Angels At Play

An ethereal sounding cello duet, sometimes described as a lullaby, which introduces thumb position to the left hand using natural harmonics on the cello, without the tension introduced when strings must be lowered to the fingerboard. Included on the back page is a map of the most commonly used cello natural harmonics. Violoncello 2 accompanies Violoncello 1 sempre pizzicato, using only 3 natural harmonics, which produce a harp-like sound. When taught, students quickly pick up the Violoncello 2 part even though it is written in tenor clef. With the three notes far apart, students can quickly recognize the notes they need, even without prior experience reading tenor clef. Fingerings and Roman numeral string markings are provided in the Violoncello 1 part the first time each pitch appears, allowing the teacher to introduce treble clef and how to read the map of the most commonly used harmonics, and allowing the student to look back for reference when practicing. Each part stays in the same position throughout the piece, requiring no shifting.