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Double Bass Bach Cello Suite No.2 for grad school auditions?

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DBPlaya

Jan 17, 2010
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#1
I am looking ahead to grad school auditions (UCLA in particular, but I will be auditioning for other schools as well) and it requires 2 contrasting mvts from a Bach cello suite (like most auditions do) so since most schools require 2 dance mvts, I was thinking about doing the Allemande and Gigue (or maybe the Minuettes) from the 2nd suite at pitch.

There isn't too much on youtube in terms of people playing it on bass... so I assume it gets played less than say... the 3rd suite Bourees, but I was wondering if it sounds like a legitimate thing to play for a grad school audition. If not, do you have any other suggestions? (since most schools don't allow preludes, I am trying to stay away from them, also I want to play something that I can say is "at pitch")

Thanks in advance!!!!
 
#2
True, the 2nd suite isn't as common for bass. The 3rd suite is definitely more common for bass auditions, but I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with the 2nd. I would contact the bass professor and see what he reccomends.
 
#9
I just finished the 2nd suite a little while ago. I think it would be perfect for grad school auditions. It sits pretty comfortably at pitch. The Allamande is a excellent choice. The Gigue is the most difficult to excecute comparted to the courante, but if you can do it, then you should.
 
#10
Please don't flame.

Having heard dozens try, and having spent a decade on these pieces, I have to say... nearly nobody plays the second suite as well as a shoddy cellist does. These pieces are ridiculous on the bass, ie, considerably harder than even Bot 2.

There's a reason nobody puts these on youtube. If people could play them well, they would.

Is it better to play something that isn't "at pitch" if it benefits from "good pitch?" :)




+1,000 for playing what you sound best on. If you can put your heart and soul into something with flawless execution, that's what you should play!

Just trying to help. Sitting on an audition committee and hearing ambitious yet flawed rep is like driving nails into your eyes.
 
#11
chicagodoubler said:
Please don't flame.

Having heard dozens try, and having spent a decade on these pieces, I have to say... nearly nobody plays the second suite as well as a shoddy cellist does. These pieces are ridiculous on the bass, ie, considerably harder than even Bot 2.

There's a reason nobody puts these on youtube. If people could play them well, they would.

Is it better to play something that isn't "at pitch" if it benefits from "good pitch?" :)




+1,000 for playing what you sound best on. If you can put your heart and soul into something with flawless execution, that's what you should play!

Just trying to help. Sitting on an audition committee and hearing ambitious yet flawed rep is like driving nails into your eyes.
Click to expand...


I don't mean to seem disrespectful, but suite 2 actually lies wonderfully on the bass at pitch. All the harmonics, open strings, and even the chords fit. As long as you aren't trying to superman it up and down the G string, then it just fits.

Suite 2 sounds better on bass than cello because of the resonance; is just so beautiful. Suite 5 at pitch (though I'd love to try it in A minor like Edgar Does to make more of the chords complete with the open low string) sounds about equal on cello and bass. Suite 1 is only about half. The minuet, courante, and gigue sound better on bass, and the other movements (though they lie very well on the instrument) sound better on cello. Suite 3 is another monster at pitch. I have played it both ways. It is amazingly difficult to play the higher notes where they sound good at pitch, but there is something about the grumbling of G (yes even in the video you posted) that doesn’t sit right with me. 4 works fine at pitch and 6 does to. But 6 definitely sounds better on cello.
Notice how () Edgar Meyer doesn’t superman suite 2. Though he said he used to play it more vertically up the G string.
 
#12
I don't mean to seem disrespectful either, but if you took a median performance of every suite on both cello and bass, none of the bass versions would come close to the cello versions.

Anyway, if the requirement is two movements from a suite, I'm pretty certain that two movements from the 2nd suite would qualify.... Good luck at UCLA, I'm a huge Chris Hanulik fan.
 
#13
agreed.
Aside from the top 1% on our instrument, I have yet to hear the suites approach the beauty on the bass that they find in the hands of Starker, Bylsma, Rostropovich, etc...

Perhaps we are being too dismissive... could DBPlaya post some sort of recording of yourself playing the pieces? This would help considerably in your audtion prep regardless.
 
#14
Bach on bass is extremely difficult, but it is some of the most musically and technically rewarding music in existence. I'm currently participating in grad school auditions and am playing the 3rd suite (at pitch, not in G) and highly recommend the 2nd suite to anyone! The Allemande and Courante work great as a contrasting duo imo, and I think they fall a little better than the Sarabande or Gigue. Go for it!
 
#16
Talking about top 1%. I just played the prelude to 2 for Joel Quarrington in a masterclass. When he tried to play along his ear caught that I was in solo tuning. And just like that, without hesitation, he just started playing up a whole step in 5ths. He kept tempo and musicianship. One of the most amazing things I have seen.
 
#17
The Edgar Meyer rendition on youtube is very beautiful because he does not overplay at all. With the 2nd (as probably with all of them) it's easy to get carried away by the music and end up with an overblown rock'n roll version of it. Edgar- no vibrato, really gentle left hand movements, rather short bow... I really admire him for that (amongst many other things).

Someone wrote it'd be a "no brainer". Wouldn't think so... It's a great challenge, and, IMO, only if it does NOT sound like one anymore AT ALL, should you play that publicly.

Maybe that's true for every piece of music as well.

Best

Sidecar
 
#18
This has been said before.

Edgar's interpretation is intentionally removed from the more romantic styling many cellists choose. He has stated that he was going for something akin to Bach's keyboard music. Some would say this is closer to the way this music would have originally been played yadda yadda yadda.

Whatever your intentions might be with these pieces, I highly recommend taking the time to check out a wide variety of different interpretations. Learning as much as you can about the actual dances the pieces are built upon and the history of the dance suite in general, the better as well!

Sadly, the technical difficulties often make these sort of artistic considerations take the back seat for many of us playing the double bass.
 

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