Notes and Editorial Reviews
Saint-Saëns uses a solo double-bass to comical effect in the
Carnival of the Animals where it represents the elephant
moving with ponderous grace to the Dance of the Sylphs by
Berlioz. For Bottesini there was nothing comical about the instrument.
He was after all a virtuoso of the double-bass, giving many
successful concert tours all over Europe and the Americas. As
if to prove just how serious the instrument can be, he wrote
not only solos but many works for two double-basses. All those
on this disc apart from the Gran Duetto also include the piano,
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but its role is essentially subordinate, even where its part
may be technically demanding, as in the Concerto.
The sound of the solo double-bass, even when playing in its
highest register and therefore able to match the actual notes
played by a cello, is wholly different from that instrument.
Indeed it is in some ways more akin to that of a viol, partly
due to the lack of the fierce continuous vibrato that most professional
cellists employ today. It is nonetheless a compelling sound,
and after the initial surprise has worn off, it is far more
than a mere comical curiosity. However on the evidence of the
works included here, Bottesini was by no means an innovative
composer. Not merely is the first work based on themes by Rossini
but the language of the others is closely related to that of
the older master. All make enormous technical demands on the
two bass players. I have never attempted to play the instrument
and have long admired those able to gauge accurately the long
distance between notes on the strings. I can only guess as to
how certain passages which seem to demand superhuman dexterity
can be played on something so apparently unwieldy. The two players
here display great bravura, playing fine instruments by Landolfi
and Testore loaned specially for the recording.
All four of the works on the disc have three movements each,
but the Gran Duetto is by some way the longest, being nearly
twice as long as any of the others. Unfortunately it is also
by some way the least interesting and most conventional in its
themes and structure. However, it is certainly worth hearing
once, even if one is unlikely to want to repeat the experience
often. The other pieces are worth repeating. Overall an out
of the way but rewarding disc whose strange but characterful
sounds resonate in the memory.
-- John Sheppard, MusicWeb International Read less
Works on This Recording
2.
Passion amorose by Giovanni Bottesini
Performer:
Timothy Cobb (Double Bass),
Thomas [Double Bass] Martin (Double Bass),
Christopher Oldfather (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 19th Century; Italy
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