Sence You Went Away (from Nightsongs), arr. for mezzo-soprano and cello
by Harrison Leslie Adams Jr. · arranged by Jessica Korotkin
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Vocal
- Composed
- 2020
- Publisher
- American Composers Alliance (American Composers Edition)
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About this piece
This is a setting of James Weldon Johnson's dialect poem 'Sence You Went Away' from H. Leslie Adams's song cycle Nightsongs, arranged by Jessica Korotkin for mezzo-soprano and cello alone. The cello replaces the piano, first with rolled chords under the melody and then with flowing arpeggios. It is a rare repertoire option for a student cellist to accompany a singer, and it sets a text by a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
Technical overview
In E-flat major at quarter = 92, the cello accompanies the voice alone. The opening verses use a pattern of a low bass note followed by a sustained three-note chord, and later verses switch to slurred eighth-note arpeggios with triplet turns, ranging from the bottom C string to above the bass staff. Dynamics stay soft (p to mp) to support the singer.
Technical focus
- Double Stops
- String Crossings
- Legato
- Shifting
- Dynamics
- Ensemble Skills