for violoncello and chamber orchestra (2020/2025)
10 minutes
Instrumentation
violoncello solo
2*222* / 2110 / timp / 2 perc / harp / strings
2 Flute (2nd also Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in A, 1 Bassoon, 1 Contrabassoon
2 Horns in F, 1 Trumpets in C, 1 Trombone
1 Timpani player
2 Percussion players: Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Tambourine, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Vibraphone, Suspended Cymbal
1 Harp
Strings
a version for violoncello and piano is available.
Description
Ring was originally composed for cello and piano in 2020, which was commissioned and premiered by Cheng2 Duo in 2021. The version for cello and chamber orchestra was commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra. While the solo cello part remains the same as the original, the piano part has been given a distinctive orchestral colouring, distributed among the instruments of a compact ensemble comprised of strings and a select number of woodwinds, brass, harp and percussion.
The title alludes to the structure of the piece, which progresses in recurring cycles of two chords in perpetual modulation. This ever-changing harmonic structure gives the music a sense of inexorable drive, through longer patterns that advance in successive rotations distinguished by variations in orchestral timbre and texture. Although the solo cello generally remains in the foreground, it is set neither in confrontation nor in dialogue with the orchestra. Rather, they proceed together, sometimes exchanging musical material, or adding a new element to the shifting texture. Notably, the orchestral part consists primarily of short musical gestures, systematically arranged in time across instruments like pointillistic dots of symphonic colour that the listener experiences as an integrated whole.
Ring begins with the cello alone, on a passage of disjointed phrases to proceed in a “mechanical” fashion; their arrangement hints at a melody but it seems incoherent. When the orchestra takes up these fragments, their logic becomes clearer as the cello elucidates the harmonic progression through chugging double stops. The fragments then smooth out into an expressive melody, carried first by the orchestra, then intensifying on cello. In the ensuing cycle, the melody turns ghostly, set in harmonics on the cello against an otherworldly backdrop of vibraphone and harp arpeggios, pings of glockenspiel, and ricochet figures on muted strings. A halting passage follows; for a moment, the music’s progress is suspended in time. But a new cycle starts up with a return to crisp timbres; as the music advances, the orchestra adds various arpeggiated elements. Later, the cello begins a steady upward climb, which is continued by the orchestra while the soloist wraps chords around a descending line. A detached walking pattern emerges from the orchestra’s bass instruments, with the rest dispersing pointillistic colour to dissonant effect. The cello, which was absent during this “rotation”, rejoins the now highly varied texture with a perpetuum mobile passage. The music continues relentlessly and ultimately arrives on a final chord that would only resolve if the piece was to begin again, thus bringing it full circle.
— Hannah Chan-Hartley
No part of this text may be reproduced or printed without permission.
Commission
Commissioned by The National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa) and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra. Original version for violoncello and piano commissioned by Cheng² Duo
First performance
May 6, 2026
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Southam Hall
Bryan Cheng, violoncello / National Arts Centre Orchestra / Teddy Abrams, conductor
Pairing suggestions
Camille Saint-Saëns: Violoncello Concerto No. 2, Op. 119
Arthur Honegger: Violoncello Concerto
André Caplet: Epiphanie
Access
Available for hire.
Contact Nicolas Farmer: nicolas.farmer(a)samymoussa.com