Trying to find unaccompanied cello music to celebrate Fall? Look no further.

This October, I’m taking a little detour from our usual Suites Beyond Bach series to celebrate the changing seasons through music.

I’ve returned to my collection of earlier postcards and selected three works that offer different perspectives on autumn, from the changing colors and shorter days to the traditions, memories, and emotions associated with this time of year.

First is Liz Davis Maxfield’s “November,” inspired by a poem written in 1851 by her great-great-great-grandfather, Parley Pratt, who found himself longing for the colder weather of home while experiencing spring in Chile.

Next, we revisit two movements from Clíodhna Ní Aodáin’s Celtic Seasons for Cello Solo: “Harvesting the Light,” inspired by the autumn equinox, and “The Darker Half,” which marks Samhain and the transition toward winter.

Finally, we return to Benjamin Britten’s Suite No. 3, Op. 87, with particular attention to “Autumn,” one of the Russian folk melodies that Britten incorporated into this unaccompanied cello suite.

Whether you’re looking for something new to play or simply some music to accompany the changing season, I hope you’ll enjoy these autumn selections.

Postcard #1: “November” by Liz Davis Maxfield

Originally published on 16 September 2020

• Title: “November”
• Composer: Liz Davis Maxfield
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Year Composed: 2010
• Movements: 1
• Duration of Work: 2:30
• Number of Measures: 33
• Number of Pages: 1
• Tempo: quarter note = 84
• Difficulty Level: comparable to Suzuki Book 2 or 3
• Highest Position Reached: 1st
• Technique Employed: bass clef, slurs, grace notes, dotted rhythms, two easy double stops, 6/4 time
• Publisher: Liz Davis Maxfield
• Where to Purchase: lizdavismaxfield.com
• Cost of Sheet Music*: $8

Recording

Program Notes

Inspired by a poem, “November in Chile,” written in 1851 by the composer’s great-great-grandfather, Parley Pratt. Here’s an excerpt. The entire poem is included with the sheet music.

I sigh for the storms of November to come,
The frost, and the snow-drifted plain I would see;
The bleak, wintry blasts of my own mountain home,
And the storm-beaten glacier are dearer to me.
– Parley Pratt, 16 November 1851

Cellist’s Guide

“November” is a simple and lovely folk-inspired song that is fitting for both professional and amateur cellists. The piece, which is in C Major, makes equal use of all four strings. The hand remains in closed 1st position throughout, so it is a nice choice for those who can comfortably play a two-octave C Major scale.

Postcard #2: “Harvesting the Light” and “The Darker Half” from Celtic Seasons for Cello Solo by Clíodhna Ní Aodáin

Originally in my Postcards series in May 2026

For this autumn edition, I’ve selected two movements from Clíodhna Ní Aodáin’s eight-movement Celtic Seasons for Cello Solo. Both reflect the changing seasons and traditions of the Celtic calendar.

“Harvesting the Light” celebrates the autumn equinox, while “The Darker Half” marks Samhain, the traditional transition into the darker half of the year.

For information about the entire collection, including recordings and technical observations on all eight movements, see my original postcard.

• Title: “Harvesting the Light” and “The Darker Half” from Celtic Seasons for Cello Solo
• Composer: Clíodhna Ní Aodáin
• Year Published: 2025
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: movements VI and VII of the eight movements
• Duration: 47 seconds, 1:25
• Number of Measures: 32 each
• Tempo: quarter = 100, quarter = 98
• Difficulty Level: intermediate
• Highest Position Reached: 4th
• Technique Employed: bass clef; grace notes, double stops
• Publisher: composer
• Where to Purchase: thecelticcello.com
• Cost of Score*: CHF 16.00

Recordings

Program Notes

“Celtic Seasons for Cello Solo is a deeply atmospheric work by Clíodhna Ní Aodáin, inspired by the timeless rhythms and traditions of the Celtic calendar. Through eight captivating pieces, the book celebrates the cycles of the seasons, the shifting of light and darkness, and the ancient fire festivals that marked key moments of renewal, harvest, and transformation. Each composition is thoughtfully crafted to reflect the energy and essence of its respective season, offering both performer and listener a journey through the year’s changing landscapes.” – Clíodhna Ní Aodáin’s website

Originally published on 29 October 2025

For our final autumn postcard, I’m returning to Benjamin Britten’s Third Cello Suite, written in 1971 for Mstislav Rostropovich.

