Trying to find unaccompanied cello music by Asian composers? Look no further.

This month, I’m sending you the tenth installment in my new series of postcards on unaccompanied works for cello by Asian composers. You can find my previous postcards in the series here.

I created my online “just-the-facts-ma’am”-style digital postcards to introduce listeners to new-to-you cello music and to help cellists, orchestra directors, cello teachers, and students seeking new repertoire, contest pieces, and supplemental literature.

These monthly postcards give you the information you need to help you choose a piece that’s right for you. I also include links to make it easy for you to locate and purchase the sheet music you want. I hope you enjoy exploring these pieces as much as I did selecting them.

You can also read a quick round-up of my postcards featuring works by Black composers, my series featuring women composers, the series on Hispanic and Latino/Latina composers, or revisit all of my postcards.

Postcard #1 – Scent Dance II by Xuntian He

Xuntian He, a pioneering Chinese composer and professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, is known for his innovative fusion of traditional Chinese elements with contemporary music. His compositional approach, shaped by his Three Periods Theory and the Renyilv Duyingfa Method, reflects a deep philosophical and poetic sensibility.

• Title: Scent Dance II
• Composer: Xuntian He
• Year Сomposed: 2010
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 5:00
• Number of Pages: 9
• Number of Measures: 580
• Tempo: eighth = 96, 102, 108, 128, 130, 134, 138, 142
• Difficulty Level: high intermediate/advanced
• Highest Position Reached: 5th
• Technique Employed: bass clef, 1/8 & 3/8 time signatures, double & triple stops, octaves, numerous accidentals
• Publisher: Schott Music
• Where to Acquire: Sheet Music Plus
• Cost of Score*: $11.99

Recording

Click the image to listen to Xuntian He’s Scent Dance II performed by Xiaoyi Bi

Program Notes

Scent Dance II was commissioned for the violoncello competition at the 3rd Beijing International Music Competition in 2010 where it was included in the list of repertoire and given its first performance. – score

Scent Dance II was inspired by the poem Passing on Earth, written by the composer in 1999.

Passing By the Earth

If I should make it to

the final destination still clear-minded

could you even guess that

my intangible hand would still be strumming your lost Lute

If I should open that

sunlight-contaminated yet-to-be constructed city gate and

still can find no place to rest

do you think that

your departed face could ever find my unborn pair of eyes

Cellist’s Guide

Interesting, Scent Dance II is written mostly in 1/8 time. Counting one beat per bar is tricky, so I decided to combine measures by phrase and discovered that I could count most of the piece in 3/8, 4/8, or 5/8 time. Do not let the odd look of the score dissuade you from learning this piece.

Unless you are a professional, it is unlikely that you will be able to play Scent Dance II (particularly the thirty-second notes) at the indicated speed. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play the piece; just take it at a reasonable tempo.

There are many double stops, mostly including an open string. There are a few that are awkward, so consider leaving out a note here and there. Also, there are a few octaves, but just play single notes if this is beyond your current technical ability.

Except for the occasional measure in 5th position, this work can be played in the 1st-4th positions. There are many accidentals, so if you have not encountered a C-flat, prepare yourself!

Postcard #2 – Sandhiprakash by Reena Esmail

Reena Esmail, an Indian-American composer, brings the rich traditions of South Asian music into dialogue with Western classical forms. A Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, she studied Hindustani music in India, infusing her compositions with the distinctive melodic and rhythmic elements of the region. While much of the Asian classical repertoire featured in this series reflects East and Southeast Asian traditions, Esmail’s work highlights the broader diversity of Asia’s musical landscape.

• Title: Sandhiprakash
• Composer: Reena Esmail
• Year Composed: 2022
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 9:00
• Number of Pages: 5
• Number of Measures: 104
• Tempo: quarter = 48-52
• Difficulty Level: advanced
• Highest Position Reached: high thumb position
• Technique Employed: bass and treble clefs; unmetered, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures; harmonics, quintuplets, and sextuplets; double and triple stops; grace notes, glissando, sul ponticello, tremolo
• Publisher: A Piece of Sky Music
• Where to Acquire: reenaesmail.com
• Cost of Score*: $27 digital download, $33 printed copy

Recording

Program Notes

Sandhiprakash, meaning ‘the joint of light’, is the term for a particular set of Hindustani raags that are performed at the moments of sunrise and sunset.  In this piece for unaccompanied cello, the focus is on morning sandhiprakash raags Bhairav, Ahir Bhairav and Vibhas.  I’m so struck by how differently the concept of dawn is portrayed in Hindustani music and Western classical music—the colors are darker and more mysterious.  I imagine these raags to be reaching in both directions-toward the emerging sunlight and the receding darkness, and finding the liminal space between them.

