The French cello bowing style from around 1900

Mikaela Gronberg

The Artistic Research has been full of surprises, opportunities and it even created a world full of new ideas for me which I did not think was possible in the beginning of the research. When I started to do the research, my first thought was to focus on relaxation in performance but since I already been very interested about French cello playing for a few years I decided to change the path because I found my topic less treated and full of potentials. Thereafter I started in the Performance Practice domain where Job ter Haar became my coach and to have a cellist as a coach when you are a cellist yourself has been very inspiring, helpful and motivating for me. From a few years ago I have always wanted to have a broader insight in the bowing style and a deeper understanding about it, because I knew that it could led to self-improvement in my own playing and also be useful for other cellists. As I have been fascinated of cellists such as Paul Tortelier, André Navarra and Maurice Gendron for their way of playing the French repertoire and their use of the bowing technique, I was curious to find out more about their heritage in French playing and how they applied this in their musical language. The knowledge about this area has never been close to me, which I will explain later in my motivation. After a few domain meetings my head was full of new ideas for the Artistic Research. The journey took off with the French bowing style from around 1900 on the cello, where I got the opportunity to research in several elements of the bowing style and how I could apply them to the French repertoire and close related repertoire from that period. Since then, I have felt that my choice of the subject has been right and has kept me interested to progress in this unknown area for me throughout my Artistic Research.

Final result - Cello sonata in G minor, Op. 65, Largo (F. Chopin)

First Intervention Cycle

Zero point, Chopin's Largo

Alexanian - bow hold - first movement Chopin excerpt

Alexanian - bow hold - open string

Bazelaire - bow hold - open string

Stegenga - bow hold - 1st mov, Chopin

Vaslin - bow hold - 1st mov, Chopin's sonata op.65

Vaslin - bow hold - open string

2nd recording - Cello sonata in G minor, Op. 65, Largo (F. Chopin)

Second Intervention Cycle

Bazelaire_Philipp - Saint-Saens Cello Sonata No. 1

3rd recording,C. Saint- Saens

Andante tranquillo e sostenuto of the 1st Sonata

for cello and piano

Third Intervention Cycle

Spiccato, zero recording

Spiccato, final recording

Zero point recording, Fauré - Après un rêve

Alexanian - bow hold - excerpt of scherzo

Bazelaire - bow hold - Excerpt of Chopin's Scherzo

Bazelaire . bow hold - Excerpt of 1st mov, Chopin's sonata op.65

Stegenga - bow hold - Scherzo- Chopin

Vaslin - bow hold - open string

Vaslin - bow hold - Scherzo, Chopin Sonata op.65

J. C. Bach_ Cello Concerto in C minor

1. Allegro molto ma maestoso - Maurice Maréchal (1948)

3rd recording - J. C. Bach - Allegro molto ma maestoso of the Cello Concerto in C minor

Spiccato, zero recording

Staccato, final recording

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