Shades

About this piece

A piece of about six and a half minutes for unaccompanied cello, written in 2019 and dedicated to Wallace's cello teacher at Wichita State University, Leonid Shukaev. In her program note the composer calls it "the culmination of my cello studies" and says the piece is centred on the note D. It moves from a mysterious, partly unmeasured opening through a section marked "aggressive, heavy (like heavy metal)" to a lyrical, singing passage. Many cellists have performed it since 2020, and Kivie Cahn-Lipman recorded it.

Technical overview

Uses drones and double stops against the open D, short unmeasured boxed passages, sul ponticello and a climb into the treble clef, with frequent tempo and character changes.

Technical focus

• Double Stops
• Dotted Rhythms
• String Crossings
• Shifting
• Tempo Changes
• Dynamics
• Hairpin Dynamics
• Articulation