The Traditional Cello Page

After more than a century of neglect, the cello is returning to traditional music. How did it get lost? And how was it played back then?

Greetings to all Strings magazine readers who have arrived at this site after reading my article in the April 2002 issue. I hope to be expanding the cello page soon. At the same time as I was writing the article, I encountered a mass of additional material which I have not yet been able to organize, as I am currently modifying the entire site owing to the problems which are described on the home page. But I hope to get it up soon, as it is information not generally known to musicians that has been hiding out in old collections of literature. Probably I will divide the current page about traditional cello into one page per nationality. I have so much new information that this will be necessary.

I'm hoping also that some Strings readers will weigh in with additional suggestions for the page. I would like to learn more about the use of the cello in American country music, about which I know little.

So after you have read what's here now, please check back in a month or two and I will try to get much of the new material up.

Available topics:

Cello accompaniment in Baroque music

Everybody knows that during the Baroque era, the usual accompaniment instrument was the harpsichord. Or was it? See what the noted modern cellist Dimitry Markevitch has to say on this subject.

The cello in traditional music

The cello is an instrument strictly used in classical music. Its introduction into traditional music is a modern aberration. If you believe that, take a look at some of these quotations.

Cello accompaniment today

Here are some of my ideas about concepts of cello accompaniment in traditional music.

Opinions on the cello in traditional music

Some of the experts from the IRTRAD-L list express their thoughts on the cello, including recommended recordings, playing techniques, and references to the cello in American old-timey music.

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Related topics:

• The baritone violin

Information on Crossing to Scotland by cellist Abby Newton, who has performed with Alasdair Fraser and Jean Redpath, among others.

Check out the links page for additional references.

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Go to The Standing Stones home page