This arrangement was modified in its edition and violin indications. A very clean piano part was written. Very good edition of the entire score.

The M�ditation is an instrumental entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Tha�s. In the first scene of Act II, Athana�l, a Cenobite monk, confronts Tha�s, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devot�e of Venus, and attempts to persuade her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the M�ditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the M�ditation, Tha�s tells Athana�l that she will follow him to the desert.

The piece is in D major and is approximately five minutes long (although there are a number of interpretations that stretch the piece to over six minutes). Massenet may also have written the piece with religious intentions; the tempo marking is Andante religioso, signifying his intention that it should be played religiously (which could mean either strictly in the tempo or literally with religiously-founded emotion) and at walking tempo, or around 60 BPM. The piece opens with a short introduction, with the solo violin quickly entering with the motif. After the violin plays the melody twice, the piece goes into a section marked animato, gradually becoming more and more passionate (Massenet wrote poco a poco appassionato). The climax is reached at a place marked poco piu appassionato (a little more passion) and is then followed by a short cadenza-like passage from the soloist and returns to the main theme. After the theme is played twice, the soloist joins the piano while playing harmonics on the upper register as the piano quietly play below the solo line.

This combined version of the of the PianoAccompaniment and Cello Online String Sampler Cello Sheet Music is a fun and easy way to activelylearn, study and play beautiful cello music from a wide variety of styles anderas. 54 pieces are featured, representing music history periods, cultures andstyles such as Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20thCentury, Fiddle, Klezmer, Gypsy, Chinese, Greek, Carnatic, Arabic, Mariachi,Ragtime and Blues. These arrangements have been simplified for advancedbeginners to intermediate players, and include a representative sampling ofmost major forms of string music such as concertos, symphonies, sonatas,quartets and trios. As an added bonus, sound files of each piece and a studyguide are currently available on the website CelloOnline.com* as a self-guidedclass specifically designed to accompany this music: https://www.celloonline.com/stringclass.html The studyguide explains the history and musical form of the selected pieces, andincludes cello technique tips for each piece of music. Let the music begin!

*No guarantees are made that these sound files and websitewill be available indefinitely.

Pieces include: Columba aspexit by Hildegard of Bingen; Sixth Royal Estampie from Chansonnier du Roy; Helas Madame; Kemp?s Jigg; Fantasia by Lupo; Minuet from The Fiddle New Model?d by Crome; Rondeau by Purcell; Hornpipe from Water Music by Handel; La Folia medley by Marais, Corelli, and Vivaldi; Double Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 8, 1st movement by Vivaldi; Prelude from Cello Suite I in G Major by Bach; Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by Bach; Kyrie from Messa a 4 con violini by Cazzati; Medley: He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd and Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah by Handel; Arioso from Cantata No.156 by Bach; Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618 by Mozart; Adagio from Violin Concerto No. 3 in G by Mozart; Andante from String Quartet No. 13 in Am by Schubert; Andante from Emperor Quartet in C major by Haydn; Surprise Symphony No. 94, 2nd movement by Haydn; Pastoral Symphony No. 6, 1st and 5th movements by Beethoven; Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms; The Moldau from Ma Vlast by Smetana; Halling from 25 Norwegian Folksongs and Dances by Grieg; Emperor Waltz by Strauss; Vieille Chanson by Viardot; Andante from Violin Concerto in E Minor by Mendelssohn; Allegro and Adagio from Cello Concerto in B minor by Dvorak; Notturno from String Quartet No. 2 in D major by Borodin; Elegy Op. 44 for Viola and Piano by Glazunov; Barcarolla from Sonata in Bb for Viola and Piano by Vieuxtemps; Ave Maria from a theme by J.S. Bach by Gounod/Bach; Sicilienne Op. 78 for cello and piano by Faur�; Meditation from Tha�s by Massenet; Habanera from Carmen by Bizet; Reed Flutes from The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky; Overture from Pulcinella Ballet by Stravinsky; Moderato from Sonata No. 1 in G Major by Gallo; Assez vif from String Quartet in F Major by Ravel; Sehr langsam from 4 Pieces, Op. 7 by Webern; Simple Gifts melody by Brackett; Braul from Romanian Folk Dances by Bartok; The Basso-Gypsy Traditional; Odessa Bulgarish-Klezmer Traditional; Varys Hasapikos-Greek Traditional; El Jarabe Tapatio-Mexican Traditional; Jasmine Flower-Chinese Traditional; Sara Sara-Tyāgarāja (Carnatic); Longa Nahawand by Bey (Arabic/Ottoman); Irish Washerwoman-Irish Traditional; Fiddle Medley: Bile Them Cabbage Down, Devil?s Dream and Shuffle-Fiddle Traditional; The Ragtime Violin by Berlin; The Castle Walk by Europe & Dabney; St. Louis Blues by Handy.