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Cello Repertoire Initiative

Île de Ré

by Sylvia Rickard

Instrumentation
Cello, Piano
Composed
1976
Publisher
The Avondale Press (ISMN M-706041-69-8); also available from the Canadian Music Centre, RSN 10912
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About this piece

Sylvia Rickard wrote Île de Ré after a 1974 trip to France, where, as she puts it, she fell in love with the lighthouse of the Île de Ré and its fishing village, whose large fields were covered in red poppies. The piece is dedicated to Jean Coulthard, her principal composition teacher, and has two movements. 'Nuit', a Largo marked pensivo, opens with rolled chords in the cello over sustained piano harmonies; 'Jour', marked Leggiero, con agilità, sets quick changes between spiccato, pizzicato and lyrical bowed lines against running sixteenth notes in the piano. The Avondale Press published it with the composer's note in English and French.

Technical overview

Nuit (4/4, Largo) begins with rolled three-note chords and uses grace notes, triplet and sextuplet figures and a chromatic line that climbs high in bass clef. Jour (quarter note = 120 to 126) alternates spiccato, pizzicato and arco at speed, moves into treble clef, and adds trills, sul ponticello and a closing glissando before a final sfz note.

Technical focus

  • Accidentals
  • Chords
  • Collaboration with Piano
  • Glissando
  • Grace Notes
  • Pizzicato
  • Shifting
  • Spiccato
  • Sul Ponticello
  • Treble Clef
  • Trills
  • Triplets

Level rubric

Early Advanced

Left Hand

  • Fully integrated thumb position; scales/arpeggios on A & D strings.
  • Smooth shifts into/out of thumb position for sustained high notes.
  • Frequent advanced double stops with rapid, coordinated shifts.
  • Accurate ornamentation (trills, turns, grace notes), even in double stops.
  • Expressively adjust intonation for chord balance.
  • Handle fast runs and large leaps precisely.
  • Introduction to false harmonics.

Right Hand

  • Virtuoso bow strokes: controlled up/down‑bow staccato, deliberate ricochet & well‑shaped sautillé.
  • Wide tone palette via precise bow adjustments.
  • Explore advanced effects (col legno, sul ponticello) as needed.
  • Capable of both powerful fortissimo and delicate soft notes.
  • Rapid switching among strokes in cadenzas/virtuosic passages.

Rhythm & Musicality

  • Apply rhythmic freedom & rubato to shape movements and cadenzas.
  • Personal interpretation with nuanced phrasing & subtle dynamics.
  • Mature tone and phrasing for solo and ensemble settings.
  • Demonstrate advanced ensemble leadership with visual cues.

Levels are approximate guides, not strict requirements.

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