The much repeated quote by Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) during his audition at the Milan Conservatoire says much about his determination and confidence in his own skills and abilities. He was however proved to be more than accurate, becoming the greatest double bass soloist of the 18th-century, and travelling to every continent during a long and successful career. His great friend, Alfredo Piatti (1822-1901), the eminent Italian cellist who was a classmate at the conservatoire, stated that after his three years of study Bottesini never played better, but only gained experience.
Giovanni Bottesini was born on 22 December 1821 in Crema (Lombardy) into a musical family and his father, Pietro, a clarinettist and composer, encouraged his musical talent.
"...Towards the end of 1835 Pietro Bottesini heard that at the Musical Conservatoire of Milan there were two free scholarships open competition, one for the fagotto (serpent) the other for the double-bass, asked his son which of the two he would prefer to compete for. Our boy decided for the latter - not indeed because the mastodontic proportions of the instrument had any peculiar attractions for him, but for the simple reason that he had already acquired a certain knowledge of the "king of stringed instruments" while under the tuition of his uncle Cogliati. A week before the day fixed for the competition he proceeded with his father to Milan, and was presented to M. Luigi Rossi, professor of double-bass at the Conservatoire, who offered in the meantime to give him some further notions of the instrument. At the examination a few bars written off hand by the vice-censor Ray, were put before him, which at once brought on a cold perspiration. The wretched boy had had in all, four lessons of Rossi! Taking courage however, he tried to execute them - but perceiving at once that he was playing horribly out of tune for want of fingering, he stopped short, and turning to his judges, apostrophised them as follows: "I feel, gentlemen, that I am out of tune; but when I know where to place my fingers I shall play out of tune no more." The gentlemen of the Committee perceiving however that the candidate, although not acquainted with the instrument, had good musical capabilities, gave him the place. Bottesini remained at the Conservatoire until 1839, studying the double-bass under his professor Luigi Rossi, attending at the same time to composition under the guidance of professors Piantanida and Ray, of the famous Basily, and the no less celebrated composer Vaccai. He left the Conservatoire three years before the usual time, not so much because he thought himself sufficiently advanced in his instrument to begin to turn it to account, as to be able to devote himself in a freer and more quiet atmosphere to composition, to which he felt himself irresistibly attracted..." [Biographical Notes by Cesare Lisei, 1886]
Bottesini's 'Tre gran Duetti' date from him time at Milan Conservatoire, probably written between 1836-39, and are likely to be the earliest double bass duets to have been composed. The title page of the manuscript reads "Three grand Duets for two Double Basses. Composed by Giovanni Bottesini. Pupil of the Conservatory of Music and dedicated to his Professor Luigi Rossi." They were described as "Comparable to the best Paganinian capricers" by Marionotti and the recent excellent recordings have unlocked the quality and potential of all three works, demonstrating both Bottesini's obvious skills and knowledge of the solo double bass, but also his compositional accomplishment and development to date.
Luigi Rossi transcribed many violin studies by Polledro, Spohr, Libon and Mayseder for double bass duet, adding an accompaniment below the original, which he obviously used in his class to develop both technical and ensemble skills. With this in mind it is likely that Bottesini's duets were written as the ultimate challenge for two solo double basses and he followed the bel canto tradition of the time, which he combined with some of the most advanced double bass virtuosity. Although it is likely that Bottesini performed these works during his studies in Milan, there appears to be no documentation that they were ever performed publicly.
The recordings by Badila/Guttler and Boguslaw Furtok/Stahle have demonstrated the wealth of imaginative music in these duets, especially when played by such great players. Although the music is primarily soloist and accompanist, two players of equal abilities are needed to match the virtuosic workout that Bottesini demands. When played with style, elegance and a touch of 'joie de vivre' these become works which are worthy of a place on the concert stage. Possibly the inclusion of the repeats may be pushing it a little, but there is sufficient variety of musical ideas and technical challenges to keep an audience entertained and intrigued.
Gran Duetto No.1 in G major is in three contrasting movements (Allegro - Andante -,Polacca) each demonstrating different aspects and possibilities of the double bass duet. The first movement is in 4/4 time, although much of the material has a 12/8 feel, and is "...influenced by Bellini" according to the excellent programme notes by Ovidiu Badila. The slow movement is wonderfully lyrical and expressive, beginning with three-part harmony which sounds almost organ-like. The finale, a Polacca, is a rousing and lively piece with a rhythmic and driving accompaniment, mostly in double stops, against a fun and jaunty melody. The movement ends with a dramatic and exciting passage, mostly in thirds and with a driving triplet figure, which pushes through to the very end and a successful and rousing climax.
Are these great pieces? Probably not. Are they Bottesini at his best? Probably not. However, with two great players, all three duets have something to offer players and audiences alike. They deserve to be performed and recorded and, for a teenage composer, they are remarkable works indeed!
David Heyes
"Larsson didn't write much, but he often wrote well. His lyricism warms the heart, his dances get the feet moving, and even his more austere works
speak directly to a listener. He taps into the folk vein mined by Hugo Alfvén, but without Wagnerian baggage. There's no padding. Incisiveness may well count as his most characteristic trait.
His music may not dwell on the highest Olympian peak, but fans of Scandinavian art will find it very easy to love." [Steve Schwartz]
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Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986) is known particularly to bassists because of his Concertino for double bass and string orchestra (or piano). He studied in Sweden and Vienna and his music went through a range of styles in his career, being influenced by Sibelius and the modernity of Berg, the inclusion of folk music and dance in many works, alongside writing accessible and enjoyable music which can be characterised as neo-classical or neo-romantic.
