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.’