Why write a bass solo?

[m9lc]

I'm asking this not in reference to concerti, but in reference to small solos in symphonies and such, like the minor "Frere Jacques" bass solo in Mahler's 1st Symphony. This solo is all in thumb position; it would be easier to play on the cello or viola. Can anyone shed any light on why Mahler wrote it for the bass instead?

[Ed Fuqua]

Mostly because the timbre of the passage would sound much different with the same pitches being played by viola or cello and THAT is (primarily) what is driving the composer.

Or the cellos and violas are busy doing some other line and the composer still wants it to happen in the strings AND in that specifci pitch range AND the basses aren't really doing anything else at the time.

[mcnaire2004]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Mostly because the timbre of the passage would sound much different with the same pitches being played by viola or cello and THAT is (primarily) what is driving the composer.

Or the cellos and violas are busy doing some other line and the composer still wants it to happen in the strings AND in that specifci pitch range AND the basses aren't really doing anything else at the time.

I have often wondered this as well. Even though I am the first one up there to advacate the soloship of basses in orchastral works. I have to see the point. I guess that your answer is the best I can hope for.

[damonsmith]

Originally Posted by m9lc

I'm asking this not in reference to concerti, but in reference to small solos in symphonies and such, like the minor "Frere Jacques" bass solo in Mahler's 1st Symphony. This solo is all in thumb position; it would be easier to play on the cello or viola. Can anyone shed any light on why Mahler wrote it for the bass instead?

- The bass and the 'cello are totally different instruments with different resonances and many other different qualities.
He probably just wanted it to have more depth but be in that register or was friends with a great bass player.
That register is actually where the bass sounds fullest and richest, much richer than the smaller strings, due to the body of the instrument being able to fully contain those frequencies.

[ClassicalBass]

Originally Posted by m9lc

I'm asking this not in reference to concerti, but in reference to small solos in symphonies and such, like the minor "Frere Jacques" bass solo in Mahler's 1st Symphony. This solo is all in thumb position; it would be easier to play on the cello or viola. Can anyone shed any light on why Mahler wrote it for the bass instead?

Yeah, writing Frere Jacques in minor and giving it as a solo to a bassist is one of the biggest jokes on the instrument in history. The only solistic joke that rivals it is The Elephant. Anyway, I heard that Mahler put it in there, and gave it to bass solely for that reason: to make a musical joke. It's unfortunate that this passage is now a well-known passage in orchestral auditions (from what I hear). Most orchestral solos for bass are probably placed in there because of the necessity of the timbre of the bass; the bass certainly carries the same pitch in a completely different way than any other instrument.