Larsson was a fairly prolific composer writing in many genres including symphonies, orchestral works, concertos, chamber music, choral music and much else. In 1937 he was appointed to Swedish Radio and his job included composing incidental music, conducting light music and producing programmes, and from 1945-47 was the inspector of the Swedish state-sponsored amateur orchestras. This gave him an insight into the problems that amateur orchestras faced with programming contemporary music and in 1953 he decided to write a number of works to fulfill this area of repertoire.
Larsson realised that each amateur orchestra usually had a number of professional or semi-professional musicians they could call on and decided to write a series of concertinos for soloist and string orchestra, where the solo part is usually more demanding than the orchestral parts. His 12 Concertinos, Op.45 were started in 1955 and ended in 1957 and were written without a commission and simply to help amateur orchestras find repertoire which is both enjoyable and interesting for players and audiences alike. Each concertino is in three movements, lasting 10-12 minutes in total and a lyrical slow movement is framed by two fast, lively and rhythmic outer movements.
Concertino for double bass and string orchestra (Op.45, No.11), the penultimate of the series, was composed in 1957 and is a work full of fun and good humour. The solo part (in solo tuning) is playable by a professional or good amateur bassist and the string parts are simple and supportive, but also an integral part of the piece.
The first movement is marked 'Ballad: Moderato' and dotted minim (dotted half-note) = c.84. The opening six-bar orchestral theme, in octaves, sets the scene for a short cadenza which takes the bassist from the lowest register towards the end of the fingerboard, answered by another orchestral statement and followed by a more rhythmic solo cadenza leading into the main statement. A rhythmic and driving staccato accompaniment is contrasted by a more lyrical solo theme, developing into more rhythmic material which adds a sense of purpose and drive.
The second movement is marked 'Arioso: Lento' and quaver (eighth note) = c.76. A two-bar repetitive accompaniment figure underpins much of the movement, in ternary form, and the most glorious and lyrical melody demonstrates the cantabile qualities of the solo double bass.
The third movement (Finale:Allegro moderato) is marked crotchet (quarter note) = c.126 and repeats the start of the first movement but in 2/4 rather than 6/4. The solo part is much more rhythmic and energetic here, with echoes of the opening movement and ending with a final coda (Piu mosso) which is full of great drive, momentum and excitement bringing the work to a lively and successful conclusion.
Larsson's Concertino for double bass and string orchestra is a very accessible work for the good intermediate bassist who is able to play in thumb position. The solo part is well written and there are opportunities to demonstrate both musical and technical prowess and all in the space of less than 12 minutes. It offers much to both performers and audiences alike and deserves to be even better known than it is.
David Heyes (12 April 2014)
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12 Concertinos Op.45
No.1 for flute and strings
No.2 for oboe and strings
No.3 for clarinet and strings
No.4 for bassoon and strings
No.5 for horn and strings
No.6 for trumpet and strings
No.7 for trombone and strings
No.8 for violin and strings
No.9 for viola and strings
No.10 for cello and strings
No.11 for double bass and strings
No.12 for piano and strings
Hans Fryba's Suite in the Olden Style (Suite im alten Stil) has been in print for 60 years. Probably composed in the early 1950s, the suite was first published by Josef Weinberger in 1954 and has subsequently become standard repertoire for almost every international double bass competition.
Obviously inspired by the Bach Cello Suites, popularised in the early 20th-century by the great Pablo Casals, the six movement suite is a 'tour-de-force' for the advanced double bassist and
features many technical challenges in the solo register of the instrument. Although movements of the Bach cello suites can be tackled by cellists during the early years of study, the Fryba Suite
is the exact opposite and is aimed at the advanced bassist with a strong and confident solo technique and more suitable to the professional bassist and conservatoire or university student.
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Hans Fryba was born in Austria on 24 April 1899 and studied double bass for six years at the Imperial Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Vienna with Eduard Madenski. In 1922 he joined the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for three years, and in 1925 moved to Athens to become the solo bassist of the Orchestra of the Megaron Mousikis, the most important concert hall in Greece. He was also a teacher at the Athens Royal Conservatoire. In 1929 Fryba became the first bass of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva and spent the next forty years in the orchestra. He worked with many of the greatest conductors and composers of the day and was obviously highly regarded by many of them. In January 1947 Sir Thomas Beecham wrote: "I can truly say that Hans is one of the most outstanding performers on his instrument." and two years later Karl Bohm recalled: "His technique, his purity of sound on this such difficult instrument are just amazing. I do not hesitate to say that I have never heard such delicate playing; he is certainly the most worthy successor to his teacher Madenski."
During his years in Geneva Fryba formed a close working relationship with the Swiss composer Joseph Lauber (1864-1952). Between 1936 and 1942 Lauber composed a number of advanced works for double bass which he dedicated to Fryba with the words 'Hommage a mon cher Hans Fryba, le merveilleux interprete de mes oevres. Son reconaissant Joseph Lauber.' Although none of these work have entered the solo repertoire to date, some have been recorded and performed, and there could be a wealth of undiscovered gems which are worthy of further research.
Fryba retired from the orchestra in 1968 and that year his home country of Austria bestowed on him the honorary title of professor. A year later he was awarded the title of honorary professor of the Geneva Conservatoire and in the same year retired to Austria, after a forty year sojourn in the Swiss capital, and he spent the last fifteen years of his life in Gramneusiedl (Austria), where he died on 3 January 1986.
Hans Fryba was far from a prolific composer and only appears to have composed three original works for double bass - Suite in the Olden Style for unaccompanied double bass - Arabesques for
unaccompanied double bass - Concert Study for double bass and piano - all published by Josef Weinberger. Of the above, only the Suite is performed regularly.
