Three Improvisations
FOR CELLO SOLO / COMPOSED IN 2023-4

These brief pieces emerged from spontaneous early morning searches for new sounds and patterns. Each improvisation embodies a different type of cello-specific sound dialogue. The first, Bariolage, uses the rapid string-crossing technique of bariolage, alternating fingered melody tones on the D string with the adjacent unfingered A string. The second, Elegy, is a lyrical musical memorial in G minor, its lamenting melody bowed over a harp-like plucked accompaniment. The third, Pythagorean, contrasts the cello’s more usual lower tones with the ethereal higher ones of the overtone series discovered by Pythagoras, and incorporates a motif from the prelude of Bach’s first cello suite.

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This work was first performed by the composer at the 2024 Illinois Chamber Music Festival at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL.

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Image: Diderot et d'Alembert, Encyclopedie / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain