In the Cellar with the Contrabass

[snyprrr]

Does any other instrument inspire so many yawns? Have you heard it played badly? Hmmm.

I'm not sure if I've as yet been able to sit through a whole contrabass concerto, or even sought one out. I'm familiar with the Classical and mid-20th Century Works, and, off the top of my head, I can't think of a work for the instrument before Theraps (1975-6) by Xenakis, which, I think, makes up for everything else, haha!

There are currently quite a few recitals of High Modernism to choose from (all kinds of scary stuff), and many many Composers have written concertos since the '70s or '80s. Rautavaara's Angel of Dusk, which I don't recall, comes to mind.

As with other 20th Century resurrections, the contrabass comes to us via the conduit of the New Virtuosity, the first 'Buddha of the Bass' being Fernando Grillo (for whom Theraps was written). Now we have Stefano Scodanibbio (and Robert Black).



Because  not many of us are looking to build a Library of solo contrabass, I would also prefer to look at the cb's overall contribution to Modern Music, since it surely has been liberated from the cellar of the past.

SOLO CONTRABASS

Theraps, by Xenakis, is one of the most awe inspiring pieces I have ever heard for any instrument. I believe there are currently about 3-5 recordings in varying stages of availability. This piece makes Olympian demands, and is like no other. The first recording, by Black, on a Neuma hodgepodge disc, was an eye-opener, but I traded it in for the equally good version on Mode (yes,... of course I wish I hadn't sold it!).

Berio's Psy is really the only other Big Name piece I can think of, though Scelsi's Makonagon is becoming standard in its cb guise. Scelsi seems to provide a key here, as a CPO disc of his music for cb shows. Here we have various solos and duos which introduce us to the dark soundworld of cb oriented chamber music. I also recall pieces by Donatoni, Ferneyhough and Julio Estrada.

From Scelsi we go to the spectralist Iancu Dumitrescu (who I think wrote for Grillo too), who I believe, though I haven't heard, takes cb chamber music to its outer limits (which includes electronics, I believe).

DUOS, TRIOS & QUARTETS

I guess Scelsi gets the nod here, as evidenced by the CPO disc of cb music. I've only heard the samples so far (YouTube?), but the duo pieces, for 2cbs, or cb and cello, are appropriately murky. Xenakis has a Late Piece for cello and cb called Roscobeck, which grinds along in his ultra dissonant style for 8mins. I like it! In lock step, is the piece by Julio Estrada, which sounds more like old fashioned X, and a piece by Donatoni. The usual suspects dominate, no?

Scodanibbio has a disc called 'Six Duos', featuring members of the Arditti SQ. I've had this for a while, but I was waiting until I found a reasonably priced disc of the trio basso Vol.1 (Koch; featuring Wolfgang Guttler). Now, here we have a trio of viola, cello, and cb, with pieces by Nicolaud A. Huber, Kagel, Rihm, and Kalitzke. There is also a Vol.2 with Kroll, Riehm, and others. I especially enjoyed the Rihm, and the Kalitzke has some great moments for ensemble thrusting and growlyelling.

There is one SQ for vln, vla, vnc, cb by Julio Estrada, which is most certainly the most extreme piece of its kind out there, I'm sure.

Here, within a few cds, is everything most would want to know about what became of the cb. I'll update as I become more familiar with these pieces and more.

ENSEMBLE

Obviously, the cb is still holdin' down the fort in any number of ensemble pieces. I'd like to use Varese's Octandre (for winds & cb) as the starting off point. This has been a favored combo for Composers, as witnessed by the cd by Ensemble Aventure, which has about five new pieces, and Ferneyhough's violin concerto Terrain, which uses the combo as backdrop. Epei, by Xenakis, also has a wind combo with cb.

Does the word lapidary come to mind here?

CONCERTOS

I'm sure one of you has heard something awesome here. The only name I readily come up with is Rautavaara, but I just know there's plenty of hodgepodge cds out there that may have some unknown cb concerto. ok,... Henze.






So, any thoughts?

[bwv 1080]

Ferneyhough's Trittico for GS is a cool solo CB piece

http://www.youtube.com/v/NxQpGMwzAm4

[snyprrr]

Ferneyhough's Trittico for GS is a cool solo CB piece

http://www.youtube.com/v/NxQpGMwzAm4

Can you get Theraps on here too? How dooo you get the graphics to show, hmmm?

[petrarch]

There is one SQ for vln, vla, vnc, cb by Julio Estrada, which is most certainly the most extreme piece of its kind out there, I'm sure.

That Julio Estrada CD with the Ardittis is simply wonderful; I liked his music immediately when I got that CD in the 90s. There is also a solo cb piece there, as is a duo for cello and cb.

[Sid]

I have got the double cd set below, recorded by our own Mark Cauvin. It includes the Xenakis and Berio pieces mentioned, as well as some others. It's a bit like a potted history of c20th double bass music. I find Grillo's hour long suite for double bass a bit hard to get through, but it's very Bachian, and I'm not that much into Bach. I agree that the Xenakis piece is amazing, a highly structured argument in a relatively short space of time.

REPERTOIRE:

KO-THA 1967 vers. 1975 per Contrabbasso di Fernando Grillo
Giacinto Scelsi (1905 - 1988)

Solo No.10 for double bass
László Dubrovay (1943 - *)

A Harmonic Study for Mark (first recording)
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)

Paperoles per contrabbasso
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)

Hommage a Johann Sebastian Bach Op.44
Julien-François Zbinden (1917 - *)

Psy per contrabbasso solo
Luciano Berio (1925 - 2003)

ӨЕРАΨ - theraps pour contrebasse solo
Iannis Xenakis (1922 - 2001)

Suite I for Double Bass (first recording)
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)



Mark Cauvin's website:

http://www.markcauvin.com/index.html

[snyprrr]

That Julio Estrada CD with the Ardittis is simply wonderful; I liked his music immediately when I got that CD in the 90s. There is also a solo cb piece there, as is a duo for cello and cb.

I forgot. I added the pieces to the OP.

Yes, that one cd is, in retrospect, the big yum yum. I remember it being criticized at the time for not having as much 'personality' as Xenakis (Estrada sounds like a very formalized X), but, seeing everything else since, that one cd delivers the goods like no other, really. I got it when it came out, and I just think I take it for granted. I haven't quite given him his due yet.

[snyprrr]

I have got the double cd set below, recorded by our own Mark Cauvin. It includes the Xenakis and Berio pieces mentioned, as well as some others. It's a bit like a potted history of c20th double bass music. I find Grillo's hour long suite for double bass a bit hard to get through, but it's very Bachian, and I'm not that much into Bach. I agree that the Xenakis piece is amazing, a highly structured argument in a relatively short space of time.

REPERTOIRE:

KO-THA 1967 vers. 1975 per Contrabbasso di Fernando Grillo
Giacinto Scelsi (1905 - 1988)

Solo No.10 for double bass
László Dubrovay (1943 - *)

A Harmonic Study for Mark (first recording)
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)

Paperoles per contrabbasso
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)

Hommage a Johann Sebastian Bach Op.44
Julien-François Zbinden (1917 - *)

Psy per contrabbasso solo
Luciano Berio (1925 - 2003)

ӨЕРАΨ - theraps pour contrebasse solo
Iannis Xenakis (1922 - 2001)

Suite I for Double Bass (first recording)
Fernando Grillo (1945 - *)



Mark Cauvin's website:

http://www.markcauvin.com/index.html

mmm

Thaaat looks DELICIOUS!!

I didn't know Grillo was alive?

[snyprrr]

So far, my solo recital would be:

Xenakis Theraps
Berio Psy
Donatoni Ala
Estrada miqi' nahual
Ferneyhough Trittico per G.S.
Grillo (?)
Scelsi (?)
Dumitrescu (?)
Scodanibbio (?)

If you notice, there is a contrast between highly 'composed' sounding pieces, and more 'spontaneous/intuitive/improv' sounding pieces, owing perhaps to the cb's other 20th Century role as jazz bass?

[PaulSC]

A classic: Tom Johnson's Failing

http://www.youtube.com/v/nTW5UVZPqOk

[PaulSC]

Another classic: Jacob Druckman's Valentine

http://www.youtube.com/v/_U98SiSMLdc

[petrarch]

Found two others in my collection:

Alain Savouret, La complainte du bossué, for double bass, double bassist's voice and real time processing (1987)
Roman González-Arroyo, De la distance, for double bass and tape (1994)

[torut]

I am interested in contrabass music, especially solo contrabass.
There is an older thread SOLO CONTRABASS, which is short, but I learned some interesting names.

I got the following albums, thank to these threads. They are all good.

Fernando Grillo: Fluvine
[asin]B000V3PQNC[/asin]
Bass solo with panoramic sound projection. Uno is free jazz like music with interesting spatial sound effect. Due is a quiet, static music with subtlety. Tre starts with growling low sound, then adding squeaking notes that morph to distorted funky riff. The last Quattro is the longest, most dramatic music going through a variety of strange sounds. Attracting from the beginning to the end.

Scodanibbio: Geografia Amorosa and other Works for Double Bass
[asin]B005Q13122[/asin]
This album also has a variety of music, from fast flowing melodious one to austere music. Not boring at all. I liked Geografia Amorosa that starts with impressive bending phrase, kind of hypnotic; Due Pezzi Brillanti, fast flowing, melodious; Marche Bancale, (seemingly) freely running high-notes melody on two repeated low notes; Sparse/quiet/austere e/statico & Alisei.

Aperghis: Teeter-Totter
Parlando for double bass solo (2007)
[asin]B007HSDO1K[/asin]
This is an aggressive, strong music.

