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Flight

by Jessie Montgomery

Instrumentation
Cello
Composed
2025
Duration
5'
Publisher
Jessie Montgomery Music (sold through Notation Central)

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About this piece

Flight is a five-minute piece for solo cello written for cellist Amanda Gookin and commissioned through her Forward Music Project, with support from the Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund. Montgomery describes it as an expression of resilience and grace. The opening sits over a C/G drone, which can be played from an electronic track (as at the premiere) or, in an all-acoustic performance, by adding the open C and G strings at the beginnings and ends of phrases.

Technical overview

No technical overview is available yet.

Level rubric

Advanced

Left Hand

  • Unrestricted fingerboard operation.
  • Effortless high‑register passages with thumb position.
  • Execute large leaps, rapid shifts & fast runs with precise intonation.
  • Render double stops with clarity and even vibrato.
  • Crisp, stylistically appropriate ornamentation (trills, turns, mordents).
  • Instinctive micro‑adjustments in intonation for expressiveness.
  • False harmonics in low positions

Right Hand

  • Complete command of all bow strokes at any tempo/dynamic.
  • Comfortable execution of virtuoso passages (sautillé, intricate ricochet).
  • Tone projection from whisper‑quiet to fortissimo.
  • Integrate advanced bow patterns with expressive phrasing.
  • Demonstrate technical precision with a broad dynamic range.

Rhythm & Musicality

  • Interpret large‑scale structures with nuanced pacing and rhythmic freedom.
  • Highly refined phrasing with subtle note grouping & expressive rubato.
  • Convey emotional depth and stylistic authenticity.
  • Incorporate personal interpretive choices while meeting stylistic demands.

Levels are approximate guides, not strict requirements.