Cello

“ The whole section, vivace non troppo, which follows the first poco adagio, is excellently scored for the three instruments. Notice [Pg 581] how at first the cello holds a low C-sharp, supporting the light melody of the violin and the light staccato accompaniment of the piano; how as the music grows more furious the cello adds a G-sharp above its C-sharp. When at last the piano breaks into the melody, violin and cello take equal parts in the series of sharp, detached chords which accent its rhythm. ”

“ Sometimes the cello is low and impressive, strong and independent, while the piano is lively and sparkling, as in the closing parts of the first section of the first movement. Again the cello has vigorous rolling figures that bring out the fullest sonority the instrument is capable of, while the piano adds the theme against such a vibrant background, with no fear of drowning the cello, as in the first portions of the development section. ”

“ Although the principal use of the cello in the orchestra Is to supply the bass part of the harmony—with the double-bass usually an octave below—its full, rich penetrating tone, combined with an unusually large range, renders the Cello one of the most frequently used voices in solo passages. ”

“ The note of a violin is virgin in quality; the voice of the 'cello is the voice of experience. The distinctive emotional value of each instrument inheres in the character of its sound. These qualities of objects art uses as its language. ”

“ Short-distance travel with a 'cello is not much more agreeable. In trolleys you have to hold it more delicately than any babe, and be ready to give a straight-arm to any one who lurches in your direction, and to raise it from the floor every time you jolt over cross-tracks or run over pedestrians, for fear of jarring the delicate adjustment of the sound-post. As for a holiday crush down town, the best way to negotiate it with a 'cello is to fix the sharp end-pin in place, and then, holding the instrument at charge like a bayonet, impale those who seem most likely to break its ribs. ”

“ The log-fire, and the two seated near it, were reflected fitfully in the distant mirror.
"Helen, there is one instrument, above all others, which I have always longed to play; yet I have never even held one in my hand."
"What instrument is that, darling?"
"The violoncello," said Ronnie, sitting up and turning towards her as he spoke. "When I think of a 'cello I seem as if I know exactly how it would feel to hold it between my knees, press my fingers up and down the yielding strings, and draw the bow across them. ”

“ A knowledge of the correct use of the thumb for the purpose of stopping notes on the violoncello, is of the utmost importance to any who wish to have anything like command of the instrument. It is quite certain that the 'cello would not be anything like the perfect instrument it is, if the player was confined to the neck positions. As already explained, the neck positions only extend to a couple of notes beyond the half-string. ”

“ The violoncello or cello (sometimes called bass viol) has four strings, tuned thus: . Its range is about three and one-half octaves (from C to e'' or f'') , but in solo work this range is sometimes extended much higher. The cello is much more universally used as a solo instrument than the viola and its tone is capable of a much greater degree of variation. In the orchestra it plays the bass of the string quartet (reinforced by the double-bass) , but is also often used for solo passages. Con sordino and pizzicato passages occur as often for the cello as for the violin. ”

“ Thus the variation in tone which singers produce by a clever management of the breath, the glide when two notes are sung to a vowel sound, the hard sound of an initial consonant, the vibrato, and numerous other effects are all possible on this most human instrument. However, as far as gliding is concerned, the 'cello has a big range, and far more is expected from the instrumentalist, in the way of leaping to and from notes at extreme distances, than is ever expected from a single voice. ”

“ IV. The whole body of stringed instruments in the orchestra is often incorrectly spoken of as 'the Quartet,' from the fact that until the time of Beethoven the strings seldom played in other than four-part harmony. It is now the usual custom to write the parts for cello and double bass on separate staves, and in Germany these instruments are grouped apart, a practice which is decidedly unwise, seeing that the double bass requires the support of the cello to give the tone firmness, more especially the German four-stringed instrument, the tone of which is so wanting in body. ”

“ If the reader has already commenced the study of the 'cello, it will be advisable for either his parents or himself to make direct enquiries of his professor, whether the latter thinks the pupil is sufficiently gifted to continue the study of this most difficult instrument. Of course every 'cello player cannot be a Becker or a Klengel, but unless the student has a very correct ear, and if he is old enough a fair amount of ambition, it would be better for him to study some less exacting instrument; that is if he feels compelled to learn something. ”

“ GOLTERMANN, Georg Eduard, a player and composer on the cello of some eminence, whose name is occasionally seen in concert programmes, born in Hanover 1825, and educated there and in Munich. He has held posts in Würzburg and in Frankfort, where he is now residing, and where on May 1, 1878, he celebrated his 25th anniversary as conductor. His concerto and other contributions to the repertoire of the cello are of value, since though not of great originality they are thoroughly well written for the instrument, pleasing, and effective. ”

“ All this is high art, and helps to reveal the true artist by his manner of introducing the beautiful effects caused by the means previously mentioned. However, to consider fingering pure and simple, a 'cello player of the first rank does not constantly think about his fingers, his mind is occupied with the phrasing and the correct interpretation of the composition. A good knowledge of the fingerboard is best learned at the instrument, no amount of diagrams or lengthy description of chords in the various positions, etc., being of much use in real work. ”

“ By placing the hand on the body of a ’cello one can distinguish without the use of eye or ear, merely by the way in which the wood vibrates and trembles, whether the sound given out is sharp or flat, whether it is drawn from the treble string or the bass. ”

“ The violin sonatas, all of them except the last, are largely virtuoso music. The cello sonatas are more serious and on the whole more sober. This may be laid to thoroughly practical reasons. The cello has not the variety of technical possibilities that the violin has, nor even in such rapid passages as can be played upon it can it give a brilliant or carrying tone. By reason of its low register it can be all too easily overpowered by the piano. Only the high notes on the A string can make themselves heard above a solid or resonant accompaniment. ”

