Yakamochi Op. 193 No. 2

By Alan Hovhaness

I love performing this unaccompanied cello piece. It works well for church gigs and the concert hall.

"Yakamochi" is a charming serenade honor of the Japanese poet of the same name. Like much of Hovhaness' works, the music is colored by Asian inspirations, and Hovhaness puts the cello to good use while not pushing the professional cellist or the instrument to its limits, like Bright Sheng's...

"Seven Tunes heard in China" does. What I think still makes this piece advanced is the difficulty to reach the profound musical thought behind it. Initially, the music can seem a bit tedious. It is quite tonal and wanders between musical modes, and the technique is usually regular pizz and arco playing, but many hours of playing is needed to understand the musical philosophy hidden in the notes. It's all worth it in the end, though. One will discover this piece to be enormously rewarding and emotional when scraping on the surface. Much like the works of the poet Yakamochi, this music does not give away much for free, but it's a lifelong companion once you learn its language.