Although we’re featuring the complete suite, I want to draw particular attention to its final movement, “Passacaglia,” and especially to the Russian folk melody “Autumn.”

Britten based the suite on four Russian themes, including three folk songs arranged by Tchaikovsky. These melodies appear in various forms throughout the work before being presented in full at the end.

• Title: Suite No. 3 for Cello, Op. 87
• Composer: Benjamin Britten
• Year Composed: 1971
• Duration: 22:00
• Movements: 9
• Number of Pages: 16
• Number of Measures: In these suites, Britten does not write in a traditionally metered format, so measure numbers are irrelevant here.
• Difficulty Level: advanced
• Highest Position Reached: thumb
• Technique: bass, tenor & treble clefs: 5/8, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8, 2/4, 3/4, 2/2 time signatures; pizzicato & left-hand pizzicato, double, triple & quadruple stops; octaves, grace notes, harmonics & false harmonics, numerous accidentals, glissandos, trills, turns, con sordino, ponticello, tremolo
• Publisher: Faber Music
• Where to Purchase: johnsonstring.com
• Cost of Score*: $23.99 for all 3 suites

Recording

Program Notes

“I wrote this suite in the early spring of 1971 and took it as a present to Slava Rostropovich when Peter Pears and I visited Moscow and Leningrad in April of that year.  The occasion was a week of British music, and our programme with the London Symphony Orchestra was made memorable by the fact that both Richter and Rostropovich joined us – surely a unique gesture of Anglo-Russian friendship.

“As a tribute to the great Russian musician and patriot I based this suite on Russian themes; the first three tunes were taken from Tchaikovsky’s volumes of folk-song arrangements; the fourth, the ‘Kontakion’ (Hymn for the Departed), from the English Hymnal.  When I played the suite through to Dmitri Shostakovich during our visit to Moscow, he remarked that he had been brought up on a different version of the Kontakion. I consulted my friend Bishop Pimen of Saratov and Volgograd, who confirmed that my version was the one he had always known and regularly used. In the score I print both versions, for players to choose whichever they prefer.” — Benjamin Britten from a note in the score

Cellist’s Guide

The third suite has nine attacca movements, ranging from somber to joyous.

I. “Introduzione” is beautiful, but technically simple (except for a few octaves).

II. “Marcia” is quick with a spiccato indication, i.e. challenging.

III. “Canto” is slow and lyrical.

IV. “Barcarola” is definitely a nod to Bach and late-Romantic composers. Nothing is technically challenging except for the minor 6ths at the end.

V. In the “Dialogo,” a bowed fragment alternates with strummed triple stops, followed by notes from a chipper classical melody alternating with open C left-hand pizzicato.

VI. The lovely “Fuga” contains a wall of lyrical double stops. As in the “Canto”s from the first suite, the challenge comes in moving gracefully from one double stop to another.

VII. and VIII. “Recitativo” and “Moto perpetuo” require good bow control and a rapid left hand. Throw false harmonics, trills and tremolo into the mix and you have your hands full!

IX. The suite concludes with a substantial “Passacaglia,” drawing together musical ideas heard throughout the preceding movements.

Following the passacaglia, Britten presents four Russian themes in full: three folk songs found in Tchaikovsky’s arrangements (“Mournful Song,” “Autumn,” and “Street Song”) and the Russian Orthodox Kontakion, a hymn for the departed.

The comparatively straightforward presentation of these melodies provides a moving conclusion to the work.

For this October edition, I’m highlighting “Autumn,” the second of the four closing melodies.

Here is the “Autumn” theme:

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