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Double Bass question regarding Prelude suite 1

rprowse

rprowse

Dec 17, 2005
302
5
Wellington NZ
#1
I'm presently working on the prelude from the first cello suite. I'm playing it up the octave.
There is a bit near the end where the cello plays an open A and then a fingered A. Obviously having a different timbre on each A is important. I thought I'd use an harmonic A up on the D string perhaps with the A above the octave on the G string. This seems pretty hard. Any suggestions about how this is usually translated to the contrabbasso would be really appreciated. Also how do bassists usually voice the final chord?
Thanks,
Richard
 
#2
rprowse said:
I'm presently working on the prelude from the first cello suite. I'm playing it up the octave.
There is a bit near the end where the cello plays an open A and then a fingered A. Obviously having a different timbre on each A is important. I thought I'd use an harmonic A up on the D string perhaps with the A above the octave on the G string. This seems pretty hard. Any suggestions about how this is usually translated to the contrabbasso would be really appreciated. Also how do bassists usually voice the final chord?
Thanks,
Richard
Click to expand...

What you described would be the way I do it. I know I've been fawning over Paul Ellison on here a lot lately, but he does have a pretty kickass transcription of the suite available Link Removed. The transcription is in the orginal octave and key, with the bowings found in Anna Magdelena Bach's handwritten copy of the piece. It also offers his own fingering suggestions, which tend to work very well for me.

The last chord would have the open G and a high B on the D string on the up bow, and then a high G harmonic and the same B on the D string for the down bow.
 
#3
That is the way that I do both spots. You might want to try to find a copy of the barenreiter edition. It has copies of 5 different manuscripts and some writing about style and other issues about the suites.

I was reading about the Anna Magdalena parts recently and her manuscripts aren't very accurate, at least with articulations.
 
#7
PaulCannon said:
What do you mean "accurate"? Her's is the oldest known copy of the piece. As far as we know, anything that isn't what she wrote would be by default less accurate.
Click to expand...

To see better what I mean you should find a copy of the barenreiter edition.

The main problems with her copies are the slurs. Most of the notes in her copy match other copies. In the barenreiter edition they put a couple excerpts from the violin partitas which are in Bach's hand side by side with Magdalenas. Some of the slurs are not in the right spot or not clear which note they start on or end on or too close to the notes to even tell that there is a slur.

This past week I started looking at the Bourrees from the third suite and have been having a lot of trouble decifering a lot of her slurs. I'm trying to follow her part as much as possible. John Hood had me change only a few things in my lesson this week. I think there were some things in there that aren't normally done but will work well if I play it right.
 
#10
PaulCannon said:
I own the Barenreiter, but I see what you mean. In the instances where it's hard to tell what she wrote, you ought to try any possibility and find what works best for you.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm trying to do right now. I look at what is going on harmonic an usually a there's a bowing that seems most natural. In my last lesson with John he pointed out some bowings I was doing that could work on cello but not too well on bass. At this point I think I have all the bowings I want to do for the 1st Bourree.
 

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