I wrote this piece while imagining the magical landscape of a place I had never been.  Tippet Rise is an incredible art center on a 13000-acre ranch in the vast plains of southern Montana.  I looked at so many incredible images and videos of the art and land while I was writing this work, and yet nothing, except my own wildest imagination, could prepare me for the vast beauty that met me at its premiere. – Reena Esmail

Cellist’s Guide

Due to the liberal use of both natural and false harmonics, Sandhiprakash looks harder than it actually is.  The false harmonics occur mostly in the lower half of the cello, and the natural harmonics are frequently on the lower strings. String indications are given for some of the harmonics.

It may take some time to map out where all of the notes lie on the instrument, but this work is well thought out, and every move makes sense.

If you are a professional player looking for a piece to round out your program, this would be an excellent choice.

Postcard #3 – Suite for Cello by Juri Seo

Juri Seo, a Korean-American composer and professor at Princeton University, is known for her exploration of contrasts—melding contemporary techniques with classical forms and harmonic structures. Seo’s work often bridges the gap between tradition and innovation, creating music that is emotionally compelling and technically sophisticated.

Composed in 2018, Suite for Cello pays homage to J.S. Bach’s solo suites while incorporating modern techniques. This five-movement work juxtaposes moments of warmth and intimacy with more intense and dissonant textures, offering cellists a unique and rewarding addition to the solo repertoire.

• Title: Suite for Cello
• Composer: Juri Seo
• Year Composed: 2018
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 5
• Duration: 15:00
• Number of Pages: 11
• Number of Measures: 270
• Tempo: quarter = 54-60, quarter =52, dotted quarter = 132, quarter= 56, eighth = 88
• Difficulty Level: advanced/professional
• Highest Position Reached: thumb position, for a moment
• Technique Employed: bass and treble clefs; 3/16, 2/8, 3/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, 9/8, 10/8, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 6/4 time signatures; harmonics, many accidentals, double, triple, and quadruple stops; semitone scordatura, use of a metal mute, left-hand pizzicato, ponticello
• Publisher: composer
• Where to Purchase: juriseomusic.com
• Cost of Score*: $18 download

Recording

Program Notes

“Suite for Cello” is a five-movement work that explores the rich sound palette of the modern cello within the framework of an antiquated formal language. The allusions to—and illusions of—J.S. Bach’s six Cello Suites serve not only as an acknowledgment of influence but also as an expression of historical and psychological distance. I wanted to capture the warmth and intimacy that made me fall in love with Bach’s suites while at the same time exploring affective extremes—the fragile, the violent, the obsessive—that were perhaps unavailable to him, writing as he did within the pristine conventions of 18th-century instrumental dance music.

In my suite, the lowest string of the cello is tuned down by a semitone (plus eight cents, to be precise). This scordatura tuning provides a rich array of harmonics that, when juxtaposed with the other “correctly” tuned strings, produce subtle clashes. The two bottom strings define two tonal centers, which are often used simultaneously: B and G. The clashing of both tones and tonal centers creates the feeling of being pulled in different directions. And when the two keys return from their harmonic digressions, we face the distinctly modern problem of returning to two different places at once. – Juri Seo

Cellist’s Guide

This suite is an homage to Bach but with a modern twist. Like Bach’s 5th suite, Seo’s suite is written in scordatura. In the 5th suite, the open strings are tuned GDGC, while in Seo’s suite, the strings are tuned ADGB.

If you plan to learn this piece but have not played with altered tuning before, start with the second or 4th movement, as they have fewer notes on the re-tuned string. This will give your brain a chance to adjust!

Fortunately, the notes that are to be played on the C string (tuned to B) are marked in red. If like me, you have a printer that does not produce easily visible red ink, simply trace the red notes with a red pen.

In addition to coloring C-string notes red, the composer thoughtfully formatted the score like a piano part, with two lines per system. The upper line indicates the actual sounding pitch, while the lower line shows the pitch as we place it on the fingerboard.

Like Sandhiprakash, this suite utilizes many harmonics. The strings on which the harmonics are to be played are also notated and the sounding pitches are given.

This is an important contribution to the cello catalog and I will not be surprised if this suite becomes standard fare in the future.

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