialist Party during the 1930's  assumed that Bruch was of Jewish origin and banned his music until Germany's defeat in the Second World War. Fortunately, for Bruch, who was raised Protestant, and whose ancestors were not Jewish, his music survived the persecution and Kol Nidrei is still firmly planted in the canon of every cellist. 

Have a listen to Ukrainian born cellist Mischa Maisky play this soulful piece. 

Schubert Cradle Song

This lovely lullaby by Schubert turns up on  the Grade 1 violin and cello syllabus. Some of you have played a duet version. Here are four different versions for you to listen to. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBq4tT5Sk8c Cello Version of Schubert Cradle Song 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxd2oeTynhc  Violin Virtuoso version The player here is Yovanovitch Bratza, who I haven't come across before. He was born in Serbia and died in England in 1964. This is a very old recording . 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2xx6lncuIY Vocal version

Great Cellists: Pablo Casals

 

Pablo Casals was born in Catalonia in Spain. (1876-1973) He lived for almost a century and made lots of recordings. He started on flute and violin and changed to cello when he was 11 or so. He made his debut in 1891 in Barcelona. His first job was in the opera house Le Liceu in Barcelona. He lived much of his life in the South of France. He was a very good tennis player. In his early career, his mother used to travel with him. He was fine when he got on stage there but needed a bit of a push from his mother to get there.

He was the first cellist to play the Bach cello suites in a concert and he sparked a lot of interest in them and every virtuoso cellist since aspires to play them.  Listen to  Pablo Casals perform The Song of the Birds (‘El cant dels ocells’), a traditional Catalan carol.

Casals made the song famous with his version for cello, which he would play as an encore. He performed it on 24 October 1971 at the General Assembly of the United Nations when he received the UN Peace Medal. He was 94. Before he began playing he said:

‘I have not played the cello in public for many years, but I feel that the time has come to play again. I am going to play a melody from Catalan folklore: El cant dels ocells - The Song of the Birds. Birds sing when they are in the sky, they sing: “Peace, Peace, Peace”, and it is a melody that Bach, Beethoven and all the greats would have admired and loved. What is more, it is born in the soul of my people, Catalonia.’

Great Performers: No 3 Jascha Heifetz

Jascha Heifetz  Video Clip  Click on the link to watch Jascha Heifetz play.

Jascha Heifetz was known as God's fiddler, so amazing was the perfection of his playing. He was born in Lithuania in 1901 which was then part of Russia. His father began to teach him when he was three years old. He was a child prodigy and was performing on stage when he was only six years old. He fled his home country in 1917 at the start of the Russian Revolution and spent the rest of his life in America. At 16 yeras old, he gave a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.  "Pandemonium erupted after the recital, with ‘bravos shaking the walls of the auditorium’, according to one report. Among the headlines that followed were ‘Perfect Violin Playing at Last’, ‘Boy Violinist Wins Triumph’ and ‘Enter a Genius: Jascha Heifetz’.He traveled the world to give concerts and came to Ireland at least once during the 1920's. He hurt his shoulder and stopped playing in his late sixties and spent the rest of his life teaching and working for good causes. 

He made lots of recordings during his long life. I have two of his recordings to the WAMA Strings spotify list Listen here WAMA Strings 

Also you can hear him play work by Russian composer Tchaikowsky here https://archive.org/details/TCHAIKOVSKYViolinConcerto-Heifetz-NEWTRANSFER/01.I.AllegroModerato.mp3

He was said be like a statue on stage - very serious but the emotion and fire came through his playing. He died in 1987 in Los Angelos.  Look at that bow hand!

Tancuj Tancuj

Slovakian Folk Song

When I am searching for folk songs from different countries, I find this site useful.  https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3705#

Today, I am looking for  Slovakian folk songs.  I found a version of the number Tancuj Tancuj which I am told is a very popular song there. 

Here is my video tutorial on playing Tancuj, Tancuj on violin speciully for students Anna and Sara. My version is in the key of G major. Remember to keep 1 and 2 close together on A string 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6CBvjaBb0c&t=218s

Download my version of the sheet music here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QDbnJPsos9ujmsOUXVn0Gkq_-W75Dpdr/view?usp=sharing

Great Violin Players of the Past: No 2 Fritz Kreisler

 Fritz Kreisler 1875-1962 No 2 in my canon of great violin players is the Austrian, Fritz Kreisler. A child prodigy, Kreisler graduated at age 10! from the Vienna Conservatory. One of the key aspects of his style was a very warm vibrato.  He was the first violinist to make lots of recordings which helped to make him very popular and very famous. He was a 'secret' composer. For encores he sometimes played pieces that he had written himself but he passed them off as works by obscure unknown composers. It seems he was a bit shy about introducing pieces he had penned himself.

He joined the Austrian Army during WW 1 and was injured and discharged. I love Kreisler's  pieces and whenever I hear them I imagine I am in a Viennese Coffee House eating delicious cake as there is a real feeling of lighthearted café music about many of his encores. Here is one I love to play myself; Liebesleid which is in waltz time. Listen to Kreisler himself playing Liebesleid here  http://www.viewpure.com/AqQ2_2qd-5Y?start=0&end=0 and a more recent video version by the German violinist David Garrett.

http://www.viewpure.com/Wh2PkYxCHZQ?start=0&end=0

Vibrato is a technique where you warm up the sound by making  your finger quiver or shake on the string. 

