A double bass concerto is a notated

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

, usually in three parts or

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

(see

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

), for a solo

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

accompanied by an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. Bass concertos typically require an advanced level of technique, as they often use very high-register passages, harmonics, challenging scale and arpeggio lines and difficult bowing techniques. Music students typically play bass concerti with the orchestral part played by a pianist who reads from an

orchestral reduction In music, a reduction is an arrangement or transcription of an existing score or composition in which complexity is lessened to make analysis, performance, or practice easier or clearer; the number of parts may be reduced or rhythm may be si ...

(the orchestra parts arranged for piano).

History

The Origin of the Double Bass Concerto Concerti originated in the Baroque era. At first, double bass concertos were very rare due to the gut strings. These strings were difficult to move with the bow and did not resonate or project as loud. It was around 1650 that the overwound gut string was invented. This greatly increased the popularity for composers to write double bass solos. The main eras of double bass concerts are the Classical and Romantic period. These are considered the main concerto eras until the 20th and 21st century when the Andrés Martí and Eduard Tubin concertos were written. Early double bass concerti The earliest bass concerto was composed by Carl von Dittersdorf in the mid 1700s. He wrote two bass concertos as well as a symphonic concerto for viola and double bass. Other composers from the late Baroque to classical periods, such as

Johannes Matthias Sperger Johannes Matthias Sperger, also often Johann, (Czech: Jan Matyáš Sperger; 23 March 1750 – 13 May 1812) was an Austrian double bassist and composer. Sperger was born in Feldsberg,At the time of his birth, Feldsberg was part of Lower Austria ...

, wrote eighteen double bass concertos. Double Bass concerti were also written by

Johann Baptist Wanhal Johann Baptist Wanhal (12 May 1739 – 20 August 1813) was a Czech classical music composer. He was born in Nechanice, Bohemia, and died in Vienna. His music was well respected by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert. He was an instrumental perf ...

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist, and silvologist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) Life 1739–1764 Dittersdorf was born in ...

, and

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, although Haydn's has since been lost.

Michel Corrette Michel Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French composer, organist and author of musical method books. Life Corrette was born in Rouen, Normandy. His father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Little is known of ...

changed the tuning of the double bass in 1773. Before this, double basses were tuned in thirds, known as Viennese-style tuning. This changed the way composers of the Viennese School to write virtuosic double bass solos. The appearance of Italian composer

Domenico Dragonetti Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti (7 April 1763 – 16 April 1846) was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer with a 3 string double bass. He stayed for thirty years in his hometown of Venice, Italy and worked at the Opera Buffa, at the Chap ...

officially changed the status of the double bass. Dragonetti did not use the Viennese-tuned bass. At this point, composers of the Viennese School began to try to write new double bass works. Dragonetti was a bass virtuoso who introduced advanced new techniques for the instrument, like playing in the high register, bouncing the bow (riccochet and spiccato), and using more harmonics around the instrument. Further Development

Giovanni Bottesini Giovanni Bottesini (22 December 1821 – 7 July 1889) was an Italian Romantic composer, conductor, and a double bass virtuoso. Biography Born in Crema, Lombardy, he was taught the rudiments of music by his father, an accomplished clarinetist ...

, was known as the Paganini of double bass, a nineteenth century bass virtuoso and composer. He made enormous contributions to the solo double bass repertoire. Among his many works are two concerti for double bass which use extremely high harmonic passages that, when Bottesini first introduced them, were deemed "unplayable". Bottesini preferred the three-string double bass that was popular in Italy. In contrast to Dragonetti's preference for the older, palm-up bow, Bottesini adopted a cello-style bow, with the palm down. The Dragonetti-style bow is similar to the modern-day German bow and the Bottesini bow is the modern French bow. This improvement had a great influence on later generations. Another indirect influence was the rise of an outstanding school of double bass players in the Czech region, represented by

Franz Simandl Franz Simandl (August 1, 1840 – December 15, 1912) was a Czech double-bassist and pedagogue most remembered for his book ''New Method for the Double Bass,'' known as the "Simandl book", which is to this day used as a standard study of doubl ...