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Suite in the Olden Style is in six contrasting movements beginning with a lively and effective Prelude (Allegro moderato) which offers both a technical workout and musical challenges in equal measure. The key of G major makes good use of the entire range of the solo double bass and the mix of scalic passages, double stops and two-voiced broken chords, makes for a piece which is both testing and exciting at the same time.
The Allemande (Adagio) is a complete contrast and is in B minor. The lyrical opening phrase has a nicely gentle lilt, emphasising the lyrical and cantabile qualities of the double bass, and offers potential to create long melodic lines within the technical challenges. The Courante (Allegro non troppo) is dance-like, with a strong forward momentum and returning to the key of G major. Written in 3/4 time, but with an effective mix of 3/4 and 9/8 rhythms, this is happy music which makes a great contrast between two slow movements. A slow and sustained Sarabande (Lento) follows in the key of E flat major. The initial double stops, melody and accompaniment, tests the bassists technique but much of the rest of the movement is accessible and enjoyable to play.
The fifth movement comprises two gavottes (Allegro moderato), with the first one repeated, and is probably the most charming and accessible music of the suite. Gavotte I is in D major and includes a number of effective double stops within the dance music and there is much here to enjoy. Gavotte II returns to G major and makes good use of the the highest harmonics with a fun and light-hearted theme which moves into the lower register and effective music featuring a number of double stops. Gavotte I is repeated before launching into the lively and rhythmic Gigue (Vivace), also in G major. In 3/8 time and full of great forward momentum and drive, this makes a rousing and successful conclusion to the work - a hommage to J.S. Bach, but within a 20th-century idiom and harmonic content.
Much of the printed suite is written in tenor clef, not always a favourite clef with bassists and a new edition is long overdue. Apart from this, the piece is well worthy of study and performance and offers great challenges to any performer who is willing to spend many hours in the practice room. Hans Fryba has created a modern 'classic' which has certainly stood the test of time. Nowadays there are literally thousands of bassists across the world who are able to perform the piece, once the preserve of the few, and in performance it demonstrates not only the musical and technical worth of the performer, but also the viability of the double bass as a solo instrument.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was one
of the most important, prolific and respected composers of the 18th-century. He produced a vast output over a very long life, and much of his vocal, chamber and orchestral music is still at
the very heart of the repertoire into the 21st-century.
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In 1761 the 29 year-old Haydn was employed as Hausoffizier and Kappellmeister-Elect by Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy at Eisenstadt. He was required to write music for the Prince and the resident orchestra and a good number of his symphonies and concertos date from this time. Haydn's double bassist was Johann Georg Schwenda, who also doubled as a bassoonist in the orchestra, and the archives from the Esterhazy estate give much information about Haydn's life and duties, alongside writing wonderful music. It includes receipts for the purchase of strings for the violone (double bass) confirming that the four-string instrument was tuned to A, F#,D,A - which we now refer to as 'Viennese' tuning and was also employed by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, J.M. Sperger, Kozeluch, Pichl, Hoffmeister, Vanhal, Zimmermann and many others in their solo works for double bass. The tuning seems to have survived for about fifty years, until the death of J.M. Sperger in 1812, and the knowledge was forgotten for over a century until bassists began to research and perform this great treasure trove of 18th-century music.
We know that Haydn composed a Concerto for Double Bass in 1763, listed in his Catalogue of Works in 1765 as 'Concerto per il violone', which also, tantalisingly, included the first two bars of the theme of the first movement. 'Viennese' tuning favoured the key of D major, with the use of open strings and octave harmonics creating a D major arpeggio or triad, and it is more than probable that Haydn used this tuning. In August 1763 the copyist Anton Adolph submitted an invoice to the Esterhazy estate for having copied 'parts for a new concerto for Schwenda on the violone' which probably indicates that the work was written for and premiered by Haydn's own double bassist, rather than one of the more well know double bass virtuosi of the time.
Haydn's Symphonies 6-8, which also feature double bass solos, date form the early 1760s and were probably also written for Schwenda. There is little documentation about the Double Bass
Concerto, apart from the few documents in the Esterhazy archive and the two-bar theme in Haydn's Catalogue of Works, so what happened to this 'holy grail' of double bass works? Was it lost in
a fire as many people presume? Is it sitting in a dusty archive waiting to be found? Has it been catalogued wrongly? At the moment no one knows, but manuscripts of long-lost or forgotten
works keep being discovered, so we can only hope that this 'lost' masterpiece, and it surely is a masterpiece if written by the great Haydn, even as a young man, will eventually resurface.
Many are searching but who will be successful?
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My own interest in the concerto began during my studies at the Royal College of Music in the early 1980s when I discovered the existing two-bar theme. At the time I read everything I could about the work and then forgot about it until Anthony Payne's 'elaboration' of Elgar's 3rd Symphony in the late 1990s. Elgar had left much of the music already written, or notes about the scoring and ordering of the themes, and Anthony Payne was able to use these, as well as writing his own additions, to create the symphony which was left unfinished at Elgar's death in 1934. This gave me an idea about the Haydn Double Bass Concerto. Could a composer recreate the work from only a two bar theme?
Admittedly, Anthony Payne had a little more music to work with, but both Tony Osborne and Miloslav Gajdoš rose to the challenge magnificently, each writing works of great skill and imagination, and both completely different. Tony's 'Concerto in the Classical Style' is in one-movement and combines the style and feel of Haydn with a modern touch. Miloslav Gajdos has performed and edited many of the Classical concertos and knows the music intimately and instead of writing one movement, he wrote three! His Concerto No.2 'Haydn' bears the imprint of a great double bassist producing music of wonderful character, spirit and style.
I suggested to Tony Osborne that the theme could be changed by doubling the length of the notes, which would give a much faster feel to the music. I subsequently used the theme for a composition competition and was amazed at the response and the quality and ingenuity of many composers when tackling the project. Stephen Latham presumed the theme was for a slow movement and wrote a lyrical and Haydn-esque 'Concerto for Double Bass after Haydn', although the cadenza has much more of a contemporary feel; Christopher Brown created a rhapsodic 'Resurgam - Concertino for double bass and strings' which never states the theme but explores around it and 'resurgam' means 'I shall rise again' which is appropriate for a work which has been unknown for 251 years; Judith Bailey's 'Concerto in the style of Haydn' is in one movement and is both lyrical and approachable with the spirit of Haydn never far from the music; and Anthony Green's 'Concerto in One Movement on a fragment of Haydn' is much more adventurous in terms of style and idiom, and many key changes which create an exciting work of great energy and drive - more Schoenberg than Haydn, but still full of imagination and skill.
The Haydn Project produced some really intriguing works from a range of composers, many of which I have performed with orchestra. Each composer followed a different path, producing works which really have something to say, and one of my next projects is to record all these works with chamber orchestra
DAVID HEYES
Week 13 brings together two of my favourite bassists and greatest friends, but under the most tragic of circumstances.
I first met the great Romanian virtuoso Ovidu Badila at Kloster Michaelstein Bass Workshop (Germany) in about 1997. He was the 'star-act' of the week, amongst many great players, and we met almost by accident. The workshop featured masterclasses and lessons each day alongside recitals every evening and Thursday's recital began at 7.00pm and 'a rather disgruntled Badila' took to the stage at 11.00pm, my diary entry reads, but it was certainly worth waiting for! I sat through the entire concert but my wife Sarah Poole had had enough by about 9.00pm and returned to our room for a well deserved glass of wine. She returned about 90 minutes later and there, waiting to play, was a leather-coated Badila, although at the time she didn't know who he was. They started talking and she said she had come back to hear Ovidiu Badila play, because I had told her how good he was! I think he liked the flattery...
Ovidiu played Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations amongst other pieces and was simply the best player I had ever heard. His technique was impeccable, his musicianship supreme and he simply oozed quality and confidence. He knew he was the best and didn't need a big ego to demonstrate this. From this point on we became firm friends. We kept in contact and met again two years later in Odense at Bassissimo 2000 and began our friendship where we had left off two years before. Sarah, Ovidu, Teppo Hauta-aho and I spent every evening together, and most coffee breaks, talking about our families, careers and great plans for the future. We celebrated his 39th birthday in Denmark and he bought many bottles of wine for the tutors. At one point he leant across and quietly said to me "These bottles are for us - these are the best!" Ovidiu knew his wines, and we celebrated his birthday in style.
We left Odense after a wonderful week of playing and teaching, much laughter and great good humour, and had made plans for both our families to holiday together in Sardinia the following summer. Ovidu phoned us on Christmas Day and we had a wonderful conversation about his future concerts - there were so many and they were so varied - and about the Sardinian adventure that summer. I first heard of his death from Mette Hanskov (Principal Bass, Royal Danish Orchestra) in Denmark and both Sarah and I were in total shock. Ovidu was so full of life, had so much to give as a musician, but also as a husband, father, son and brother, and one of the brightest of lights was suddenly extinguished. I think much of the international bass community was in shock and the loss is still keenly felt. Many of us still talk about Ovidu and I have been quite touched that so many younger bassists want to know more about him - they only know him through his recordings and our memories - and I feel very honoured to have been his friend.
Why? for double bass quartet is surely one of the most powerful and original works in the quartet repertoire and demonstrates a composer at the very height of his powers. Teppo Hauta-aho and I had both studied in Prague with Frantisek Posta (1919-1991), who was Principal Bass of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra for over 40 years, Teppo in the 1960s and me in the 1980s. Prof. Posta had said we would become good friends and he was correct in this. Teppo is one of the most unique figures in the double bass world today, as a player and composer, and has written a welath of accessible, evocative and challenging music for every level of performer - he is the most prolific double bass composer ever. The piece reflects our great friendships, respect and love for each other, much laughter and good humour, wonderful memories but also tinged with sadness.
Why? was written in memory of Ovidiu Badila and was premiered on 6 April 2002 at Downe House School (Newbury, Berkshire), as part of Bass-Fest 2002, by Teppo Hauta-aho, David Heyes - Double Bass, Mette Hanskov and Peter Leerdam. In one extended movement, it employs a range of musical and percussive skills to explore a wide range of soundworlds and emotions. The opening pizzicato theme is also used in 'Two Dances' for double bass quartet but develops to encompass the entire range of the bass quartet.
The composer describes "...a feeling of sorrow - a sudden stop when everything is going well - the dramatic end to the work after a powerful climax - the shock of Ovidu's sudden death. The start is both happy and sad and uses an Indian scale, which my piano trio also uses, and it's a scale I heard a lot in the 1970s - it stayed in my mind and is almost Jewish in feel."
"...the piece begins with an introspective blues-like melody which is passed from voice to voice. The work moves through a variety of emotions, from tranquillity to sorrow to anger, and belongs amongst the best pieces written for this instrument combination." [Double Bassist]
"Why? was written in memory of the Romanian bass player Ovidiu Badila, and is a work of unusual poignancy for double bass quartet. Its beginning looks back to the melody used in Teppo's Two Dances, and as this material is developed it is, by turns, reflective, heartfelt and sad. There are some lovely harmonies and the closeness of the parts often creates an anguished tension. The impassioned climax, with its alternating chords, comes to an abrupt stop, leaving three silent bars of reflection. The upper parts are sometimes high and the work is advanced, but this quartet is worth exploring." [ESTA - News & Views]
Why? is a double bass quartet like no other. Here is a work of great drama and passion, of power and friendship, of love and loss - so many emotions that we feel in our everyday life, but here distilled into a ten or eleven minute work which is both challenging and thought provoking. The international bass community is slowing beginning to realise the great quality and power of this work, which challenges performers and audiences alike. It really ought to be at the very heart of the bass quartet repertoire and is a testament to the memory of a great soloist and the skills of a great composer. I'm proud to be a friend to both...
David Heyes (19 May 2014)
"I was born in 1928 - fortunately in Finland. Fortunately, because this is a country with dramatic destinies, situated between east and west, between Tundra and Europe, between the Lutheran and Orthodox faiths. It is full of symbols, of ancient metaphors, revered archetypes. Just listen to Jean Sibelius..." [Einojuhani Rautavaara]
Einojuhani Rautavaara
(b.1928) is one of the best known and most frequently perfomed of Finnish composers, both nationally and internationally. Angels have been an important theme for the composer, beginning in
1978 with 'Angels and Visitations' and 'Playgrounds for Angels' followed in 1981. Most importantly for double bassists is 'Angel of Dusk' - Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra which was
composed in 1980.
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Angel of Dusk is dedicated to the memory of Olga Koussevitsky (1901-1978), the widow of the great double bassist and conductor Serge Koussevitsky (1874-1951), who suggested to Rautavaara in 1977 that he should write a concerto for double bass. She even suggested that he could use Kossevitsky's famed Amati double bass for the purpose.
Rautavaara writes: "This concerto was initially requested by Olga Koussevitsky, who had been my patron while I was a student, when I met her in New York in 1977, two decades after my studies
in New York. While returning to Helsinki I was reflecting upon this new challenge when, looking out of the window of the plane, I saw a strikingly shaped cloud, grey, but pierced with colour,
rising above the Atlantic horizon. Suddenly the words 'Angel of Dusk' came to mind. Those words remained with me and returned to me, like a mantra, when I heard the news of Olga
Koussevitsky's death the following year and the project was postponed. A couple of years later the idea of such a concerto resurfaced when the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation commissioned
the work. The help of the double bass virtuoso Olli Kosonen was quite indispensable during my work on the piece and, by borrowing a double bass and experimenting at home, I also worked out
new types of playing techniques for this unusual but captivating solo instrument.
In the first movement the double bass's songful cantilena is interrupted time after time by dissonant outbursts from the orchestra. These grow and compel the solo instrument to participate in
a dialogue which eventually displaces the original theme. This sort of so-called 'disturbance technique' occurs frequently in my works from the 1970s. The second movement is a solo cadenza,
in which the fantastic tonal colours and techniques only provoke passing comments from the orchestra. The final movement begins with a gradually rising, peacefully swaying theme. This gives
way to rapid figurations from the double bass, framed by strokes from the orchestra, until eventually the soloist and orchestra join together in a final catharsis."
Angel of Dusk was premiered and recorded on 6 May 1981 in Helsinki by Olli Kosonen (double bass) and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leif Segerstam. The work also exists in a chamber music version which the composer created in 1993. Scored for solo double bass, two pianos and percussion, which the composer describes as "an independent version of the concerto for double-bass and orchestra (1980), intended for performance in its own right...", it was premiered by Olli Kosonen at the 1994 Kuhmo Festival in Finland. The published edition is an A3 facsimile score (landscape) of the composer's manuscript.
Angel of Dusk is a monumental and romantic concerto that is both atmospheric and dramatic. The three contrasting movements [1. His First Appearance 2. His Monologue 3. His Last Appearance] deal primarily with colours and timbres, and use the wide range of the solo double bass in a virtuosic and cantabile style. The middle movement explores the dramatic percussive soundworld of the contemporary double bass and is an atmospheric tone-poem often utilising the lower register, creating a feeling of intense desolation. Rautavaara is a master of orchestral colours and sonorities and produces a work of great imagination and skill which apparently works 'with' rather than 'against' the double bass, sometimes the case in certain modern works, and he understands completely the possibilities of the solo double bass which he displays magnificently throughout.
Angel of Dusk is an important and significant contribution to the solo double bass repertoire. It utilises the wonderful sonorous and lyrical capabilities of the double bass, alongside exploring the virtuosic and dramatic possibilities, ultimately creating a work of dramatic intensity and passion. I think Olga Koussevitsky would have been very pleased with the completed work and her financial support of Rautavaara in the 1950s was money well spent.
David Heyes [7 July 2014]
Works for soprano and double bass date back to the early 1790s and the music of Johannes Matthias Sperger (1750-1812). His two concert arias for soprano double bass and orchestra -'Se Tene, del tuo fuoco' and 'Non t'avvilir la cura' date from 1791 and 1793 respectively and Vincent Novello's Concert Aria 'Thy Mighty Power' for soprano, double bass and piano is in a long line of works for this interesting combination, which is far from uncommon. My wife, Sarah Poole, is a magnificent soprano soloist and we have been together for 33 years, and I know of many other soprano-double bass couples, so there is something about an attractive soprano that attracts a bassist! Even Patrick Susskind's eponymous hero in his play 'The Double Bass' is in love with a soprano called Sarah. Who wouldn't be?
