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BIENE, Auguste van – The Broken Melody (1892) – SOLO CELLO and STRING ORCHESTRA

Other Identification:
‘The Broken Melody’ was the most famous composition of Auguste van Biene, and comes from his own music for a play that he commissioned in 1892; it was a three-act play “The Broken Melody” in which a particular tune which was also called “The Broken Melody.” This tune, “The Broken Melody”, became an instant success, and the song is still remembered today.

Audiences loved it, especially in the moment when the melody stops and we have a momentary absolute silence! Van Biene performed it 6,000 times! It was even included in two early movies! Apart from this tune, the second act of the play includes a short cello recital by a cellist. Van Biene, of course in the starring role, varied his selections every night, often playing his own arrangement of Kol Nidrei. Critics named him the “Magician of the Cello,” since he played in a very emotional manner, and was able to completely captivate the audience.

It was published for cello and piano, but I believe it lays perfectly for an instrumental string version. Therefore I have made two new versions; one with cello soloist and ‘normal’ string orchestra (very easy for the strings!) and another with cello soloist and orchestra of cellos (or equally well cello soloist accompanied by a cello quartet, making a cello quintet).

I therefore feel that it would be very nice to maintain this piece in the cello repertoire after such a rich history!

Movements or sections:
marked ‘Andante con molto espressivo’

Instrumentation:
SOLOIST CELLO AND STRING ORCHESTRA
Arranged by David Johnstone

This music is in 4 PDFs:
[1 – Cello Soloist
[2 – Accompanying Orchestral Score
[3 – Orchestral individual parts
[4 – Original Piano Part

Approximate difficulty:
Medium (orchestral parts easy-to-medium)

Dedicatee of this presentation (if applicable):
to the important Spanish cellist Aldo Mata

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Personal

David Johnstone lives near Pamplona (Navarre, Spain) with his wife Rosa and their two “Spanglish” children, close to the Atlantic Pyrenees. The nearest international airport is Bilbao.

He is interested in world affairs, politics, animal rights, and most sports (including being a lifelong suffering Reading FC fan!). Also passionate about Celtic culture and genealogy, he has traced his ‘English’ family back to 1280, although Scotland and Ireland have also shaped his background. And yes — he is half-ashamed to admit it, he loves silly jokes!

Social Work

David Johnstone supports animal rights, he is against any form of abuse towards them, and says a loud “NO” to bullfighting, foxhunting and any other animal cruelty.

TORTURE IS NOT CULTURE !