Cello excerpt · Audition repertoire
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 (incidental music)
Scherzo (Allegro vivace)
Fairy-light Mendelssohn scherzo passage, the textbook test of clean, even, soft spiccato.
At a glance
- Instrument
- Cello
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Work
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 (incidental music)
- Movement
- Scherzo (Allegro vivace)
- Era
- Romantic (c. 1820–1880)
- Composed
- 1843
- Key
- G
- Metre
- 3/8
- Tempo
- Allegro vivace (dotted quarter) · ♩ ≈ 84
- Clef
- Bass clef
- Level
- Audition, professional standard
- Audition list
- Yes, standard excerpt
How to practise it
The bow style, the trouble spots, and the stylistic decisions that come up most often on this excerpt.
Bowing
Sixteenths must sound like raindrops, pp, even, never aggressive.
Where it goes wrong
Bow weight is the enemy. Use the natural bounce, fingers loose.
Style
Play above the string, not into it. Imagine a fairy ring.
Tags
Work on the technique underneath
Arco's cello curriculum builds the bow strokes, positions, and clef reading this excerpt assumes, with recorded cello playback throughout.