Vincent Novello (1781-1861) was an organist, pianist, conductor, composer, editor and publisher and the founder of Novello's publishing house which is still in existence today. He was a successful and popular musician throughout his lifetime and was a prolific composer, although his daughter Mary wrote that his compositions were "over-shadowed by his still more abundant arrangements." Novello edited and produced editions of many choral works at a price which was affordable - with the addition of a piano or organ accompaniment and these were the foundation of his publishing empire.
Vincent Novello would have known many of the leading figures of his day and of particular interest to double bassists is his long and enduring friendship with Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846). Dragonetti had lived in London from 1794 and was one of the most famous and beloved musicians of the first half of the 19th-century. His cello-bass partnership with Robert Lindley (1776-1855) was legendary and it was said that no musical festival was complete without the participation of these two musicians. Novello was one of the executors of Dragonetti's will and he spent a number of years collating and documenting the music of this great Italian double bassist which he presented to The British Library in 1849, on his retirement to Italy.
Novello composed Thy Mighty Power for a concert at the Hanover Square Rooms, London on Monday 24 April 1837. His daughter Clara (1818-1908), a noted singer of the day, was intending to study in Italy in the autumn of 1837 and this concert was an opportunity 'to take leave of her Friends' as the playbill notes. Composed for soprano, double bass and piano, it was remarkable that Dragonetti, at the age of about 74 years, performed as the bass soloist at a time when he no longer performed solos in public and this is probably in no small part because of his close personal friendship with the composer and his family.
The original playbill states "MISS CLARA NOVELLO has the gratification of announcing, she has prevailed upon SIGNOR DRAGONETTI to depart from his resolution of not playing Solos in public, and for this time only, he will accompany her in A NEW SONG, WITH CONTRA BASSO OBLIGATO, composed expressly for the concert, by VINCENT NOVELLO."
The New Monthly Belle Assemble (May 1837) stated that "...the performance was magnificent and drew forth immense applause." Similarly, The Musical World (28 April 1837) reviewer stated "...The gem of the concert consisted in a new, sacred, triumphant song ('Thy mighty Power'). It is saying little that the whole interest of the performance was engrossed by the illustrious Contra-basso, although the singer acquitted herself very admirably, taking the D in alt, at the close, with the utmost precision, and apparent ease. The piece was enthusiastically encored from every quarter of the Room...joining in their admiration of the astonishing feat which had been performed. The chief merit in the song lies in the accurate knowledge the composer has displayed of the genius and resources of the double bass."
Thy Mighty Power is a fun work which exploits the tessitura differences between the high soprano and low double bass, particularly in the original version in orchestral tuning, and works well as a final item in a concert. The music is accessible and pleasant - nothing here to frighten the horses - and is simply an entertainment and nothing more. Fiona M. Palmer isn't so enamoured of the song however and mentions it, rather uncharitably in my opinion, in her book 'Vincent Novello (1781-1861): Music for the Masses, Ashgate Publishing): "Novello's aria, Thy Mighty Power is a musical 'lollipop'; it demonstrates little sense of harmonic adventure and is firmly rooted in tonic-dominant relationships. Novello writes idiomatically for Dragonetti's bass exploiting the projection and timbre of the highest string. The voice and bass parts interweave in contrasting motion, word painting abounds and the influence of Handel oratorio is fully evident..."
It was first published in The Musical World (A Weekly Record of Musical Science, Literature and Intelligence) on 12 May 1837 (No. LXI-Vol.V), which also includes an article about the 'Violoncello and contrabasso' as part of Cipriani Potter's 'Companion to the Orchestra; or history of instrumentation - No.V'. It obviously travelled worldwide and New Zealand's Auckland Star (19 November 1904) announces a forthcoming performance at Pitt Street Methodist Church on Wednesday 23 November when it was to be performed by tenor (Mr R. James) with violin obbligato (Mr J. Shaw).
The song had been out of print for many decades before the first modern edition (RM003) was produced by Recital Music (www.recitalmusic.net) in 1986 - it's third publication, after two charming salon works by the Czech bassist-composer, Vojta Kuchynka. An edition for double bass in solo tuning (RM109) is also available, and a version with string orchestra is in preparation.
Thy Mighty Power is fun and lively, has great player and audience appeal, and doesn't outstay its welcome. Admittedly Novello had none of the skills of a Mozart or Beethoven, but without the lesser names would we appreciate the great composers as much? Probably not. Novello's music certainly deserves the occasional performance, after all he did make a fantastic contribution to the musical world as a whole, and this is a charming piece which doesn't hurt anyone. Just sit back and enjoy...
David Heyes (12 May 2014)
"Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf's Concerto in E major for double bass (Krebs
172) is considered the classical double bass concerto par excellence. Indeed it may well be the best-known and most frequently played work for double bass altogether. Also, it has long
established itself as an essential piece for auditions and competitions." (Tobias Glockler, Dresden 2005)
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Carl Ditters was born in Vienna on 2 November 1739 and died in Neuhof (Bohemia) on 24 October 1799. He was a successful violinist and composer and was one of the most important figures of the Viennese Classical school. He is particularly remembered by double bassists for the four works he composed for the instrument - two concertos, a Sinfonia Concertante for viola, double bass and orchestra and a Duetto for viola and double bass (violone). On 5 June 1773 Empress Maria Theresia granted him a certficate of nobility, by which he acquired the additional surname 'von Dittersdorf', and this is how we know him today.
On 1 April 1765 Dittersdorf was appointed Kapellmeister to the Bishop of Grosswardein, succeeding Michael Haydn, and his works for double bass appear to have been written at this time. Double bassist Friedrich Pischelberger (1741-1813) was a member of the orchestra and it is more than probable that Dittersdorf composed the double bass works for him, and in 1791 Pischelberger also gave the premiere of Mozart's 'Per questa bella mano' for bass, double bass and orchestra. Alongside the 'lost' Concerto of Haydn, composed in 1763, the works by Dittersdorf are some of the earliest concertos for solo double bass.
