Traditional Fiddle Tunes: “Devil’s Dream”: For Cello
This short, sparkling, playful, traditional fiddle tune can become quite fiery (and devilish) if we play it fast. It is offered here in several different versions:
- for solo cello with piano (or any chordal accompaniment)
- for various duo combinations for cello with either violin, viola or with another cellist
A good way to make this little piece last longer is to play it several times (always with each section repeated), each time increasing the speed. In the version for solo cello with accompaniment, an introduction has been added, also in order to make it a little longer. The duo versions don’t need this introduction because the alternation between the two players allows us to repeat the tune more times without it becoming repetitive.
This little tune is not only very enjoyable but is also a great little “study” for thumbposition, which it never leaves. There is only one position change (a small, stepwise one) in the entire piece, which repeats in each section, and we can do this position change either with a shift or with a snakecrawl. This makes the piece also a good little laboratory experiment to explore the relative advantages of moving by snakecrawl compared to classic shifting.
Here then are the downloadable sheet music parts, designed to be printed on A4 paper with no margins:
And here is a play-along audio piano accompaniment to go with the solo cello version. If you download it, it can be played back at different speeds with different apps including Amazing Slowdowner.
Because the piece is so short we can also pair it with Turkey In The Straw. In this medley for solo cello with accompaniment, Devil’s Dream is played in C major (the same key as “Turkey”) and constitutes the grand finale, coming after its more gentle partner’s opening act.
- Turkey In The Straw + Devil’s Dream: Medley: CELLO PART
- Turkey In The Straw + Devil’s Dream: Medley: PIANO SCORE
And here below is a play-along audio piano accompaniment for this medley version: