Sebastian Lee was born in Hamburg in 1805 and trained by the Romberg pupil Johann Nikolaus Prell. A soloist and teacher, he published his Cello Method Op. 30 in 1845 which is still available at Schott (ED 965).
His barely known anthology 'First Steps in Violoncello Playing' opus 101 contains 50 easy duets in the first position. The first cello part is easy to play while the second part is somewhat more demanding, yet still playable by pupils. A beautiful collection for beginner's lessons, with very melodious pieces covering all technical and musical aspects of cello playing.

Gramata cellam besteht aus zwei sehr kontrastierenden Teilen. Der erste, sehr heftige Teil "Fortissimo" (Allegro, freie Sonatenform) bearbeitet raues, aggressives Musikmaterial in ununterbrochener emotionaler Hochspannung, die schliesslich einen tragischen, verzweifelten Hohepunkt erreicht. Der zweite Teil "Pianissimo" (zweiteilig) beginnt sehr frei, wie improvisierend, und geht uber in ein "Andante cantabile" mit einer weit gespannten Melodie uber einem Orgelpunkt. Mit einer Reprise der bisherigen musikalischen Ereignisse schliesst der Satz sehr leise mit einer Erinnerung an seinen Anfang.

German.

Finally a modern collection of folk tunes for violoncello! The songs come from England, Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Italy, France, Spain and the USA. Popular melodies such as 'Auld lang syne' and 'Oh happy day' are set in easy arrangements and can be played on various occasions, be it at home, at school, or in an ensemble. The arrangements can also be played with an additional second part.

Here are 10 great pieces arranged for pure solo cello - no piano required! This collection has more than 40 minutes of classical and patriotic songs ideally suited for formal recitals, wedding celebrations, and background music gigs.

These are not just lame copies of the melody line; they are all fully worked out arrangements designed to be as rich as possible and to highlight the cello. As a professional cellist, I originally arranged these pieces for my personal use, and I have performed every one of them in public.

These are fairly challenging pieces; I would compare their difficulty to Bach Cello Suite #2 on the easy side and Bruch Cello Concerto on the harder side. But with some practice you will have some amazing additions to your solo repertoire.

Each of the songs in this collection is also available separately, but buying the full volume saves you over 60%.

Volume 1 contains the following:
1. Strauss Blue Danube Waltz
2. Dvorak Goin' Home (Largo from "New World" Symphony #9)
3. Schubert Ave Maria
4. Faure Apres un reve
5. Tchaikovsky Melodie
6. Marais Le Tableau de l'Operation de la Taille (Depiction of a Bladder Stone Operation)
7. Joplin The Entertainer
8. Calistri-Yeh Variations on "My Country 'Tis of Thee"
9. Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever
10. Ward America the Beautiful

Please check out the other two volumes in this series:
Pure Cello Volume 2: Ten More Concert Pieces for Unaccompanied Cello (S0.853843)
Pure Cello Volume 3: Thirty Christmas Carols for Unaccompanied Cello (S0.853851)