No original manuscripts exist for these works, but thanks to the great J.M. Sperger (1750-1812) music by Dittersdorf, Anton Zimmermann, J.B. Vanhal and F.A. Hoffmeister, alongside Sperger's own enormous catalogue of works, are preserved in handwritten copies in Sperger's library, which is still proving to be a valuable resource for historians and historically-aware performers, into the 21st-century. The only source for this work is a set of parts held in the music collection of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Schwerin and most scholars speculate they are by an unknown copyist, probably from Vienna.
For a brief period, dating from about 1760 to the death of Sperger in 1812, a specific double bass tuning was employed in and around Vienna which was the case for this Concerto. It was written for a 5-string instrument, probably with frets, and using a 3rd-4th tuning (A F# D A F) and which favours the key of D major. Many solo works from this time use this tuning and then employing a semitone (half step) scordatura into E flat major for the accompaniment to vary the keys. Although this tuning was popular it fell out of favour in the early 19th-century and the knowledge of its existence seems to have been 'forgotten' until the early 20th-century and Franz Tischer-Zeit's edition for Schott & Co. in 1938. To make the work fit the modern double bass, tuned in 4ths, he judiciously pruned and edited much of the music, which is totally unacceptable with today's excellent research and improvements in every aspect of double bass playing, but it was a groundbreaking edition for its day and was the starting point for the increase in interest in this long forgotten music and historical tunings. Many excellent modern editions have returned to the manuscripts and created editions which are as close to Dittersdorf's own as we can get. The Schott edition (2473) is still in print, 76 years later and is, arguably, still the preferred edition of many bassists.
The surviving parts of this Concerto are typical of much music from this time and include few performance markings, dynamics or directions - all things which would have been known to musicians of his day. Performers would have embellished the written music and Leopold Mozart commented in his Violin Tutor of 1756 "...the player himself must know how to apply the slurring and detaching tastefully and in the right place." They would probably have written their own cadenzas and it is fascinating to see the surviving ones by Sperger. H.K. Gruber's cadenzas, written for his double bass teacher Ludwig Streicher, are probably the most popular today and challenge the technique of the soloist far more than the original concerto. Stefano Dall'Ora has recently completed idiomatic and tasteful cadenzas for the first and second movements which will be published by Recital Music (www.recitalmusic.net)
"[Why?]...belongs amongst the best pieces written for this instrument combination." [Double Bassist]
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Week 13 brings together two of my favourite bassists and greatest friends, but under the most tragic of circumstances.
I first met the great Romanian virtuoso Ovidu Badila at Kloster Michaelstein Bass Workshop (Germany) in about 1997. He was the 'star-act' of the week, amongst many great players, and we met almost by accident. The workshop featured masterclasses and lessons each day alongside recitals every evening and Thursday's recital began at 7.00pm and 'a rather disgruntled Badila' took to the stage at 11.00pm, my diary entry reads, but it was certainly worth waiting for! I sat through the entire concert but my wife Sarah Poole had had enough by about 9.00pm and returned to our room for a well deserved glass of wine. She returned about 90 minutes later and there, waiting to play, was a leather-coated Badila, although at the time she didn't know who he was. They started talking and she said she had come back to hear Ovidiu Badila play, because I had told her how good he was! I think he liked the flattery...
Ovidiu played Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations amongst other pieces and was simply the best player I had ever heard. His technique was impeccable, his musicianship supreme and he simply oozed quality and confidence. He knew he was the best and didn't need a big ego to demonstrate this. From this point on we became firm friends. We kept in contact and met again two years later in Odense at Bassissimo 2000 and began our friendship where we had left off two years before. Sarah, Ovidu, Teppo Hauta-aho and I spent every evening together, and most coffee breaks, talking about our families, careers and great plans for the future. We celebrated his 39th birthday in Denmark and he bought many bottles of wine for the tutors. At one point he leant across and quietly said to me "These bottles are for us - these are the best!" Ovidiu knew his wines, and we celebrated his birthday in style.
We left Odense after a wonderful week of playing and teaching, much laughter and great good humour, and had made plans for both our families to holiday together in Sardinia the following summer. Ovidu phoned us on Christmas Day and we had a wonderful conversation about his future concerts - there were so many and they were so varied - and about the Sardinian adventure that summer. I first heard of his death from Mette Hanskov (Principal Bass, Royal Danish Orchestra) in Denmark and both Sarah and I were in total shock. Ovidu was so full of life, had so much to give as a musician, but also as a husband, father, son and brother, and one of the brightest of lights was suddenly extinguished. I think much of the international bass community was in shock and the loss is still keenly felt. Many of us still talk about Ovidu and I have been quite touched that so many younger bassists want to know more about him - they only know him through his recordings and our memories - and I feel very honoured to have been his friend.
Why? for double bass quartet is surely one of the most powerful and original works in the quartet repertoire and demonstrates a composer at the very height of his powers. Teppo Hauta-aho and I had both studied in Prague with Frantisek Posta (1919-1991), who was Principal Bass of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra for over 40 years, Teppo in the 1960s and me in the 1980s. Prof. Posta had said we would become good friends and he was correct in this. Teppo is one of the most unique figures in the double bass world today, as a player and composer, and has written a welath of accessible, evocative and challenging music for every level of performer - he is the most prolific double bass composer ever. The piece reflects our great friendships, respect and love for each other, much laughter and good humour, wonderful memories but also tinged with sadness.