, who devoted himself to the technique and teaching of double bass and left behind a number of works. Around the late 20th century to present-day, Simandl has slowly been replaced by a new technique and theory of the double bass from

François Rabbath François Rabbath (born 1931 in Aleppo, Syria) is a contemporary French double-bass virtuoso, soloist, and composer. Career He was born into a Syrian family of musicians but his only instruction came from a book written by a Parisian bassist Ed ...

. He has taken the work of Simandl and increased the technique to work around the entire fingerboard, improving modern-day double bassists’ technique even more to play old and new concertos. The development from the 20th century to the modern age Synthetic strings have gained a lot of popularity in the last 50 years. They have a lot of benefits, including they are vegan, have a more consistent tone, easier to play, and last longer on the bass. Some composers, of course, still prefer to find special effects on gut strings, but some companies have started making strings that sound exactly like gut strings, for example D’addario Zyex Strings.

Challenges

The double bass has not been a popular choice for a solo instrument, mainly due to the difficulties of balancing the soloist and orchestra so that the former is not overshadowed by the orchestra's volume. The low register of the double bass makes it difficult to project; to help resolve this problem, many composers (most notably Bottesini) wrote solo parts in the high register of the instrument. Another solution is to refrain from large tuttis, or employ chamberistic orchestration, when the double bass is playing in its lower register. Few major composers of the classical and romantic eras were disposed to writing double bass concerti, as there were few instrumentalists capable of taking on the demands of playing as a soloist; it was only through the efforts of virtuosos like Dragonetti, Bottesini, Koussevitsky, and Karr that the double bass began to be recognized as a solo instrument. As the twentieth century began, the standard of double bass technique improved by a significant degree, making it a more popular choice for composers. Dittersdorf Double Bass Concerto no

Double basses have changed since the 18th century, when the concerti by Vanhal, Dittersdorf, and Pichl were written. One difference concerns the fingerboard; bassists would tie old strings or cloth to make frets on their instrument, much like a

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

. This is in contrast to the present day, where the bassist is in charge of tuning purely based on their left hand finger placement due to a lack of frets. Another factor that makes playing Classical-era concerti more difficult on a modern instrument is the tuning. Many concerti from the late 18th century from the Vienna region were intended for a bass tuned (low to high) D₁/F₁-A₁-D₂-F♯₂-A₂ for a five-string bass. Four-string basses would omit the lowest string. This tuning used a D major arpeggio for the top four strings (or all the strings on a four-string bass), and this is the reason many concerti from this period are in that key. Some concerti are, however, in E♭, E, or even F major. In these situations, the bassist would tune the strings as needed, raising the pitch by as much as a minor third, possible due to the lower-tension gut strings from that period. The result was better balance: the other string instruments would have a duller, less resonant sound in E♭ major, while the bassist, reading a transposed part in D major, would have a more resonant tuning and the bass would project better. Certain passages from that time included fast arpeggios, which were relatively easy to execute with Viennese tuning. However, now that basses are tuned in fourths, (low to high) E₁-A₁-D₂-G₂, many of these Classical-era concerti are difficult to play. Dittersdorf's Concerto No. 2 (pictured at right) is an example of this. That passage could be played with a bass in Viennese tuning using only open strings and harmonics. In standard tuning, it is much harder to play, and can be executed in several different ways, each way having major challenges for either the left or right hand.

Haydn's Lost Double Bass Concerto

The only surviving parts of Haydn’s missing double bass concerto are the first two measures. It is assumed that this concerto dates back around 1763, around 2 years after Haydn was hired as a full-time composer for the Prince’s Orchestra. Haydn wrote it specifically for the second bassoonist that also played double bass in the orchestra, Johann Georg Schwenda. Typical to the time, this concerto was written in D major, for Viennese-tuned double basses. Sam Suggs, a double bassist and composer, took the first two measures Haydn wrote and completed the rest of the piece in the style of Haydn. He calls it ''Haydn ereation: Reviving the Lost Concerto.'' He took the small melody Haydn wrote and made different permutations throughout the three movements. Suggs has not yet published this work, but performed it at the International Society of Bassists Convention in 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Selected list

(1739-1799) ** Concerto in E♭ major ** Concerto No. 2 in E Major *

(1750~1812) ** Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 3 in B-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 4 in F major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 7 in A major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 8 in E-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 10 in E-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 11 in B-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 15 in D major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 17 in B-flat major ** Double Bass Concerto No. 18 in C minor *

Franz Anton Hoffmeister Franz Anton Hoffmeister (12 May 1754 – 9 February 1812) was an Austrian composer and History of music publishing, music publisher. Early years Franz Anton Hoffmeister was born in Rottenburg am Neckar (Further Austria) on 12 May 1754. At ...

1754-1812 ** Concerto No. 1 in D major ** Concerto No. 2 in D major ** Concerto No. 3 in D major *

Antonio Capuzzi Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi (also ''Capucci''; 1 August 1755 – 28 March 1818) was an Italian violinist and composer. He studied in Venice, Italy under the direction of A. Nazari (violin) and F. G. Bertoni (composition). Beginning in 1780, he was co ...

** Concerto in D (F) major *

** Concerto in G major, D. 290 ** Concerto in D dur ** Concerto in A major No. 3 ** Concerto in A major No. 5 ** Concerto in A major (Nanny) *

(1821–1889) ** Gran Concerto in F♯ minor ** Concerto No. 2 in B minor ** Concerto No. 3 in A major (concerto di bravura) *

Serge Koussevitsky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

** Concerto in F♯ minor, Op. 3 (1902) *

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** Concerto No. 1 for Double Bass and Orchestra "Argentino", Op. 123 ** Concerto No. 2 for Double Bass and Orchestra "Afroargentino", Op. 125 ** Concerto No. 3 for Double Bass and Orchestra "Porteño", Op. 129 ** Concerto No. 4 for Double Bass and Orchestra "Popular", Op. 135 ** Concerto No. 5 for Double Bass and Orchestra "Andino", Op. 141 ** Sinfonia Concerto for Double Bass, Piano and Orchestra, Op. 137 *

Georgi Conus Georgi Eduardovich Conus, french: Georges Conus (russian: Гео́ргий Эдуа́рдович Коню́с, ''Georgy Eduardovich Konyus''; , Moscow 29 August 1933, Moscow) was a Russian music theorist and composer of French descent. He was th ...

** Concerto in h moll, Op. 29 (1910) * Edouard Nanny ** Concerto in E minor *

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** Double Bass Concerto (1942) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (1948) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (1929) *

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** Concerto (1959) *

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** Concerto pur contrebasse et cordes *

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** Double bass concerto (1964) *

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** Concierto risueño (2006) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (1966) *

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** Concerto per Franco Petracchi *

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** Divertimento Concertante for double bass and orchestra (1968–1973) * Johann Baptist Vanhal ** Concerto in E♭ major (pub. 1969) *

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** Concerto for Double Bass (1972) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (1973) *

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** Concerto for double bass and orchestra (1974) *

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** Angel of Dusk, concerto for double bass and orchestra (1980) *

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** Double Bass Concerto Op. 118 (1980) *

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** Burleska for double bass and orchestra (1981) * Juliusz Łuciuk ** Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (1986) *

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** Double Bass Concerto Op. 56 (1989) * Gennady Lyashenko ** Concerto for Double bass and chamber orchestra (1989) *

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** Strathclyde Concerto No. 7 for Double Bass and Orchestra (1992) *

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** Concerto for Kontrabass and String Orchestra (1996) *

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** Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (1997) *

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** Double bass Concerto (1999) *

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** Concerto in D for Double Bass and Orchestra (2002) *

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** Concerto for Double Bass and Small Orchestra Op. 83 (2002) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (2005) *

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** Whalesong (2006) * Katarzyna Brochocka ** Double Bass concerto (2007) *

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** Double Bass Concerto (2010) *

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** Double Bass Concerto * Andrés Martín ** Double Bass concerto (2012) * Edward Kravchuk ** Concerto for Double Bass, Drum set, Piano and Strings (2014) * Thomas Goss ** Double Bass Concerto in E Minor *

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** Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (2018) * Arda Ardaşes Agoşyan ** Concerto for Double Bass and a cappella choir (Romeo and Juliet) * Pere Valls i Duran ** Gran Concert Obligat * Fredrik Högberg ** "Hitting the First Base" Concerto for Double Bass and Strings *

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** Concerto in D major *

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** Dark with Excessive Bright (2018)

References

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