Steps
- Instrumentation
- Cello Ensemble
- Composed
- 2023
- Duration
- 11'40''
- Publisher
- Composer (self-published)
Purchase or download
About this piece
Steps (2023) is a four-movement suite of duets for two cellos, about 12 minutes long, inspired by mountain climbing: Wonderment (looking up from the base), Ascent, Summit and Listening to the Earth. Walker's note points to its range of colours, including rolled pizzicato, tapping, and tremolos played up and down the body of the cello. In Summit one cello plays rising and falling arcs of natural harmonics meant to suggest mountain peaks. Listening to the Earth opens with both players tapping on their instruments to suggest sounds of the earth. The full score is a free PDF on the composer's website.
Technical overview
Mostly bass and tenor clef with some treble, and moderate rhythms including triplet eighths. Cello I plays long passages of natural-harmonic arpeggios and alternates stopped and harmonic notes on the same pitch. Both parts use pizzicato chords, tremolo and tapping on the body of the cello.
Technical focus
- Harmonics
- Pizzicato
- Shifting
- Double Stops
- Slurs
- Hairpin Dynamics
- Ensemble Skills