My Faithful Dog
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1986
- Publisher
- Canadian Music Centre (unpublished; CMC print, call no. MI 3213 R539myf; RSN 13954)
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About this piece
One of three teaching pieces for cello and piano that the Canadian composer Sylvia Rickard wrote in 1986, together with On the High Seas and Playing Fair [1]. It is a short, gentle song in which the cello plays a slow melody in half notes over warm arpeggiated piano chords. It suits a student who can play all four fingers on the D and A strings and is ready to work on a singing tone.
Technical overview
4/4, about quarter = 76, mostly half and whole notes on the D and A strings in first position, with G sharp and C sharp (A major colour). There are bow-direction markings throughout, two-note slurs and retakes, and dynamics from mp to f with hairpins and a closing rit.
Technical focus
- 2 Note Slurs
- A String Notes
- Accidentals
- Bow Control
- Bow Retakes
- Collaboration with Piano
- D String Notes
- Dynamics
- Hairpin Dynamics
- Legato
- Tempo Changes