Cello Suites (Bach)

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007 to 1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–23, when he served as a Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites á Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

These suites for unaccompanied cello are remarkable in that they achieve the effect of implied three- to four-voice contrapuntal and polyphonic music in a single musical line. As usual in a Baroque musical suite, each movement is based around a baroque dance type; the cello suites are structured in six movements each: prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, two minuets or two bourrées or two gavottes, and a final gigue. The Bach cello suites are considered to be among the most profound of all classical music works.Wilfrid Mellers described them in 1980 as "Monophonic music wherein a man has created a dance of God."

D major

D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.

D major is well-suited to violin music because of the structure of the instrument, which is tuned G D A E. The open strings resonate sympathetically with the D string, producing a sound that is especially brilliant. This is also the case with all other orchestral strings.

It is thus no coincidence that many classical composers throughout the centuries have chosen to write violin concertos in D major, including those by Mozart (No. 2, 1775, No. 4, 1775); Ludwig van Beethoven (1806); Paganini (No. 1, 1817); Brahms (1878); Tchaikovsky (1878); Prokofiev (No. 1, 1917); Stravinsky (1931); and Korngold (1945).

It is appropriate for guitar music, with drop D tuning making two Ds available as open strings. For some beginning wind instrument students, however, D major is not a very suitable key, since it transposes to E major on B-flat wind instruments, and beginning methods generally tend to avoid keys with more than three sharps.

No. 6

No. 6 is a nine-volume novel series written by Atsuko Asano and published by Kodansha between October 2003 and June 2011. A manga adaptation drawn by Hinoki Kino began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Kodansha's Aria magazine. An anime TV series adaptation by Bones began airing in Japan in July 2011.

Plot

The story takes place in the "ideal" and perfect city known as "No.6". Shion, a boy raised in the elite and privileged environment of his home, gives shelter to another boy, who only gives his name as "Rat" on the former's 12th birthday. What Shion soon discovers is how drastically life will change after meeting with the mysterious Rat, whom he had saved one unforgettable, stormy night.

Characters

Cello

The cello (/ˈtʃɛloʊ/ CHEL-oh; plural cellos or celli) or violoncello (/ˌvaɪələnˈtʃɛloʊ/ VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh;Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]) is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin and viola.

The cello is used as a solo musical instrument, as well as in chamber music ensembles, string orchestras, as a member of the string section of symphony orchestras, and some rock bands. It is the second-largest bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, the double bass being the largest.

Cellos were derived from other mid- to large-sized bowed instruments in the 16th century, such as the viola da gamba, and the generally smaller and squarer viola da braccio, and such instruments made by members of the Amati family of luthiers.

Cello parts are generally written in the bass clef, but both tenor and treble clefs are used for higher-range parts.

A person who plays the cello is called a cellist or violoncellist.

Surname

A surname or family name is a name added to a given name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name.

In most Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, two or more last names (or surnames) may be used. In China, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Taiwan, Vietnam, and parts of India, the family name is placed before a person's given name.

The style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (forename) is far from universal. In many countries, it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.

The concept of a "surname" is a relatively recent historical development, evolving from a medieval naming practice called a "byname". Based on an individual's occupation or area of residence, a byname would be used in situations where more than one person had the same name.