I had a dream. I was at work and my team had to perform a song as a band, but we barely had any time to practice or any time to even pick the song. But before the performance I would have to play a solo piece on my Cello without any practice at all, in front of the entire company. When I awoke, my thought was "Yup. That is basically how I feel all the time at work." I'm frequently part of a larger project while at the same time working solo on a project. It can be intense.
In the dream though, I had an easy solution for selecting the solo song. I would play "Minuet in G major, (BWV Anh. 114)". I know this song cold. As a friend of mine use to say about me… "[TSotD] gets all the chicks cause he plays the cello". Although a gross exaggeration of my prowess, this song is certainly a crowd pleaser when played live.
The song was previously thought to be by Johann Sebastian Bach, but is now credited to Christian Petzold. I was taught it in the spirit of the Suzuki Method, and thus have referred to it as "Minuet No. 3 by Bach" for years and years, as it is printed in my Suzuki book. Anyone classically trained on a string instrument knows this song and can likely play it by heart. I'd image most pianists and harpsichordists know it too.
Here it is on the harpsichord, the originally intended instrument:
Of course when I played it in my youth for a competition, it was more like this:
I've done the solo cellist on stage bit, but no that is not me. That is how I felt in the dream, except no piano back up. Just me out on the excessively big stage, bright hot lights shining down on me, looking out into the dark of the audience. I woke up before I could play it, but the song was stuck in my head all the same.
Keeping with the "dreams" theme, perhaps some of you remember the 80's movie "Electric Dreams" where an architect, Miles, buys a state of the art computer. After a little champagne spill, the computer, named Edgar, becomes a self aware intelligent life and also emotional. Both Miles and Edgar fall in love with the neighbor, Madeline, who is a cellist. In one of the scenes, Madeline and the computer play a duet of this song through the heating vent, although she thinks it is Miles. It is a little Short Circuit (which came afterwards) meets 2001: A Space Odyssey (which came before).
Also some may recognize this song as something completely different… "The melody from the 1965 pop song "A Lover's Concerto", written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell was based on Minuet in G major. The song was recorded by the girl group the Toys and reached #2 in the U.S. and #5 in the U.K. Billboard Hot 100 list." Check it out! Here is the the cover of "A Lover's Concerto" by "The Toys":
Song Recommendations
If you like this song, I also suggest:
I also suggest the music genre:
Click here for more info on Christian Petzold – "Minuet in G Major".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Christian Petzold - Minuet in G Major
