Editing Cello (section)

===Quartets and other ensembles===
The cello is a member of the traditional [[string quartet]] as well as [[string quintets]], [[string sextet|sextet]] or [[string trio|trios]] and other mixed ensembles.
There are also pieces written for two, three, four, or more cellos; this type of ensemble is also called a "cello choir" and its sound is familiar from the introduction to [[Rossini]]'s [[William Tell Overture]] as well as Zaccharia's prayer scene in [[Verdi]]'s [[Nabucco]]. [[Tchaikovsky]]'s [[1812 Overture]] also starts with a cello ensemble, with four cellos playing the top lines and two violas playing the bass lines.  As a self-sufficient ensemble, its most famous repertoire is [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]]' first of his [[Bachianas Brasileiras]] for cello ensemble (the fifth is for soprano and 8 cellos). Other examples are [[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]]'s cello duets, quartet, and sextet, [[Pärt]]'s [[Fratres]] for eight cellos and [[Pierre Boulez|Boulez]]' ''[[Messagesquisse]]'' for seven cellos, or even Villa-Lobos' rarely played ''Fantasia Concertante'' (1958) for 32 cellos. The 12 cellists of the [[Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra]] (or "the Twelve" as they have since taken to being called) specialize in this repertoire and have commissioned many works, including arrangements of well-known popular songs.