Double Bass Which Bottesini work to start with...?

[tbassist4]

The title says it all. I'm a determined Highschool senior who started bass just under a year ago. I have learned the first movement of the Eccles, and am making process on the second, and plan to have the whole thing done and ready for performance by the end of the academic year. I do know that Bottesini is very difficult, but I so admire his work, it was his Elegy in D that really got me going on classical bass. I've been looking at Reverie, and it looks to be the easiest in comparison to his others, but does anyone have a suggestion of which I should start with?

 

[andrewc4000]

my first bottesini piece was the reverie, although you might want to consider the mendelssohn song without words before playing any bottesini.

 

[mcnaire2004]

Same here Reverie.

 

[tbassist4]

alright, thank you very much for confirming that. As for the mendelssohn piece, I'd like to try that too, can I get a score from lemur?

 

[andrewc4000]

of course you can! you should also try the rachmaninoff vocalise to get down the lyrical style of the romantic era.

 

[Bottesini]

I would not recommend going straight from the first movement of the eccles to almost any bottesini compositions.

 

[tbassist4]

Thank you, I do know that. It will not be my primary focus, as I have the rest of the Eccles to finish, as well as moving on to solos of the same caliber and slightly higher. I would like to practice it for my own enjoyment, not that I do not do that with the others, but I would like to learn it all the same.

 

[mcnaire2004]

Thank you, I do know that. It will not be my primary focus, as I have the rest of the Eccles to finish, as well as moving on to solos of the same caliber and slightly higher. I would like to practice it for my own enjoyment, not that I do not do that with the others, but I would like to learn it all the same.

I believe Reverie is like $8-10 if you get it from Lemur.

I say Reverie b/c it's the easyist Bottesini I have seen. Granted I have only seen 6 compositions (Passione Amorosa, Reverie, Bottesini No. 1 (F# minor) Bottesini No. 1 (B minor) Bottesini No. 2 (b minor) and the Elegie).

For the number of Bottesini works out there I probably have seen 3%. So I am not in the greatest position to recomend but Reverie is a good piece to start with. I play it every day.