Description

Choral Song based on “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT”

Lennon & McCartney – prepared for FOUR Cello Soloists, or larger cello ensemble (medium-to-easy) by DAVID JOHNSTONE

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PDF 1 – General Score
PDF 2 – All Individual Parts

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EXAMPLE from the score:

Notes:

The title of this song – A Hard Day’s Night – was taken from an expression that Ringo used to say. In a 1964 interview with DJ Dave Hull, Ringo explained:
“We went to do a job, and we’d worked all day and we happened to work all night. I came up still thinking it was day I suppose, and I said, ‘It’s been a hard day…’ and I looked around and saw it was dark so I said, ‘Night!’ So we came to ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ ”

The Beatles won just four Grammy Awards in the ’60s, and one of them was for this very song: it won for Best Performance by A Vocal Group in 1964 (The Beatles also won for Best New Artist that year). The Hard Day’s Night Hotel opened in Liverpool in 2003. It is next to The Cavern Club, where The Beatles played many of their early shows.

The version for four cellos – and equally convincing in a larger cello ensemble or cello orchestra – has been carefully guided for players with not too much experience. Only the first four positions are employed in any part, though the F Major key means a fair share of backward finger extensions. However, it should not be dismissed by advanced players; it has a nice chamber work choir to it; and for all cellists that adore the Beatles this will make an interesting new contribution to cello ensemble repertoire!