For Violone-Very little is known about the two sonatas which appear here in their original keys. They were placed in the library of the Music School in Oxford at the end of the seventeenth century in a form convenient for playing (i.e. unbound). The library was catalogued by Hake between 1850 and 1855 and the sonatas were eventually bound in 1855 with other instrumental and vocal manuscripts of the same period some of which are dated 1698.The sonatas are both inscribed on the title page Sonata Violone Solo. Col Basso per l'Organo o Cembalo. A third sonata bears the words Sonata Violino e Violoncino … di Giovannino del Violone. Giovannino (=Little or Young John) musthave been a performer and although the third sonata has been copied by a different hand it is conceivable that Giovannino is a connecting link between the three. He cannot however be assumed to be their author.The Violone was a six-stringed instrument with frets and there is evidence to suggest that the Contrabasso of the same period was similar but probably a little larger; the Violoncino (=Little Violone or Violoncello) must have been smaller. The word 'Violone' was also used as a collective term embracing all members of the Viol family which means that the sonatas might well have been written for a tenor or a bass Viol and not necessarily a Violone as such. Indeed when they are played on a Violone or Double Bass the continuo bass line must be played at a lower pitch than the solo instrument to prevent inversion of the intended harmony. (The use of a Violone/Double Bass continuo or 16' organ tone would overcome this problem.)The editor has added no ornaments or embellishments to the solo part as it appears in the original manuscript. It is open to debate whether a Violone player owing to the very nature of his instrument would have used any but the simplest melodic decorations. Nevertheless the performer should acquaint himself thoroughly with those seventeenth century traditions that are known today (see Dart

Yorke Edition-Born in Oxford in 1917 Francis Baines was a well-known and much respected professional double bass player. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Claude Hobday where he later taught. Something of an eccentric he immersed himself in early music at a time when few people were taking it seriously. He owned a beautiful Amati bass that he had restored as a violone which it probably was originally and he was a regular fixture as a principal player in a number of orchestras and ensembles that dedicated themselves to period performing including those directed by Denys Darlow with whom he broadcast and recorded frequently.Besides playing the doublebass Francis Baines was an exponent of the treble viol and led the Jaye Consort of Viols which he founded. He also played several kinds of bagpipe and the hurdy-gurdy. As a composer he dabbled in many styles one of his greatest claims to fame being that of writing for the popular Hoffnung concerts in the 1960s. He was the author of a number of papers about the history of the double bass sometimes arriving at scholarly conclusions that were colourful if not always entirely accurate. He discovered the Giovannino del Violone sonatas subsequently published by Yorke Edition although today it is thought that they were probably not written for a 16' pitch instrument at all. His edition of the Capuzzi double bass concerto published by Boosey & Hawkes was for many years one of the few solo works available for the instrument. This however he largely re-composed because he thought it could be improved: towards the end of his life he confessed that with hindsight he probably should have treated it differently.Grounds was written in 1969 as a sort of party piece and was given to Yorke Edition in support of a drive to enlarge the repertoire for the instrument in a wide variety of styles. It was set on the syllabus of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for many years.Francis Baines died

The international fame of bass player François Rabbath acknowledges both the untiring teacher author of a Nouvelle technique de la contrebasse which a whole generation of students desirous of freeing themselves from the fetters of traditional teaching has taken up and the inspired soloist unsparing of himself in concert. For several years now he has become accustomed to spending a few days in the summer in Kansas City (Missouri) to give master classes and a concert there in the framework of the ‘KC BassFest’. In July 2016 a moving surprise awaited him: on the stage of the American Jazz Museum afull-length portrait was unveiled painted by local artist Ruthie Ingram from photos taken during his recital the previous year. By way of thanks Rabbath dedicated Trombes d’eau to her a solo piece lasting approximately six minutes composed at the instigation of the International Society of Bassists for the 2017 edition of the International Double Bass Competition. Conceived as a series of short variations on an impassioned theme the work emphasises evocative glissandi and explores double stopping and artificial harmonics without ever sacrificing the essential: the pleasure of musical expression.