Arioso for Violoncello & Piano

Hey guys! Here is just a short little arioso for cello and piano that I composed a few months ago. Let me know what you think as always.

It does sound nice and flowing, as I'm sure you intended it to be. There are a few things I noticed:

1. When a string player is given a slur, it is NOT to denote phrasing. This is a bowing instruction. For example, the cello plays its first 6 bars all on one bow... impossible at that tempo! If you're worried about it sounding choppy with all the bow changes, don't. Good ones are trained to hide the changes.

2. The piano rhythm would get very boring to play... it does have the benefit of going to a lot of unique chord progressions, but it would be dangerously lulling at that tempo.

3. The cello is under-utilized. In this slow tempo, you can fit ornaments in it, give it a lot of faster notes to lead up to high points, etc. Strings are always pretty versatile.

Cheers-

8 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

It does sound nice and flowing, as I'm sure you intended it to be. There are a few things I noticed:

1. When a string player is given a slur, it is NOT to denote phrasing. This is a bowing instruction. For example, the cello plays its first 6 bars all on one bow... impossible at that tempo! If you're worried about it sounding choppy with all the bow changes, don't. Good ones are trained to hide the changes.

2. The piano rhythm would get very boring to play... it does have the benefit of going to a lot of unique chord progressions, but it would be dangerously lulling at that tempo.

3. The cello is under-utilized. In this slow tempo, you can fit ornaments in it, give it a lot of faster notes to lead up to high points, etc. Strings are always pretty versatile.

Cheers-

 

Thanks for the tips, especially the first one! I actually didn't know that, so that was quite useful. I guess I might have to re-evaluate this piece.

Hi

I knew about the slurs in the strings. I read somewhere that Brahms used to write double slurs in this case: one indicating the movement of the bow, other the legato.

About your work, Jared, I'm curious about the "arioso" in the title. This word was used in opera indicating a part between recitativo an aria. I guess this was a transition to the vanishing of the recitativo.

I feel this more as an aria, because, although it is slow, it is cantabile. It's beautiful, as every aria you write. It's true what Monarcheon said that the cello is under-utilized... Just treat it like a voice, you do this wonderfully... More than that, an instrument like the cello  is able to do more difficult coloratura, leaps, and a wider tesitura.

1 hour ago, Luis Hernández said:

Hi

I knew about the slurs in the strings. I read somewhere that Brahms used to write double slurs in this case: one indicating the movement of the bow, other the legato.

About your work, Jared, I'm curious about the "arioso" in the title. This word was used in opera indicating a part between recitativo an aria. I guess this was a transition to the vanishing of the recitativo.

I feel this more as an aria, because, although it is slow, it is cantabile. It's beautiful, as every aria you write. It's true what Monarcheon said that the cello is under-utilized... Just treat it like a voice, you do this wonderfully... More than that, an instrument like the cello  is able to do more difficult coloratura, leaps, and a wider tesitura.

 

Hey, Luis. I knew of its operatic meaning; I chose the title based more on the literal meaning of "airy." I could see how the cello part may seem under-utilized, but I also feel a little can go a long way, and that the strong emotions the cello can effect do not require a large volume of time or notes. Of course, this is my interpretation, and I'm still new to writing for the cello. Thanks, as always, for the criticisms!

Well I agree. In this piece I don't see either a powerful coloratura in the cello. It's a rather slow movement. Perhaps monarcheon pointed to another kind of expression in the instrument.