Skip to content
Cello Repertoire Initiative

Dos sonetos de amor

by Jeremy Gill

Instrumentation
Cello, Piano
Composed
2001
Duration
10'
Publisher
Composer (self-published)
More by this composer

Purchase or download

About this piece

Two wordless "songs" for cello and piano setting sonnets from Pablo Neruda's Cien sonetos de amor: "La casa transparente" (Sonnet XC) and "La paz vertiginosa" (Sonnet LIII). The cello line is shaped so that it could, in effect, sing every syllable of the Spanish text. Gill wrote the pieces for pianist Michelle Basile while her mother was terminally ill, and he says that, although Neruda's poems are love poems, the settings became memorials to maternal love. Cellist Jason Duckles and the composer premiered the work on 23 February 2001; a viola version followed in 2013.

Technical overview

No technical overview is available yet.

Level rubric

Professional

Left Hand

  • Complete command of the fingerboard.
  • Proficient thumb position across all strings.
  • Execute complex double stops and rapid trills precisely.
  • Fast scales and leaps with precise intonation and speed.
  • Apply expressive techniques (portamenti, micro‑adjusted intonation) tastefully.
  • Easily execute false harmonics.

Right Hand

  • Seamlessly blends martelé, spiccato, sautillé, legato & ricochet.
  • Meticulous bow distribution for sustained lines or rapid passages.
  • Clear pianissimo to controlled fortissimo.
  • Economical, efficient bow movement with smooth transitions.
  • Employ advanced effects (ponticello, bow effects) artistically.

Musicality

  • Focus on a deeply personal, communicative performance.
  • Make interpretive choices reflecting deep understanding of form, style & emotion.
  • Convey nuanced phrasing, wide dynamic range & a unique artistic voice.
  • Craft dramatic cadenzas/solos with rubato, tone & expressive timing.

Levels are approximate guides, not strict requirements.

Music

Recently AddedThe newest additions

About

Our MissionResource CatalogContributeContact Us