Not So Simple

About this piece

Not So Simple is a set of variations for solo cello on the Shaker song 'Simple Gifts', written by Kaitlyn Raitz in 2020 on a commission from the Lotus Chamber Music Collective in New York. It opens slowly (crotchet = 60) in tenor clef with sustained double stops, a harmonic glissando rising into treble clef, and a passage of left-hand pizzicato. The tune then enters at crotchet = 82, marked 'simple' and to be played without vibrato in thumb position, before moving down into a bass-clef variation marked 'milk it', where the melody is set over a bass line in double stops with normal vibrato. Raitz's interest in bringing folk material into contemporary classical writing shows clearly here. The score is sold as a PDF from the composer's website.

Technical overview

A single variation movement of about 4½ minutes. The cellist needs thumb position (marked) in tenor and treble clef, a harmonic glissando, left-hand pizzicato in repeated semiquavers and triplets, double stops and chords, a change from no vibrato to normal vibrato, and slurred two-note figures in the theme.

Technical focus

• Thumb Position
• Harmonics
• Pizzicato
• Double Stops
• Vibrato
• Shifting
• 2 Note Slurs
• Dotted Rhythms
• Rhythm
• Dynamics
• Hairpin Dynamics