Check out this version played by Joshua Bell on the WAMA Strings Spotify List https://open.spotify.com/track/4PAwFMCI2N0tPqAoX0lBnt?si=nR20gjaISD2ihI8Zs16P4Q

The Sleeping Beauty Waltz: Grade 3 Violin RIAM

 

This lovely waltz is on the Grade 3 Violin Syllabus of the Royal Academy of Music Ireland . The arrangement  Have a listen. 

Listen to a song version here Once Upon a Dream

Find out more about the Russian composer Tchaikowsky here https://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composer_profile.php?id=75

Great Violin Players You Should Know: 1: Niccolo Paganini

This is the first post on famous violinists of the past that violin students should know something about.
Spotify Playlist 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2yqqecyPEeJy0GFDoXVqpe

The  first great violinist on my list was born before recording and photography began so we have only the reports of his legendary skill and of course the pieces he wrote. Paganini is still recognized as the most remarkable violinist of all time and one of the world's first international superstars.

 Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, Italy in 1782. Paganini's first instrument was the mandolin. When he was seven, he switched to the violin.  He came up with new, dazzling effects on the violin that people had never heard before. His rock star personality onstage had a great influence on Franz Liszt, who decided he wanted to be the Paganini of the piano. Paganini's best-known composition is a set of 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, especially the Caprice #24, which has inspired pieces by dozens of other composers.

Stories of Paganini's performances are legendary, with audiences said to have been moved to tears and hysteria. His astonishing technical ability led many to believe that his mother had sold his soul to the devil in return for a career as the greatest virtuoso in the world. Paganini made a lot of money but he was known for his excessive gambling that at one point forced him to pawn his own violin. By the mid-1830s Paganini's health and ability began to fail and he died in May 1840 from internal hemorrhaging before a priest could be summoned. This added to suspicions that he had entered a pact with the devil.

 Paganini came to perform in Dublin. The concert didn't start out too well for him. Here is an newspaper article recalling the performance 

 'Many years ago I heard an old music lover boast proudly that he had heard Paganini play in Dublin. I am reminded that in 1831 a musical festival was held in Dublin, under the conductorship of Sir George Smart, and the promoters decided to engage the services of the world-famous violinist at a very high fee. Paganini was not only a marvellous violinist, but he was also an accomplished actor. When he came on the stage of the Theatre Royal before his packed audience, he stood for a few moments, as if thinking what he should play. Read the full article published in 1931 here        https://www.irishtimes.com/news/paganini-in-dublin-1.271643

More fascinating facts about Paganini here https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/8-secrets-of-paganini

Caprice: A capriccio or caprice, is a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character. The typical capriccio is one that is fast, intense, and often virtuosic in nature.
Check out Paganini's best known piece in the videos below and in the tracks on the Spotify playlist.

A version of this appeared on a Grade 3 ABRSM syllabus recently. It is a great piece to have in your repertoire.

Quiz

1: Where was Paganini born (Which country) ?
2: What century was he performing in ?
3: Why don't we have any recordings of him.?
4: What was his nickname?
5: Who recorded a rock fusion version of his 24th Caprice?

Check out this classical rock fusion version played by Juliajn Lloyd Weber

Irish Music Module: Star of the County Down part 2

Continuing from previous post tackling a well known folk tune in E minor. See previous post for more notes and the first part. Link here https://cathysmusicstudents.blogspot.com/2020/05/lockdown-irish-music-module-tune-no-5.html

Second part 

      from Tús Maith Folk Tunes for Beginners Ciaran Deloughrey Greatisle Music

Lockdown Irish Music Module: Tune no 5 The Star of the County Down

The Star of the County Down is a very popular tune to a well known song. I would start by listening to some vocal versions. Van Morrison recorded it with the Chieftains (listen on the link here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSvVVzH3O5E). and the High Kings have  also recorded it.  It is always good to know a verse or two to help catch the feel of a song. Also  I suggest you listen to an instrumental version on solo cello by well known British cellist Julian Lloyd Weber. I like the way the cellist repeats the last phrase at three different pitches at the finish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmylIY_d-8I

In the song version, only the second part is repeated.  My source for the version here is 'Tús Maith', a collection of folk tunes for beginners by Ciaran Deloughrey.

Part 2 coming up in the next video

Note Don't Forget you can adjust the setting of youtube videos to slow it down to half or even a quarter speed if you want a slower speed to play along with.

The Star of the County Down.

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down

One evening last July
Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so neat in her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there.

From Bantry Bay down to Derry Quay
From Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the fair cailín
That I met in the County Down.

One String Cello Tune and Variations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRixaQ4hpEI

Click on the link to watch an appearance by Yo Yo Ma on Sesame Street.

Lockdown Music Module: The Mazurka Part B

Part B of the Mazurka Shoe the Donkey. Have a look at the second video to see the a Polish dance troup dance to this tune.

See the previous post for part A.

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