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SCHUMANN – 5 Pieces in Folk-Style, Op.102 – Piece No. 1 ‘Mit Humor’ – Orch. Johnstone for CELLO SOLOIST AND STRING ORCHESTRA

Other Identification:
Robert Schumann took cello lessons as a young man, yet unfortunately for us only at the end of his life did he truly acknowledge the cello as a soloist instrument. The Fünf Stücke im Volkston (Five Pieces in Folk Style) are Schumann’s only original pieces for cello and piano, and indeed the only cello work apart from the big cello concerto he was about to embark on after finishing these pieces (ah, normal to those times he also allowed the pieces be played on violin, for which he occasionally made certain alterations). The music was written in 1849 and given the number Opus 102. They deservedly figure among the core recital repertoire of cellists in spite of being of simple structural forms, perhaps even classed as ‘miniatures’.

Movements or sections:
Here are all the five movements which have been orchestrated:

I – Mit Humor, is a witty piece dominated by surprising rhythms, a big extension of cello registers, yet all placed on a whimsical mood.
II – Langsam (slowly) is like a lullaby or meditative ballad focusing largely on the cello’s melody, set in the same tonality as the slow movement to his cello concerto (was this an unconsious trial attempt for him?!)
III – Nicht schnell (not fast), begins and ends as a little wistful waltz; then, surprisingly, the meter and mood change to become assertive and declarative.
IV – Nicht zu rasch (not too quickly), is one of Schumann’s most passionate moments in mature writing, with a beautiful central heavenly episode.
V – The final piece, marked Stark und markiert (strong and well-marked), is characterized by triplet rhythms in pulsating rhythm. There is some resemblance in feeling to the arpeggios of the last movement of the cello concerto, and here in an impetuous mood, this concluding music moves to strong chord progressions, both cello and piano asserting their individual but cooperative messages.

Instrumentation: SOLOIST CELLO AND STRING ORCHESTRA
The original piano part is also included for those wishing to play the music in recital…

Each of the five individual pieces are presented in 4 PDFs:
PDF 1 – Cello Soloist, and Orchestral Violin I and Violin II parts
PDF 2 – Orchestral Viola, Cello, and Double Bass parts
PDF 3 – Conductor Score
PDF 4 – The piano accompaniment (original)

Approximate difficulty:
In making a STRING ORCHESTRA accompaniment I have frequently moved the upper strings (violins/violas) up an octave; there is more “air” this way, and also there is less interference to the cello’s middle registers. I have been conscious of giving some special melodic importance to the second violins, and one movement briefly ends with a couple of bars of viola solo, and another of orchestral cello solo! In general, the orchestral parts are not too difficult, although there are also some dangerous moments – mention should be made of piece No.4 for both violin sections!

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