The Cello and Wes
WA Julian
The greatest instrument ever devised is the ****cal cello. I love it and I'll stand by that statement with vicious, passionate argument. The range of sound it produces can be anything from vibrantly joyful to hauntingly somber. It's almost as versatile as a piano, and some could even argue it's even more versatile. What's surprising is that it's just a smaller variant of the Violone, a large Italian instrument something like a modern string bass. The result of merely decreasing the size is incredible.
Discovering my love for the cello was a complete accident. I was surfing Youtube and I can't remember how, but I came across a video of Russian composer Rachmaninoff's Op. 3 No. 2 in C Sharp Minor. I really liked it and I punched it in on Limewire. What I got was another Rachmaninoff piece played with both a cello and the piano. This piece, played by Yo-yo Ma and a pianist I'm not familiar with, is called Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19: III Andante. Two things came out of hearing that one. One was my interest in the cello and two was my interest in both Yo-yo Ma and Rachmaninoff. I especially admire Yo-yo Ma. He is the single best cellist I've ever seen play (not in person, mind you) and you probably have too. His most recent large-scale performance was during Barack Obama's inauguration, playing John William's Air and Simple Gifts.
I wasn't passionate about the cello, just interested. It became my favorite cIassical instrument right then. Andante was about the only piece I had for a while with a good cello performance. I listen to it occasionally. It's one of the few pieces I can listen to constantly and love every time. It's a personal tradition of mine to listen to it Christmas Eve night, just before midnight.
Now, I've been a metal-listener for a while now. I wouldn't call myself a metal-head as I hate most of it. It's either full of satanic messages, dirty, crap, or all of the above. I liked the Christian metalcore band Demon Hunter for a while, though they were never the only thing I listened to. I listened to mostly soundtracks and very heavy metal, which is quite an oxymoron in taste. I tried quite a few things to reconcile these two. One was the soundtrack for Iron Man, which is a blend of orchestra and electric guitar, another was the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (which failed for me when Christmas ended).
My interest was reignited when I came across another Youtube video; this one of three men playing Metallica's Enter Sandman on cellos. I wasn't really a Metallica fan then, but no metal-head doesn't know Enter Sandman. I was enthralled because it wasn't just a cheap cover… it was actually incredibly good. Of course, then I had no idea that I was watching one of the greatest bands to grace the planet: Apocalyptica.
In 1993, four ****cally-trained Finnish cellists got together one day and played some Metallica for a party. Little did they know that they were discovered and instantly signed on to for a recording contract. Their first album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, released in 1996, met with excellent sales for what many would describe as a gimmick band. The album was eight Metallica pieces played on four cellos. With their success, they made another album, Inquisition Symphony, in which they found themselves covering other bands and even a few original songs. It was also the first to use in sort of distortion in their music (basically what makes an electric guitar sound electric, in this case the cello). Their next album, Cult, was the first to feature vocals. None of the members from Apocalyptica sing, rather they have guest vocalists from other famous bands. Finally, Reflections was released and contained only original work. Also, a drummer was introduced. Their first one was Dave Lambardo from Slayer, but he was unable to stay in the band as he was already in one. So, they hired one full time for touring and their next album, Apocalyptica.
I only jumped aboard about the same time that their latest album, Worlds Collide, was released. This is by far their best album and it features a sound like no other. I bought most of their albums and I'd say I listen to them more than any other band. They made me a Metallica fan, but I find them vastly superior to Metallica and most of their covers better than the originals. It's also an ironic fact that Apocalyptica is currently ahead of Metallica on the Billboard rock charts. Why? Because they're number one!
They really do a good job showing the range a cello can do. Their music is widely varied from extremely cIassical-sounding to hard metal. The stuff in between is the best, though. Their music is even multilingual. It's mostly in English, but there's German, French, and Portuguese to name a few.
I found myself loving the music so much and then I slowly found the cello creeping into my heart. Then I realized I needed to play one for myself. I suck at music and I have no rhythm, but this means something to. I want to make the sounds for myself and see what it's like to create the beauty that Yo-yo Ma and Apocalyptica make. In college, I'm going to find some way to learn it. I'm not expecting a musical career, I just want to play the cello.
Here are a few selections that I really like. I didn't put anything heavy here, just stuff that I thought anybody could like. Please, if you read this watch at least one Apocalyptica!
Yo-Yo Ma at his best, playing Bach's Cello Suite number 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZn_VBgkPNY
Apocalyptica playing Metallica's Nothing Else Matters:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbTozgoj9OQ
Apocalyptica playing Path:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnAzkh9kn0
Apocalyptica playing Metallica's Fade to Black:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x97f-_y93a0&feature=related
Apocalyptica playing Grace, featuring Hotei , a Japanese guitarist (Crazy weird claymation video!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCd8_hSCYA
Apocalyptica playing Farewell (I chose this for my graduation song):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnpXB6O6RDY
They're all amazing pieces and I hope that by watching one, you'll want to see the next. I know I would.
Path and Grace are both very upbeat pieces, but aren't really metal. Nothing Else Matters are Fade to Black are calmer Metallica songs, while Farewell is an original slow-paced song.
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