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

This month, I’m sending you the seventh 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 I just completed on Hispanic and Latino/Latina composers, or revisit all of my postcards.

Postcard #1: “Arirang”—Korean folk song

“Arirang” is perhaps the best-known folk song for pulling at the heartstrings of Koreans on either side of the DMZ and members of the Korean diaspora around the world. Encompassing sixty versions with over 3,600 variations, this is a song of near-infinite, universal possibility.

• Title: Arirang
• Composer: Korean folk song
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 34 seconds
• Number of Pages: 1
• Number of Measures: 16
• Tempo: quarter = 90
• Difficulty Level: beginning
• Highest Position Reached: depending on fingering, 1st or 3rd
• Technique Employed: bass clef, 3/4 time signature, eighth notes, quarter notes, dotted quarter notes, dotted half note
• Publisher: Erica Lessie
• Where to Acquire: Download here: Arirang – Score
• Cost of Score: free

Recording

Program Notes

“‘Arirang’ is included twice on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, having been submitted for inclusion first by South Korea in 2012 and then by North Korea in 2014. In 2015, the South Korean Cultural Heritage Administration added the song to its list of important intangible cultural assets.

“The song is sung today in both North and South Korea, and represents the symbol of unity in the region that is divided by the Korean War.” – Wikipedia

Cellist’s Guide

This lovely tune can be played entirely in closed first or open third position position.  When played in first position, “Arirang“ utilizes the open string, 1st and 4th fingers on the D and A strings – a perfect choice for early Suzuki Book 1 students. When played in third position, the A, D, and G strings are employed. As this is a lyric song, try experimenting with slurs if you can play more than one note in a bow.

Postcard #2: “Eternal Escape” by Dai Fujikura

From the composer’s website: Dai Fujikura is a London-based composer who was born in Osaka, Japan. He moved to the UK at fifteen and studied under Sir George Benjamin. Fujikura has composed for traditional Japanese instruments as well as European period instruments. His collaborations span various genres, working with artists like Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian.

• Title: Eternal Escape
• Composer: Dai Fujikura
• Year Composed: 1977, revised 2006
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 3:12
• Number of Pages: 5
• Number of  Measures: 126
• Tempo: eighth note = 108
• Difficulty Level: advanced/professional
• Highest Position Reached: high thumb position
• Technique Employed: bass, tenor, and treble clefs; 3/32, 2/16, 3/16, 4/16, 5/16, 6/16, 7/16, 8/16, 9/16, 11/16, 13/16, 15/16, 1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, and 5/8 time signatures; glissandos, portamento, left-hand slaps, false harmonics, double stops, sul ponticello, and col battuto
• Publisher: G. Ricordi & Co. (London) Ltd.
• Where to Purchase: Sheet Music Plus
• Cost of Score*: $14.99

Recording

Program Notes

“In 2001, the time this piece was composed, I was writing mainly two types of music: one is very slow atmospheric music, and the other one is fast, energetic, and mechanical. My interest, then, was to combine these two elements, as well as lyrical phrases, into one piece without having conventional “sections”.

I was asked by John Woolrich to compose a four to five minute solo piece for Hoxton New Music Days. I was very pleased to be asked, but then thought four to five minutes? This means slow atmospheric music will be out of the window, because a slow piece takes a longer time to express what I want in music. I always wanted to write fast, groovy and funky contemporary music without a steady pulse. Conventional dance music bores me to death, because once I set foot into a party or night club, I know that I will be hearing music just in 4/4 for the whole night.

Eternal Escape is like watching a Scorsese movie. It should sound like (and be performed) with high energy throughout the piece with a lot of irregular rapid mood changes. This piece also contains a very short top phrase – a little bit sugary perhaps, coming in and out of the energetic, violent, irregular broken scherzo-like music.

I tried to compose six or seven minutes of music to compress into four or five. Finally my reason for choosing the cello was because I know the instrument quite well and also wanted to write a percussive piece for possibly the least percussive instrument.” – Dai Fujikura

Cellist’s Guide

This is yet another time I am grateful to have heard a composition before examining the score. I found a copy of Eternal Escape in a library and, after opening the cover, might have quickly put it back in the stacks had I not first heard the piece.

Though Fujikura frequently uses the upper reaches of the cello, the left hand is not excessively challenging. What look like large leaps are actually just high notes on the A string juxtaposed with the open D string. Additionally, the left-hand string slaps are not as hard as they appear in the video.

The great challenge in this piece is counting. The meter changes every measure throughout the piece, sometimes fluctuating between the 16th maintaining the beat and other times switching between a 16th and 8th note pulse. The natural inclination would be to keep the 16th note as the beat throughout, but that is impossible due to the use of triplets.

Eternal Escape is through-composed, without a rest in sight. The cellist must either read across five pages, use an iPad, or memorize the score.

Postcard #3: “Persistent Memory” by Seung-Won Oh

Korean composer Seung-Won Oh draws on the rich musical traditions of her heritage and multinational experiences for her compositions, which range from solo instruments to groups, chamber music, ensembles, vocal and opera, as well as her signature percussion. Stylistically, many of her pieces fuse a theatrical experience with the music, engaging audiences in a visceral and unique way at each performance.

• Title: Persistent Memory
• Composer: Seung-Won Oh
• Year Composed: 2013
• Instrumentation: unaccompanied cello
• Movements: 1
• Duration: 11:00
• Number of Pages: 10
• Number of Measures: 357
• Tempo: dotted quarter = 76-80
• Difficulty Level: advanced
• Highest Position Reached: as high as possible
• Technique Employed: bass, tenor, and treble clefs; 12/32, 15/32, 18/32, 27/32, 3/16, 5/16, 6/16, 7/16, 8/16, 9/16, 10/16, 11/16, 12/16, 15/16, 17/16, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, 9/8, 10/8, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 time signatures; pizzicato, left-hand pizzicato, tapping on the fingerboard on all strings, quarter tones, glissandos, trills, grace notes, double stops, false harmonics, molto vibrato, jeté, sul ponticello, and tremolo
• Publisher: Deuss Music
• Where to Purchase: deussmusic.com
• Cost of Score*: 19.95 euros

Recording

Program Notes

This piece was written for Katharina Gross (with support from Fonds Podiumkunsten) for her Cellomondo project. Through Cellomondo, Gross hopes to help initiate works by two or more composers from every country in the world.

Cellist’s Guide

This work feels like a series of vignettes cleverly strung together. The first 40 bars are pizzicato, after which there is a measure of rest to enable the player to pick up the bow. The second section mimics the opening but with the bow. The following segment revolves around a double stop involving an open G string and quarter tones, which is followed by a rhythmically driving section based on a minor second. Tremolo dominates the next section, after which a spin-off of the opening motif takes over. The remainder of the piece is a series of variations based on previous ideas.

The majority of this piece is written at the low end of the cello, with pizzicato (including left-hand pizzicato), glissandos, and grinding double stops used frequently.

The composer suggests that the player either use a page-turner or memorize the piece. Of course, using an iPad would be a good alternative to either of these options.

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