Double Bass Chamber Music

I've just seen a post on Jason Heath's "Double Bass Blog" that neatly summarises the problem that many of us face, and that is the perception that there's a very small amount of chamber music that involves the double bass.  This is true, but the situation is not quite so dire.  The article in question, by a guest writer, lists rather more than I was expecting (including my old friends Onslow & Farrenc), and a few that I've not come across yet!

So, the challenge for the summer is on.  Find more music, play more music!

"Orphée aux enfers" - excerpts

We didn't get all the way through the score in this afternoon's rehearsal; however, I've found the following bits that require a bit of attention.

Act 1, No6 - Invocation à la mort, bars 17-25.  Pizzicato, goes quicker than I would like...  According to our conductor, this is to imitate a laugh.

Act 2, No12bis - Entrée de Pluton, bars 9ff.  Fiddly little semiquaver runs.

Act 2, No16 - Final, bars 82-82.  Fast quavers, accidentals everywhere.  Maybe I just needed coffee by this time, but it still felt awkward.

Act 3, No17 - Intermezzo, bars 9-12.  Again, just fiddly accidentals.

My other bit of homework is to write out the last eight bars of act 2, and the first sixteen of of the Intermezzo - there's a big cut in one, and we're reusing the other elsewhere.

That's it for now...  next rehearsal is next weekend, and this may throw up a few more bits for further attention.

It's all Greek to me

This is fun.  Just been to the first orchestral rehearsal for Orpheus, and found that the part not only hasn't been cleaned by the previous borrower, but has pencil markings in English, French, German, Italian and Greek.

"διαλογοσ" - I can cope with that one.  And seeing "αccelerando" is a bit weird, but OK.  However, there's some stuff here that I really can't understand, not that it matters.

Lots of cuts to mark in, and a few corners to practise.