Cello Counterpoint is scored for eight Cellos and can be played by a soloist with the other parts pre-recorded (This tape is available from the Boosey & Hawkes rental library.)
Alternatively,the piece can be played by a Cello Octet. (There are differences in the distribution of parts between the two versions.) The piece is in three movements: fast, slow, fast. The first and last movements are both based on a similarfour-chord cycle that moves ambiguously back and forth between C minor and E-flat major. This harmonic cycle is treated extremely freely, particularly in the third movement. The second, slow movement, is a canon in E-flatminorinvolving, near the end of the movement, seven separate voices.
The piece is a little more than 11 minutes in duration and was co-commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress, the RoyalConservatory in The Hague and Leiden University, for Cellist Maya Beiser.
| Format | Study Score |
| Level | 4 |
| NumberOfPages | 72 |
| Media | Sheet Music |
| Publisher | Boosey and Hawkes |
| Contributors | Reich, Steve(Composer) |
| ISBN | 9781495083426 |
| ISMN | 9790051106677 |