Project #2 Good Execution

Enzo Cypriani

General Guidelines for Modern and Contemporary Unaccompanied Cello

Repertoire

Now we will turn our focus for the observations the performer should keep in mind while
performing modern or contemporary music for unaccompanied cello repertoire, in order to
achieve the higher quality of execution possible. First of all, it is important to realize that this
kind of music is of a singular intimacy and has the quality of a direct communication with the
audience. The entire focus of the audience will be focused solely on that performer, which
therefore is put in the position of great exposition and vulnerability. This vulnerability is further
increased by the fact that there are not any other instruments to help covering any kind of
mistakes or technical and musical deficiencies. From this, we derive that the first and foremost
pre-requisite for performing solo repertoire in general is to be not only extremely well prepared
but also extremely confident.

The performer should feel at ease on the stage, and have as great mastery over the music about to
be played as possible, in order to inspire the trust and captivation of the audience. The physical
posture of the performer should also correspond and reflect this mental posture. The
unaccompanied repertoire is often virtuosic. One of the main reasons a composer chooses to
write for solo instrument is to display the technical prowess of the performer, and therefore the
performer should impersonate the role of the “virtuoso”, which further corroborates with the
importance of a good posture.

The solo cello repertoire uses all kinds of resources to overcome the limitation its monophony
and the lack of accompaniment. As mentioned by Virginia Harold Geesaman in her PhD.
Dissertation, the composers use as many “possibilities of timbral, textural, tonal, structural, and
technical variety” as possible. “Quite naturally, the works reflect the current compositional
trends of rhythmic freedom, freedom of formal structure, non-repetitiveness, tonal and pitch
innovativeness, and motivic development.” To, that, though, she adds that “pre-twentieth century
forms still exert their influence, for composers use such titles as sonata, suite, partita, theme and
variations, chaconne, passacaglia, and prelude and fugue, XI as well as titles which obviously
avoid traditional terms.”. This touches on an important subject: that the performer must be
prepared to recognize patterns and interpretation inspiration from older periods of music, as well
as being well-versed in the traditional way of playing baroque solo pieces, for example, since the
mastery of this style of music is highly influential for modern and contemporary solo music
composers.

Its highly advisable that the performer do research about the composer and the specific piece.
This involves not only biographical information, but also about the specific techniques being
used. Many unaccompanied piece’s composers are less known, which make it even more
important. Many pieces have a story or general concept behind them, and some of them are even
programmatic. The performer must know or at least try to grasp why the composer wrote what
they wrote, what are they trying to say with it and what does it mean. The performer must be
properly conscious of these ideas and how exactly they relate to the text to be interpreted. Then,
the entire preparation process and performance will be focused on finding out how to convey this
through the instrument and communicating this to the audience as clearly as possible.

Even in non-programmatic pieces, and specifically in highly complex and hermetic pieces, is
highly suggested that the performer imbues the work with some kind of emotional and personal
expressivity to the piece, since its easier and most efficient to communicate emotions than dry,
unexpressive patterns. In fact, the individuality of unaccompanied music offers the perfect
chance for personal expression.

Another challenge the performer must vanquish with this kind of personal involvement is the
fact that fewer recordings of unaccompanied works are available. Therefore, many times, the
use of recordings as inspiration or references will not be possible. This requires thinking out of
the box and being creative and unafraid of trying new, innovative technical and musical
possibilities.
Another thing that will be crucial in overcoming this lack of recordings is listening to all the
other pieces of the same composer, or even the same period or place of composition. This can
give a better idea of what is the language of the piece, what is its general style. Many modern
and contemporary pieces are influenced not only by traditional western music but draw
influences from popular and folkloric music, from different genres and from cultures all over the
world. The performer should be well acquainted to all of this influences and investigate the
original artistic manifestation that influenced the composer originally. It is, therefore, highly
suggested that the unaccompanied soloist is familiarized to many different genres and periods of
music, since listening to different styles expand his or hers vocabulary.

