Viennese Bass Method - Lesson 15.

Lesson 15. - Classical Music Arrangements

The prospect of exploring the classical music arrangements for Viennese tuning is indeed very attractive considering that the arrangements would sound "in style" by default. The question is only how many pieces and of what type could be arranged given the unique features of the Viennese tuning? As will be shown, the list is rather long and consists of some of the finest classical pieces ever written. This lesson can also be considered an answer to the old question of "what other pieces would we have today if the period bassist were a little more active to commission music from the best period masters? ".

If one assumes a level of virtuosity associated with the later Sperger's works, than a number of works by the best composers such as Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven could easily be played. The period style, harmonic progressions and figurations are in many instances well transferable to the Viennese tuning technique - sometimes with minor alterations and sometimes without any! Moreover, the register of the original instrument has not proven to be an obstacle either, as some of the period's most advanced violin and clarinet pieces can also be successfully emulated by Viennese technique.

The biggest surprise however was the horn literature, as by some unusual stroke of luck it appears that all period Mozart and Haydn horn concerti can be performed in the original pitch on Viennese bass completely unaltered too! The most fascinating element of these horn arrangements is that the sequence of natural harmonics on horn actually perfectly overlaps the sequence of high register harmonics on the Viennese bass. Accordingly no transposition is needed at all, as one only needs to tune to the adequate D or E flat setup in order to match the original D and E flat horn concerti keys.

Thus with this approach, the Viennese bass can easily prove itself far more successful in bringing the substantial classical literature to the solo podium than the regular bass was ever able. In the following pages you will see that by present count the Viennese bass can claim five additional concertos by Mozart and three by Haydn. Moreover, all this is just the beginning of the exploration process that is destined to reveal many other valuable pieces in the future.

Enjoy the lesson and the real Haydn concertos in the arrangement for Viennese bass!

Performance samples featured in this lesson:

HOME

Posted:          January 10, 2010