Everybody Loves You

The full name of the piece is “Everybody Loves You, Four Bagatelles for Cello Solo”. the “You” in the title is my wife, Tess Thomas-Anderson, who seems to inhabit a world of love: kids love her, pets love her, plants love her, food loves her and all my friends love to hug her. If I were a jealous type I’d go crazy. Instead, I wrote these cello pieces for her, as follows:

I. Simba and the Kids; Simba is a little Jack Russell who goes wild in the house when he hears her car pull up. Kids are a multitude, comprising bio-kids, grandchildren, foster kids and neighbor kids she informally adopted and help raise.

II. Greens and Flowers; they seem to do whatever she asks them to do in spring: grow and be beautiful, etc.

III. Lake Washington Blvd to Seward Park; a special ‘Lover’s Lane’ route, probably one of the most beautiful routes in the world; hope I don’t spoil it by letting the world know about it.

IV. Her Dude; that’s me; I hope the piece communicates fun, warmth, excitement.

I wanted to capture the melancholy and the brightness of the cello. I fingered it on a facsimile cello to avoid impossible cross stringing and impossible stretches. I have been diligent in my study of the cello and worked hard to understand the ‘breathing space’ required to execute phrases, though some of them might need a rest here or there. The cellist will know best how to handle the arpeggios. Some sections in each piece might benefit from a repetition. I believe the four pieces are well under the speed limit for the instrument, but I am open to correction.

composerbiography: DexQuire

I have been a student and player of classical guitar for over forty years. In the 1980s and '90s I studied with Seattle teachers Steven Novacek and Patricio Contreras. In spite of my amateur status I have always hungered for musical knowledge, experience and expertise. I have tried to educate myself in music history and appreciation starting with the Renaissance lutists to Bach and the classical era down to 20th/21st century music. Through the guitar I developed a proficient harmonic sense by studying chords in all their manifestations. The guitar has also been my guide to melody, its logic as well as its experimental possibilities. I have also played electric guitar in many bands, which helped me develop an ear for improvisation.