“ BY chamber music is meant all that class of compositions written for small collections of instruments and therefore suitable for performance in small rooms only. It embraces trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, septets, and octets, named according to the number of instruments employed. The trio is most frequently written for piano, violin, and 'cello, but other combinations, such as piano, violin, and horn, etc., are used. When the word "quartet" is used alone, it signifies a string quartet, consisting of first violin, second violin, viola, and 'cello. ”

“ Fiddlers errant find that traveling with a 'cello is almost as good—and almost as bad—as traveling with a child. It helps you, for example, in cultivating friendly relations with fellow passengers. Suppose there is a broken wheel, or the engineer is waiting for Number 26 to pass, or you are stalled for three days in a blizzard,—what more jolly than to undress your 'cello and play each of those present the tune he would most like to hear, and lead the congregational singing of 'Dixie,' 'Tipperary,' 'Drink to me only,' and 'Home, Sweet Home'? ”

“ The foreground is occupied by a monster hand holding the head of a ’cello in the orchestra.
The poster for the Divan Japonais, on the other hand, shows us a lady and gentleman in the audience listening to a singer on the stage, behind an orchestra. Of the singer we see monster black gloves, and everything but the head; of the orchestra we are shown two ’cello heads, and, of the conductor, the arms alone. The lady in the foreground—who looks as though she always turned night into day—is wonderfully depicted, as is her companion, the dissipated, bearded swell. ”

“ The slow movement is for 3 violas and bass, and the finale has a prominent part for the cello. This symphony must have pleased the composer or some of his audience in whose judgment he believed, since within a month he began to rescore it for full orchestra. He wrote a new trio for the minuet, and in this form it became Symphony No. 9. The three last of the six are for quintet, and the scherzos of Nos. 10 and 12 are founded on Swiss tunes, in No. 12 with the addition of triangles, cymbals, and drums. The independent cello part is conspicuous throughout. ”

“ The highest string of the violin (viola and cello also) is often called the chanterelle because it is most often used for playing the melody. The violin ordinarily produces but one tone at a time, but by stopping two strings simultaneously and so drawing the bow as to set both in vibration, two tones may be produced at the same time, while three and four tones can be sounded almost simultaneously. ”

“ The king's favourite instrument, the cello, has more than its full share of work, and in spite of the fine treatment and wealth of invention this is injurious to the character of the quartet. The Adagio with fugue (546) has been already noticed. The Quartets for flute and strings (285, 298) , and for oboe obligato (370) are easy of execution, and of no special importance.
The Quintets must all be ascribed to external influences: Mozart invariably doubled the viola, instead of the cello as Boccherini did. ”

“ Shortly after the music was well under way, our friend spotted a favorable rest and took occasion to snuff his candle, and deposited the results in his favorite place, when bang! went the 'cello into uncountable pieces, and the good parson sprawled on the floor. Down went 'cello, parson, and all. A 'cello ne'er made so much noise before. ”

“ They whispered and laughed and made fun of everybody, especially of the performers; the moment when music is being performed is always selected by the listeners to make the most noise.
At last the intrepid amateurs were in tune and took their places at their desks. The old ‘cello player had put his little shade of green paper round his candle, so that the light should not hurt his eyes; the tenor violinist had put on his spectacles; the second violin put an ounce of rosin on his bow; and the first violin adjusted his cravat so that his instrument should not rumple his collar. ”

“ The first attempts at 'cello playing must be made with long, smooth bow-strokes, care being taken to have a nice even tone from heel to point; great vigilance is here required on the part of the master, in observing that the motion of the arm and wrist is correct.
The pupil must not think that practising these long, slow bowings is a waste of time, it is the only way to obtain a good round tone, and afterwards, when whole bows are used for a quicker tempo, a command of the bow. ”

“ The pianoforte has a great deal of work in triplets, which are high on the keyboard when the cello is playing in its lower registers, and only low when the cello is high enough to escape being overpowered. ”

“ If the student makes use of a sliding-pin these instructions cannot be observed in every respect, the legs are not required to hold the 'cello, the left knee alone being brought into use as a slight support—not to hold the instrument from the ground, but to prevent it from rocking backwards and forwards. ”

“ One instrument or voice plays or sings the air while the others play or sing harmony parts, and in the smaller groups of instruments, where there are only three or four “parts,” it is easier to follow the work of each instrument and consequently it is easier to get the musical “pattern” of the selection.
The basis of chamber music is the string quartette, comprising two violins, viola and ’cello. These instruments are, of course, alike in character, but each has its own peculiar quality of tone. Other effective combinations are violin, ’cello and piano; flute, violin, ’cello and piano ”

“ The top string on the violin (E) is brilliant in character, that of the viola (A) is more biting in quality and slightly nasal; the highest string on the 'cello (A) is bright and possesses a "chest-voice" timbre. The A and D strings on the violin and the D string on the violas and 'cellos are somewhat sweeter and weaker in tone than the others. ”

“ Its compass is fixed by strictly musical requirements: but when the instrument is built large enough to answer acoustically to its compass, that is, so as to produce the notes required of it as powerfully as the corresponding notes on the violin, it comes out too large for the average human being to play it fiddle-wise, and only fit to be played cello-wise between the knees. ”

“ If the 1st violin has fine running passages, those of the 2nd violin and viola are not a whit inferior. Does the 1st violin sing a celestial adagio, the cello is not put off with mere bass notes to mark the time. ”