Double Bass Bottestini's Fantasia 'Lucia di Lammermoor'

[Ticktockfool]

I have a technical question about this tune of his. I need help with ... a... note. It's a C#. Way up high. In fact ...so high I don't know where to play it other than on the A string up in stratosphere land. He can't be serious can he? It sounds like complete ass when I try it. Measure 123 and measure 124 of the York Edition. If anyone could help me I'd be so grateful.

 

[tbassist4]

I have a technical question about this tune of his. I need help with ... a... note. It's a C#. Way up high. In fact ...so high I don't know where to play it other than on the A string up in stratosphere land. He can't be serious can he? It sounds like complete ass when I try it. Measure 123 and measure 124 of the York Edition. If anyone could help me I'd be so grateful.

Off hand (and off book) that sounds like a harmonic located right around the edge of the fingerboard, it's definitely not a closed note. I'll have to check tomorrow morning so I can actually see the spot, but that's my best guess without a score.

Tyler

 

[fergus currie]

Yorke Edition missprint allert! it's a C natural. F#, E, C (natural), A in the second half of bar 123 is all on the D string. But the D at the end of the 32nd note scale is easier on the G string with the second finger. This way you dont have to 'gliss' up to get to the F#. The same applies to bar 124 - C naturals all round.

Also wrong in this Edition are the triplets in bar 30 , they sould be 32nd notes, not 16ths!

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
FC

 

[Ticktockfool]

Thank God!! A misprint!! Man, I was dropping that section down an octave because it sound so bad! Ok, C naturals tally ho!

 

[fergus currie]

I can't think of a single instance of Bottesini ever using that C# harmonic on the A string!
Can anyone?

 

[Ticktockfool]

Well, the only reason why I thought that he might have done that is because within that same range (string length wise) on the D string he writes a high F# does he not? So, when I saw that C# I thought "oh God this guy is a loon." And dropped the section down an octave. Oh, well. C natural heaven now.

 

[bulldogbassist]

This thread made my night - even contemplating going up that high on the A-string would have solidified the fact at good ol' Bottesini was in fact "a loon". Going up to the extreme high G in his "di Bravura" is, I think, comparably freaky, but also doable...more doable than on the IIIrd string, that's for sure!