Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Wednesday's Wonders--the cello

All of you who have been following this blog for a while know that I love my music. It moves me like few things can. I particularly love the sound of the cello. There's something about the resonant vibrations in the lower register that thrill me. I wish I could play it, but now I have the next best thing. One of my daughters plays it, and I get to hear her practice.

The classic lines, the beauty of the wood, the bow, the photogenic nature of it,

not to mention the incredible sounds that it produces.

Here's Rostropovich playing the prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. You'll recognize it. Beautiful. Amazing. Moving.

Here's Julian Lloyd Webber playing Bach's Air on the G String. Another one you'll recognize. You should see my chill bumps.

Of course, you can't do anything cello without including Yoyo Mah. Here he is playing Paganini's Caprice 24. Insane! Ahh!

How about the rest of you? Any particular instrument that moves you?

19 comments:

Patti said...

For some reason I really like the violin. It makes amazing music.

Yat-Yee said...

I love the cello . Rostropovichm Yo Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, Carter Brey are some of my favorite performers and they are all cellists.

Patti, I love the sound of the viola even more than that of a cello and my son plays it. Plus it is so often overlooked, while the cello often has a front and center position.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

My father plays the violin and the viola. So amazing. I love strings. Funny that I play the clarinet, hah.

I love the cello too. I like a group that plays cello Metallica music. Now that's fun. :)

Alyssa said...

I love it all. I always wished I could play the cello. I love its timbre - so rich and luscious. One of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard live (which the name of escapes me right now) was a cello piece. The emotion that the cellist evoked was incredible.

scott g.f.bailey said...

I play the violin, so I'm prejudiced in favor of string instruments. But I love the 'cello; I plan to buy one some day. Have you heard Maria Kliegel play Bach? It's truly amazing. She has such a rich, lovely buzzy tone.

lotusgirl said...

Patti, I like the violin too. A couple years ago I tried to learn to play it, but I decided that, with my other music, it was taking too much time away from writing. Maybe someday.

Yat-Yee, I love the viola, too. In my novel one of the characters plays a five string viola. It is definitely an overlooked instrument.

Glam, When I was taking violin lessons I got to play one time on my instructors electrified violin. It was really cool.

A, yep. I learned some when E was starting, but I felt she was comparing herself to me so I stopped and started on the violin. It's amazing the emotion you can get out of strings.

Scott, I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn a string instrument when I was younger and had more time to devote to it. I started a couple years ago trying to learn the violin. It's quite a challenge. With everything else going on in my life, I've put it on the back burner for now. I'll definitely have to check out Kliegel. thanks for the recommendation.

Anonymous said...

Guitar. This instrument makes almost any man look very, very attractive, if he can play it! The guitar!

Kasie West said...

I bet you loved the movie "The Soloist" with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. I liked it a lot. My fav is the piano. My aunt is a concert pianist and I can listen to her for hours.

Danyelle L. said...

I like the violin, but I love the harp.

*is glad she has long fingers*

I'm hoping for a pedal harp one day, but love my lap lap harp. :D

lotusgirl said...

TTWC. I love the guitar too. Especially, classical. But I can really get into rock guitars when the mood strikes me.

I actually play the piano. I wish I were better, but it's one of those things I love to do. Chopin is my favorite.

Danyelle, I love listening to the harp. I've never tried to play one though. I hear it's really tricky.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I LOVE the sound of the cello too. I took violin in school, but if I had heard the sound of the cello in time, I'm certain I would have picked it instead. It's so soulful.
Plus, it's just so pretty to look at!

Yat-Yee said...

Patti: I came back to read the comments and noticed you'd written "violin" not "viola"!

Lotus: The piano is the instrument I play the best but I cam secretly a string player. Took up viola for a few months and had to stop. Maybe one day I'll pick it up again.

Tamika: said...

Beautiful music! Now this is something I could write to.

Anna Claire said...

Sigh. I love the cello too, and lasted about four months in cello lessons before quitting. In my defense, my Hungarian teacher was a bit on the mean/nasty/highstrung side...at least I've always got my piano.

Tana said...

What a beautiful instrument. I played the flute many moons ago, but even then I long to play the claranette.

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I love the cello. I used to have a friend who played the cello and I played the violin. We'd always try to play together but I'd get too distracted with the beautiful sounds of her instrument and I'd always end up stopping to listen to her play. I love the violin and wish I could play better and I love the piano, too.

Jenni James said...

OOH! I love Julian Lloyd Weber! He's amazing! And yeah, I love the oboe. <--Er, I think that's how you spell it. Something about it, is just so cool.

Jenni

Davin Malasarn said...

I love the cello too. My other two favorites are the viola and the oboe. So, of course I played the clarinet for 12 years. I never liked the sound a clarinet made, and yet I pursued it just because I was having fun. If I had it to do over again, I would pick something else. :)

日月神教-向左使 said...
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