The lack of variety in instrumentation implies the risk of sounding boring. The performer should
be any possible means try to avoid that by bringing out the greatest variety and contrast in the
interpretation. Colors and timbres should be explored to its furthest limits, such as special
effects, articulation, dynamics and tempo. This, along with the good posture on stage, should be
enough to maintain the interest of the crowd. It’s very important to defy the performer’s own
comfort and really go for the extremes. However, the sound should be always as projected as
possible: even though dynamics should be explored, the performer must take care not to be too
quiet when playing piano passages.
Extra-musical resources are more than welcome, when possible, to stablish connection with the
public. A small talk before playing can be helpful to introduce the piece and how its meaning
relate to aspects of human existence, how it defies or challenges expectations and pre-conceived
ideas or how it reflects a particular story or experience of the composer. Also try to make clear
why the audience should pay attention, what does the piece mean to you personally and why
have you included it in your program. Any programmatic idea can also be announced and
explained. Musical examples can be given. Other ideas include adding other artistic elements
such as poetry, video, dance or any kind of visual art that complements the overall message of
the piece.

By using double stops, chords, arpeggios, alternating fragments of melody in different registers
and other devices, the composers can create the illusion of polyphony. Is responsibility of the
performer to be able to play with different sounds, with different bow speeds and vibratos, in
order to create the greater variety of timbres that its possible. This can be use to play melodies
using different tones, further deepening the illusion. Contrasting dynamics between melody
fragments can also help. The performer should be capable of overcoming the difficult that the
frequent use of multiple stops propose. Flexibility of the left hand is indispensable even when
playing extensions. It is very important that the performer understand the polyphony intended
by the composer in order to bring out its different voices in a correct and emphasized manner.
Especially when it comes to the good execution of double stops, it is important to mention that
the performer should not be confined to equal temperament, but explore different systems, with
special observation to tuning intervals and chords to the just intonation system. When it comes
to melodic, monophonic passages, they are also a great opportunity to explore different
expressive intonation concepts, such as tighter leading tones, Pythagorean tuning, etc.
Geesaman states that “Perhaps this century's newfound fondness for percussiveness accounts for
the abundance of a variety of pizzicati.” Indeed, a very frequent device is the use of pizzicatos.
As any other of the observed aspects, pizzicatos should be diverse and interesting. The
performer should be able to use different fingers, different parts of the fingers, and different
kinds of motions to struck the strings, in different sounding points, sometimes closer to the
fingerboard, sometimes closer to the bridge. They must vary on the quality of the attack and the
reverberation should be controlled by a wider or narrower, faster or slower vibrato.

Use the dynamics as general guidelines and know that they imply interpretative meanings as
well. The performer must know they should not be only considered as indications of volume,
but also as important cues that the character and timbre should change. The same applies to
articulations written down, such as dots or Portatos. Often times, they can imply change in
mood and timbre and is the duty of the perform to always observe these implications.
Composers during the modern period and much of the contemporary works being written
nowadays still used a tonal center of some kind, often known as pitch centers. It is very
important that the perform is aware of that. Key signatures are almost never used. The performer
not only should be able to observe the tonal implications of a piece, but also modal or chromatic
instances.

The performer should be always careful with the rhythm. Uneven meter, sometimes mixed with
even, and meter changes are usual in the repertoires. Some of the rhythms are complex so during
practice, the performer should assure that he or she properly understood them by counting and
reviewing. The study of the sheet music without the instrument is encouraged not only for
rhythmic purposes, but also for the understanding of melodic phrasing. A deeper formal analysis
can also be helpful.
The performer should be informed in diverse extended techniques such as the ones listed by
Geesaman, that include “playing with the ivory tip of the how, playing behind the bridge, col
legno tratto, in addition to col legno battuta, vibrato trill, glissando with heavy vibrato, snapped
pizzicato, and tapping the body of the instrument. The performer must take all the necessary
extra time to learn and prepare them. Some unusual aspects in notation can also represent a
challenge. The interpreter should be as confident in these aspects as he or she is when it comes to
the more conventional ones.

Other unconventional aspects to be observed by the performer with great care are “melodic
contour, coloristic requirement, intervallic and chordal content”, such “disjunct, nontriadic
intervals” that should always be properly shown and emphasized. “Abrupt shifts from low to
high register and vice-versa” require a confident left-hand movement that happens outside the
common patterns for diatonic and triadic music.

To practice these passages, the performer should practice starting very slowly, getting familiar
with scales, pitch sets or chords. Many devices can be used such as playing patterns up and
down, changing rhythms and any other exercise that helps developing muscle memory.
Practicing with the metronome can also be helpful.
Although very demanding, playing unaccompanied solo pieces can offer an incomparable
opportunity for the performer to get acquainted with a huge variety of musical ideas and is
extremely rewarding. They can also take its technique to a whole new level. He or she is in
charge of the entire music, so it can also be a space of sharing personal, creative ideas that could
be inhibited in different settings.