Sinfonia piccola for 8 double basses (op. 66, 1978)
I. Prologue, II. Burlesque, III. Andante sostenuto, IV. Finale
8 Double basses
Duration: 23 minutes
Heinrich Braun | Michinori Bunya | Jürgen Normann | Annette Zahn | Hans Peter Wirth | Günther Fischer | Sophia Koch | Martin Aulbach - Claus Kühnl (Conductor)
Thierry Barbé | Jeff Bradetich | Fausto Borém | Christine Hoock | Paul Ellison | Dan Styffe | Petia Bagovska | Samuel Abreu - Florian Pertzborn (Conductor)
Christine Hoock | Leon Bosch | Fausto Borem | Sandor Ostlund | Paul Ellison | Dan Styffe | João Pedro Fernandes | Ted Botsford - Florian Pertzborn (Conductor)
Title: Sinfonia Piccola op. 66 for 8 double basses - Length: 54 pages - Date: I. - II. 24 May 78 III. 4 June 78 IV. 11 June 78 - Location: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich
Schott Music KBB 12 / ISMN 979-0-001-15698-1
Printing error in score and part: 3rd movement, bar 114, 3rd bass must play treble clef instead of bass clef
First edition: J. Schuberth Co. Hamburg, 1987
In the final piece of the evening, Bertold Hummel's"Sinfonia Piccola", the Würzburg double bass ensemble was once again able to pull out all the stops: Harmonics, glissandi, plucking, strumming on the fingerboard and the body of the instrument, solo playing and ensemble playing. The composition, which ranged from lyrical to jazz, sometimes made you forget that only double basses were playing; you thought you were listening to a large, full-sounding string orchestra.
You could see the enthusiasm on the beaming faces of the young double bass players as they performed together as a real octet in the "Sinfonia piccola for eight double basses" by Bertold Hummel (1925 to 2002). The "Sinfonia" is an extremely demanding composition lasting just under half an hour in four movements. Eight double basses formed a wonderful fullness of sound and proved what Weber so aptly described: "You can hear and see the entire wealth of colours and variations that is possible on the double bass." The long applause showed that the audience felt the same way ...
Even more impressive was the rich, at times velvety, nasal, deep black sound of the instruments when they performed the "Sinfonia piccola" for eight double basses by Bertold Hummel (1946-2002) together - admittedly only at the end of the concert. The whole room was filled with their reverberating sound ...
Its worth sticking with Bertold Hummels thunderous Sinfonia piccola for moments as haunting as the final bars of the Andante sostenuto, where harmonics chime like distant church bells.
Claus Kühnl: Dunkle Frage (dark question) for 4 double basses - in memoriam Bertold Hummel, Publisher Friedrich Hofmeister FH3226
The Sinfonia piccola op. 66 for 8 double basses was composed on the occasion of the international double bass seminar on the Isle of Man in 1978. It is an attempt to utilise the instruments for symphonic gestures and sequences.
Divided into 4 movements, different playing techniques are exposed and assigned to contrasting formal sequences.
Both pathos and scurrility determine the basic character of this symphony "en miniature".
Bertold Hummel
Preface (Schott Music KBB 12)
Bertold Hummel composed the Sinfonia piccola in 1978 for the first international competition and seminar for the double bass on the Isle of Man (British Isles) where the work was premiered by double bass class students of Günter Klaus from the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg under the direction of Claus Kühnl.
Bertold Hummel wrote the following on his composition: “The attempt is made to utilise the instruments to produce symphonic gestures and developments. During the four movements, a variety of playing techniques are displayed and allocated to contrasting formal developments. The wide range of tonal colours includes harmonics, glissandi, pizzicato, tapping on the fingerboard and body of the instrument, solo passages and ensemble playing. The palette of the musical content ranges from a lyrical style to jazz and the fundamental character of this symphony en miniature is determined by both pathos and scurrility”.
I had access to the original material for the first performance in the preparation of the current edition. Discrepancies between the score and the parts have been eliminated and several practical performing details added. The technical performing instructions have been provided in two languages.
The work is conceived as a double quartet and the following seating position has proved to have been successful in performance: the ensemble should form as wide an open semi-circle as possible: Cb 4, Cb 3, Cb 2, Cb 1, Cb 5, Cb 6, Cb 7, Cb 8. The double basses 4 and 8 require the low C string. The ensemble can make an independent decision as to whether a conductor is necessary for performance; the work can be performed either with or without a conductor.
Bertold Hummel has provided a foundation for double bass ensemble literature with his Sinfonia piccola. This edition should inspire double bass players at music colleges and in orchestras to come together and perform on stage in ensemble.
The presentation and performance of the current edition will take place in November 2008 at the International Double Bass Festival BASS´ 2008 at the Conservatoire National Superior in Paris and at the 2nd HARMOS Festival at the College of Music and the Performing Arts ESMAE/IPP in Porto. The American premiere will follow in June 2009 at the World Congress of the International Society of Bassists ISB at the Penn State University in Pennsylvania, USA.
Porto, June 2008
Florian Pertzborn
University of Music and Theatre ESMAE/IPP
Porto - Portugal