Why? was written in memory of Ovidiu Badila and was premiered on 6 April 2002 at Downe House School (Newbury, Berkshire), as part of Bass-Fest 2002, by Teppo Hauta-aho, David Heyes - Double Bass, Mette Hanskov and Peter Leerdam. In one extended movement, it employs a range of musical and percussive skills to explore a wide range of soundworlds and emotions. The opening pizzicato theme is also used in 'Two Dances' for double bass quartet but develops to encompass the entire range of the bass quartet.
The composer describes "...a feeling of sorrow - a sudden stop when everything is going well - the dramatic end to the work after a powerful climax - the shock of Ovidu's sudden death. The start is both happy and sad and uses an Indian scale, which my piano trio also uses, and it's a scale I heard a lot in the 1970s - it stayed in my mind and is almost Jewish in feel."
"...the piece begins with an introspective blues-like melody which is passed from voice to voice. The work moves through a variety of emotions, from tranquillity to sorrow to anger, and belongs amongst the best pieces written for this instrument combination." [Double Bassist]
"Why? was written in memory of the Romanian bass player Ovidiu Badila, and is a work of unusual poignancy for double bass quartet. Its beginning looks back to the melody used in Teppo's Two Dances, and as this material is developed it is, by turns, reflective, heartfelt and sad. There are some lovely harmonies and the closeness of the parts often creates an anguished tension. The impassioned climax, with its alternating chords, comes to an abrupt stop, leaving three silent bars of reflection. The upper parts are sometimes high and the work is advanced, but this quartet is worth exploring." [ESTA - News & Views]
Why? is a double bass quartet like no other. Here is a work of great drama and passion, of power and friendship, of love and loss - so many emotions that we feel in our everyday life, but here distilled into a ten or eleven minute work which is both challenging and thought provoking. The international bass community is slowing beginning to realise the great quality and power of this work, which challenges performers and audiences alike. It really ought to be at the very heart of the bass quartet repertoire and is a testament to the memory of a great soloist and the skills of a great composer. I'm proud to be a friend to both...
David Heyes (19 May 2014)
Victor Serventi's Largo et Scherzando for double bass and piano is 70 years old this year. Composed in 1944, it has been in print for all that time and is part of the rich heritage of pieces commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire for the greater part of the 20th-century. A work was commissioned each year, presumably for each instrument, and the students who were to graduate included the new piece as part of their final recital programme. The vast majority of works commissioned were from the leading French composers and teachers of the day, and gives a fascinating insight into the music and styles which were prevalent over a sixty-year history. 'Morceau de Concours' by Alex Schmitt dates from 1905 and is presumably one of the first commissioned works of the series, followed by transcriptions of Bach by Edouard Nanny in the 1920s, and Nanny's Concerto in E minor in 1938, followed by a wonderfully rich and interesting list of composers over the next six decades.
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Victor Serventi was born on 23 June 1907 in Algiers and studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire from 1921, firstly with Joseph Morpain and later with Lazare Levy. He studied composition with Henri Busser (1872-1973), who also composed two works for double bass for the project in the 1930s, and in 1937 won the coveted Prix de Rome with his cantata 'La Belle et la bete', but he was unable to participate in studies in Rome because of the outbreak of the 2nd World War.
In 1943 Serventi was appointed Professor at the Paris Conservatoire, a position he held until his retirement in September 1977, and alongside his teaching duties he was also Head of Singing at the Paris Opera. He was married to the famous French singer Suzanne Juyol (1920-1994), considered one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of her generation, and they lived in Margency, Val-d'Oise for the rest of their lives. Serventi outlived his wife by six years, dying on 16 March 2000.
Although Victor Serventi had a busy and successful career, he seems to have only composed a small number of works. Obviously there could be a shed full of unknown compositions - remember the great Charles Ives - which are waiting to be discovered. His known compositions include Variations on a Corsican lament for piano (1938), a Suite for piano (1942) and Variations for clarinet and piano (1956), but more importantly for double bassists is his Largo et Scherzando dating from 1944. This is Serventi's most famous work and to date there are three recordings of the piece.
Largo et Scherzando is in one extended movement, in two parts as the title implies, and lasting a little over seven minutes. It is dedicated to Alphonse-Joseph Delmas-Boussagol (1891-1958), Professor of double bass at the Paris Conservatoire, and is a beautiful and expressive work which is full of wonderful music and contrasts. The opening Largo is both lyrical and soulful, making effective use of the cantabile qualities of the double bass, accompanied with great delicacy and simplicity. As the music develops in contrapuntal intensity and complexity the two musicians work together to create a strong partnership, each complementing the other. A hint of the opening theme returns before plunging into a scherzando of energy and drive, but the first theme is never far from the mix and the composer really understood the technical possibilities of the double bass and I am sure Monsieur Delmas-Boussagol was consulted on more than one occasion.
Serventi was obviously a very accomplished pianist and composer, creating a modern classic for double bass and piano. The music is challenging and accessible, lyrical and virtuosic, exciting and dramatic, but overall full of great music which should appeal to both performers and audiences alike. The original edition is for double bass in orchestral tuning, possibly why it isn't quite as well known as it ought to be, but there is no reason why the original publishers couldn't produce an edition for solo tuning to make it more accessible for bassists in the 21st-century.
The Paris Conservatoire model of commissioning a new work each year for double bass is one that has inspired me to commission so many works for double bass over the past 30 years and I would be a very happy man indeed if I had commissioned Serventi's Largo et Scherzando. Why did no one ask him to write another piece for double bass?
David Heyes [28 July 2014]