Tanka for solo cello (PDF sheet music)

Description

Composer: Adam Scott Neal
Instrumentation: Solo cello
Format: Downloadable PDF
Length: 9 pages total (including cover and front matter)
Size: 8.5 × 11 in.

Preview

Recording

Program note

Tanka uses a Japanese poetic form to determine structure. The English form of tanka typically has 31 syllables distributed over five lines in the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. The final two lines are often considered the “turn” (similar to that in a sonnet), where the subject matter or mood changes the meaning of the preceding lines. In this piece, the melodic material projects 31 sonorities, divided into five large sections. The first three sections feature disjunct and declamatory gestures, while the final two sections (after the “turn”) feature more continuous and running gestures.

Performances include

• Craig Hultgren (cello), University of Florida, 10/22/13
• Michael Brooks (viola), Terminus Ensemble, Atlanta, GA, 12/9/12