In the late 1850s when Rossini was composing only for his own private pleasure he wrote a little elegy for Double Bass and Piano that he entitled “Une Larme” (“a tear”). Its theme also servedas the basis for a larger-scale set of variations for Cello and Piano. The importance that Rossini ascribed to this short piece for Double Bass is demonstrated not least by the fact that he made a richly ornamented dedication copyof it in 1858. This hitherto little-known source is in Russia and has now been consulted for the first-ever time for a critical Urtext edition. As in Henle’s other Urtext editions for this instrument the Double Bassspecialist Tobias Glöckler has prepared a version in solo tuning and orchestral tuning and added fingerings and bowings to the solo part.

Two short and delightful movements in a lighter style composed for Double Bass with Piano Accompaniment by Bryan Kelly. Based upon characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest this piece is ideal for concerts offering a wonderful enrichment to the advancing Double Bassist's repertoire.The solo Double Bass part is also included on a separate insert.

A short three-movement 'characteristic' sonatina composed for Double Bass 2000 and premiered at Wells Cathedral School. Aimed at the intermediate bassist this is a work full of lyrical episodes and utilises the medium-high range of the instrument. The composer writes: 'My Sonatina a brief frivolous piece was partly written to exploit the range of the double bass both its lower and upper reaches. The first movement is in strict sonata form - exposition repeat and all. The second movement is tongue-in-cheek 18th-century form; the sonatina is a very 19th-century form. Its main theme turns up again as the middle section of the final movement a tinywaltz. Other snatches of material are common to all three movements.' 

Written for David Heyes as part of his 'Fizz at 50' project. 'Gerty Goat Scuffer' (in case you wondered) is one of many nick-names we had for a much loved family dog - officially named 'Heavy Hetty' from a character in an imaginative children's book of that name. In my youth as a composition student at the RAM I discovered that walking a dog for an hour a day is the anti-dote to the long hours required as a composer 'sat you yer bum' writing at a desk and (in those pre-computer years) writing endless parts out by hand. First of these 'best friends' was a glorious Gordon Setter called 'Sophie' (my first love) who accompanied Pat and I on our honeymoon acrossScotland. Thirty years later we were privileged to enjoy the company of three therapeutic beasts; 'Merlin' (a prize winning Pyrenean Mountain Dog) 'Gael' (an over energetic Scottish Border Collie) and 'Hetty' (a unique cross between a Pyrenean Mountain Dog and a St. Bernard - something of a 'kennel-maid's Accident'). Hetty (see picture) is unfortunately no longer with us now. She had an extraordinary puppy-hood that left her with titanium plates holding her back legs together. Hetty was surprisingly active though right through to the age of nearly 10 - speciality: chasing Pheasants in the grounds at Strathmashie - but she became progressively hampered by arthritis and 'scuffed along' on her vast hairy pads with a swagger. She also used to remind our children of a mountain goat. Songs have been written about her but this is the first instrumental work that she has inspired! The pervading thematic motive of the piece (heard from the outset) cheekily alludes to an (over) famous Saint-Saëns work for double bass (but no insult is intended to Hetty!). The increasingly roving tonality and unusually sudden shifts of key combined with the use of jazz chords combines to present a short but heartfelt tribute to a unique animal that provided untold pleasure to all she came into contact with simply by just being

Serenade du Barbier de Seville (Rossini) Air d'Il Trovatore (Verdi) and Finale de la Somnambule (Bellini). The best of Bottesini's arranged operatic arias short charming virtuoso pieces. Useful as encores. Grade: Moderate