Double Bass Baroque Sonatas

[Bill Spencer]

Does anybody know of some good Baroque Sonatas that would lay well on the bass? I know about the Marcello, Bach Gamba, and Vivaldi sonatas but are there any other great ones out there that anyone has done?

Thanks

 

[Dogbertday]

scarlatti's are pretty fun

 

[fstasiak]

The Eccles sonata is pretty good.

 

[anonymous12251111]

J.S. Bach - Gamba Sonata No. 1

 

[FrostyBubba3455]

I know about the Marcello, Bach Gamba, and Vivaldi sonatas

anyways...

the Joseph Bodin de Boismortier sonata on jeremy kurtzes cd is real cool so you might wanna transcribe that but who knows though it might be pretty tough. sure sounds good on the cd though, yeah?

 

[davidzgeorge]

this isn't a sonata, but the J.C. Bach Adagio is pretty nice. I think it was originally for viola or gamba

 

[anonymous12251111]

this isn't a sonata, but the J.C. Bach Adagio is pretty nice. I think it was originally for viola or gamba

Actually it's a knockoff. It was written by Henri Casadesus in the early 20th century and it's originally for viola. It's commonly known as the Bach/Casadesus Sonata and it is 100% by Casadesus.

 

[kamakiriad7]

Corelli wrote some great stuff, and it translates over to bass pretty easily. I just performed his Sonata in C Minor for my jury last month.

 

[Michael Glynn]

Oscar Zimmerman has a nice collection of relatively easy pieces called Seven Baroque Sonatas Transcribed for Double Bass. It has pieces by Loeillet, Antoniotti, de Fesch, Corelli, dall'Abaco, and Dandrieu.

Just looking for stuff on my own, I have found pieces that work well on bass by a number of composers including:

• Oboe sonatas by Telemann (from Essercizii Musici and other collections)
• Recorder sonatas by Handel (Op. 1)
• Violin Sonatas by Albinoni (Op. 6)

It just takes some looking to find pieces that lay well and sound good on the bass. As a general rule, I have found that oboe and recorder works often are among the easiest to play on bass, with a good range and linear melodies, while string pieces (violin or cello) are often more difficult because of arpeggiated figures that lay well on the original instrument, but can become difficult on bass (maybe they are easier if you tune in fifths!).

 

[punkjazzben]

The de Fesch (or just Fesch) Sonata in G Major is a relatively common baroque piece for double bass. I have the IMC/Sankey edition, and I find that a good alternative to Marcello. It's also one you'll find on a few bass syllabus' around the place.

There's a couple in Zimmerman's 'Solos for the Double Bass' - Evaristo F. dall' Abaco's 'Grave' is very nice. There's an edition of Vivaldi's Concerto for Violin in A major (1st movement) which is, well, Vivaldi. And then there's a Prelude and Allegro by Jean Francois d'Andrieu, a Handel sonata (C minor, originally for oboe). Though not all sonatas, they are worth taking a look at.

Michael is right - oboe and recorder pieces work well on the double bass, not only in range and melody, but the 'baroque' articulation on these instruments is easier to pull off on the bass, in my experience.