Wild Cello

Embark on a musical adventure with Wild Cello, a captivating collection of 14 original Celtic-inspired tunes specially composed for beginner cellists of all ages. Building on her previous works - Clan, a narrative piece for cello and piano, and Folk & Beyond, an collection of traditional folk songs and original compositions - Joanna Borrett brings the spirit of traditional folk music to life with melodies that are both accessible and expressive.

Designed to help early-stage players build confidence and technique, these enchanting tunes will transport you to misty highlands, rolling green hills, and the heart of a Celtic celebration. Wild Cello includes full piano accompaniments, free downloadable backing tracks to enliven your practice sessions, and sample tracks to guide your interpretation.

Let your cello sing with the wild beauty of Celtic music!

Pedagogical Value: The collection of 14 original Celtic-inspired pieces is designed to build confidence and technique in early-stage players, making it an excellent resource for educators seeking engaging teaching material.

Comprehensive Learning Tools: The inclusion of full piano accompaniments, free downloadable backing tracks, and sample recordings supports a holistic learning experience, facilitating both practice and performance.

Author's Proven Expertise: Joanna Borrett's previous works, such as Clan and Folk & Beyond, have been well-received in the music community, underscoring her credibility and experience in composing for string instruments.

Alignment with Examination Standards: Borrett's compositions have been featured in syllabi like ABRSM's, indicating that her pieces meet recognised educational standards, which is beneficial for teachers preparing students for graded exams.

When asked to review this new book of fourteen Celtic cello tunes by Joanna Borrett I suspected that the interests and needs of the beginner cellist would be in good hands.

The composer is a cellist and the writing sits well in the lower positions with plenty of opportunities to use different fingerings and positions for the more seasoned cellist. 

There is also due consideration given to the expressive and playable piano writing for the teacher who, like myself, may not be an accomplished pianist.

Techniques are explored to expand the sound world from open strings and the lower positions. 'Rocking' is played entirely with natural harmonics in third position, 'Travelling by Wolf Light' asks for a speedy transition from first position to tapping the cello - in the interests of cellos not getting bashed I might have liked a bar to transition to this - 'Improvise' invites the cellist to play their very own theme in G major using Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as the base rhythm, a great opportunity to stimulate and encourage musical imagination.

Several of the tunes have characterful melodies that scamper around, excellent for keeping an even tone with all the string crossings, while needing to be super rhythmic. 'Revelry' is straight out of a ceilidh party and is suitably infectious. 'Lorn' (Andante lacrimoso) invites the musician to be expressive and to leave the confines of first position. 'Howl' and 'Valour', both have opportunities for the older player to explore their mature expressive side, and 'The Rebel' has dark, furious undertones introduced with wild pizzicato.

This is a valuable new compendium of Celtic melodies for Wild Cellists in any age group, easily sitting within Grades 2 to 4, supported with simple and interesting piano accompaniments for both teacher and parent to also enjoy.