Gideon Freudmann
CelloBop
"Summertime... and the peasants are raging.
In 1990 we recorded our first cassette album . The two of us lived far apart and had few opportunities to collaborate. I recently found the original recordings and was pleased that they were well preserved. I cleaned up the recordings (with EQ and whatnot) and added some overdubs. Now our album is available on Bandcamp and it sounds better than ever. There are also liner notes and lyrics and all that good stuff that makes getting a new album fun.
While working on this I was struck with how freakin' energetic we were (it WAS 35 years ago) and how much of the raw energy and fun is preserved on that 35 year old tape. I was also thrilled to find that these tunes don't sound dated. The album kicks off with a high octane tune and just keeps on going. There is no shortage of enthusiasm and weirdness on this album. John and I wrote all the tunes except for a manic cover of I'll Cry Instead by The Beatles.
While we wrote all the tunes on the album, we cut one cover - a manic/Zappa-esque version of the Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead." (Jack Lemmon and Joe McCarthy... my favorite songwriting team!"). Album cover art by David Drew Longey and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.You can find the album here: All The Rage
Fast forward 15 years and I find myself in the Pacific Northwest...
I moved to Portland in 2005 and one day I wandered into Artichoke Music , a fretted instrument music shop with my cello with me - though at this point I cannot remember why. Jim was playing a ukulele and Brian a mandolin. Business was slow. Jim said: Is that a cello? Want to jam? It was more a friendly taunt than an invitation, but I took out my cello and joined in. We clicked immediately, met a couple days later for a rehearsal and Caravan Gogh was born. During the next 5 years we had a great run of shows, and made a few albums.
My wife was working at a medical clinic at the time and occasionally assisted in surgery. In that practice it was the anesthesiologist who selected the music and one day during surgery he put on the first Caravan Gogh CD. Everyone enjoyed it and even the unconscious patient was tapping his coma-toes. (The toes thing may not be true, but the rest is).
Caravan Gogh's 2nd album: The 3 Faces of Steve
I have created a collection of sheet music for string trio, 20 pieces available in three arrangements: - 3 cellos - 2 cellos and 1 violin - 1 cello and 2 violins Cello quartets & quintets - Trio PDFs available here
There is a description and audio sample for each tune.
The catalog includes an arrangement of the Bach Cello Suite 1 Prelude, Blackbird (The Beatles) and Music For A Found Harmonium (Penguin Cafe Orchestra).
All the rest are my compositions.
These are mostly intermediate level, but there are also simpler and more challenging elements.
The music encompasses a broad stylistic range including melodic, playful, elegant, and energetic elements as well as time signature changes and plucking/strumming techniques. All can be performed with a trio or larger ensembles.
I also have a collection of cello quartets and quintets:
Cello quartets & quintets - PDFs
Cello quartets & quintets - Printed sheet music
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