Project Bach Wrote What?! came about because there is a lack of music for unaccompanied solo cello in today’s world. Newbie cellists continue to ask for modern and familiar music they can play without an orchestra, an ensemble, or a pianist friend. These cries go unanswered.
Bach’s unaccompanied cello suites are unquestionably the only accessible music of this type for most amateur cellists. While plenty theoretical work may have been written, they don’t appeal to today’s folks. Great unaccompanied cello music such as Julie-O by Mark Summer does exist. But most pieces are far too advanced for beginner and intermediate cellists. Cello Solo Sonata by Zoltán Kodály comes to mind.
Ask yourself, when did you last play a piece with these traits?
- Got clear and modern melodic voices you hum while not playing
- Unaccompanied yet sounds good… because it’s in fact self-accompanied
- Uses all four strings, not just D, A, and incredibly high positions on the A
- I mean, you paid for the whole cello – you may as well play all four strings
Surely there are more accessible music out there. Or are there? Won’t someone write new music, or rearrange familiar songs for solo cellists? Are some of these possibly free to download?
That’s our mission – to collect and showcase unaccompanied & modern cello music for the rest of us, amateur cellists.