I feel like these are free improvisation, although they are all composed (I believe.)

[torut]

Scelsi: Complete Works For Double Bass, Robert Black
[asin] B000WC38QY[/asin]

I have this for a few years, and it is still difficult. I like Nuits (1972) I and Okanagon (1968) for harp, double bass and tam-tam.
The late work, Mantram (1987) is very different from all the other works (1968-1976) in this disc. It is melodious, sounds like some Asian folk music.
According to Wergo web site

Scelsi did not see himself as "author" of "Mantram, canto anonimo": By his own admission, he received the music from other spheres, acted as an intermediary between two worlds.

[Wanderer]

CONCERTOS

I'm sure one of you has heard something awesome here. The only name I readily come up with is Rautavaara, but I just know there's plenty of hodgepodge cds out there that may have some unknown cb concerto. ok,... Henze.

http://www.youtube.com/v/XHE1VQfmvvQ

[torut]

The Skalkottas's concerto is very good, thank you. I like the wild bowing sound of contrabass.

I want the Mark Cauvin and Estrada albums but they seem to be difficult to obtain.

I got this.

Music for Double Bass
Frank Reinecke, double bass
[asin] B0036EFRPA[/asin]

Giacinto Scelsi (1905–1988) Nuits (1972)
Isang Yun (1917–1995) Für Aki I/II (1981)
Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) Theraps (1976)
Manfred Stahnke (*1951) Streetmusic III (1995)
Hans Werner Henze (*1926) S. Biagio 9 Agosto ore 1207 (1977)
Bent Lorentzen (*1935) Tiefe (1993)

The sound of bass is beautiful and smooth, and probably because of it, even Xenakis's music sounds kind of easy to my ear (but I don't have any other recordings of the work to compare with.) Isang Yun's work is too short (just 2 minutes) but with nice melody. Stahnke's work is played by pizzicato with scat, fun to hear. Other works are all good, too.

[torut]

Garden Scene
Joel Quarrington, double bass
Andrew Burashko, piano
[asin] B002IJA6EQ[/asin]

Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919 – 1996) - Sonata No. 1 for double bass solo, Op. 108
This is the only double bass solo work in this album. The music is dark and sorrow, with the feel of irony sometimes.

I purchased this because I wanted to hear Weinberg's sonata, but found all the other music good and enjoyable.
They are very different from Weiberg's Sonata, all in Romantic or Classical style.

These are composed for double bass and piano.
Gliere, Reinhold (1875 - 1956) - 2 Pieces, Op. 32 & Intermezzo and Tarantelle , Op. 9
Giovanni Bottesini (1821 – 1889) - Elegy No. 1 in D Major

I learned that Bottesini is an Italian composer and a double bass virtuoso who composed many works for double bass including two double bass concertos. The work included in this album is beautiful.

The others are arrangement for double bass and piano.
Henri Casadesus (1879 - 1947) - Concerto in G minor (pub. 1947) (in the style of Johann Christian Bach 1735-1782)
Korngold, Erich Wolfgang (1897 – 1957) - 4 Pieces from Much Ado about Nothing, Op. 11: III. Gartenscene

[escher]

Gunther Schuller composed a double bass quartet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUDmamZtUw0

[torut]

Gunther Schuller composed a double bass quartet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUDmamZtUw0

Thank you for the post. I didn't know this genre. This is very good. There is a program note by Shuller.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the quartet and its only truly innovational contribution is the special tuning of the basses in the second and third movements. Each bass has a different tuning, thus enabling me to avoid the endless quartel harmonies and double-stops limited to fourths and fifths that afflict so much bass literature. Perhaps the most striking example of the possibilities permitted by such retuning of the strings is the eight-part chord in harmonics in the third movement, a chord literally not possible in harmonics with the conventional tuning.

I found another group of bass quartet called Heavy Hands Bass Quartet who played Shuller's bass quartet on Youtube.

This is also good. There are some other bass quartet music in the above link.
WELTS by Jonah Rosenberg
World Premiere. Performed at the Outpost Artist Resources, Queens, New York, January 7th, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/v/6cun__Yq3mM

[torut]

Lisa Dowling, a member of Heavy Hands Bass Quartet, played a female voice version of Jacob Druckman's Valentine.
http://www.youtube.com/v/L5w0XsQVQM4

I prefer male voice by Nicolas Crosse posted above by PaulSC, but this is also nice.

[torut]

There is one SQ for vln, vla, vnc, cb by Julio Estrada, which is most certainly the most extreme piece of its kind out there, I'm sure.

Quartet For Violin, Viola, Cello And Double Bass (2013) by Matthew Whiteside (soundcloud)
I found this when following soundcloud links of another artist. It is interesting and has sounds very different from ordinary string quartet. I haven't heard Estrada's quartet or any others of this kind. What is this instrumentation called? Are there other good works in this style? It is difficult to search without commonly used name of the instrumentation.