An easy virtuoso work published here for the first time and now much performed. Recorded Slatford/Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields (EMI). AMEB (Australian Syllabus) 2004. Orchestral material on hire from Yorke Edition (not Spartan). Programme Note: As a young professional player in the 1960s my work as a double bassist with chamber ensembles and small orchestras took me all over the world. This presented an unparalleled opportunity to scour libraries and archives wherever I went. Long before the advent of the photocopier and e-mail research was far more challenging than it is today. Eastern Europe was particularly difficult to access with manycollections kept under lock and key for all but a few hours a week. One quickly found colleagues who were keen to share information gleaned in passing even though they had no specific interest in one's own particular specialism (it is so often the peripheral topics that fascinate as much as the main subject under investigation and one can quickly be side-tracked into political and social issues that have only slender bearing on the job in hand!). In the early 1970s James Brown the then sub-principal oboist of the English Chamber Orchestra with whom I was working at the time stumbled across a small collection of double bass manuscripts at the Royal Danish State Library in Copenhagen. They were by Franz Anton Leopold Keyper (b. c.1756 d. Copenhagen 7 June 1815) a double bassist of Dutch origin who worked as principal of the Royal Chapel Orchestra in Copenhagen. Keyper's son was the bassoonist Franz Jacob August Keyper (1792-1859). The collection included a number of concertos some chamber music and various naïve fragments. Although hardly the work of a Mozart or Haydn the style is characteristic of the period. For an instrument such as the double bass whose 18th century solo repertoire is largely written for tunings that are no longer in everyday use Keyper's music is easily approachable in its

Double Bass and Cello (1985). 'Pleasantly atmospheric'. Daily Telegraph London. A show work written for The Manchester Bass Week not too difficult but immediately pleasing. Grade: Moderate

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 à Violone Solo. Col Basso per l'Organo o Cembalo. A third sonata bears the words Sonata à 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

Grasps and holds the attention firmly'. The Times London. Well worth exploring. Grade: 8 'Grasps and holds the attention firmly'. The Times London. Well worth exploring. Grade: 8

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 quartet of medium difficulty by one of Australia's leading composers. The first part is sometimes difficult but the others are moderately easy. The writing is low sonorous and effective. Grade: Medium

Five movements well contrasted in style. A splendid addition to the library... should prove to be most useful to reasonably advanced players'. Making Music. Recorded by Beyer Breuer (FSM). Grade: Medium

A large-scale solo piece using the blues form and jazz language changing meters contrasting tempi and vocal sounds to fuse the jazz world with the world of concert music in a unique way. The composer is one of the world's foremost exponents of contemporary bass music. Duration c.4'. Grade: Advanced

Op.75 (1969). 'Grasps and holds the attention firmly'. The Times London. Well worth exploring. Grade: 8

Ideal for a popular school or informal concert. Programme note by Rodney Slatford 2008: Jack Snow Hester was born on 2 March 1907 in Chorlton Lancashire and joined the music profession as a double bass player when he was seventeen. His father Arthur Darrell Hester appears on his birth certificate as 'Manufacturer (chemicals)'; his mother was Minnie Frances Hester formerly Stamp and the family lived in South Manchester. During the 1930s as Norman Hester he worked at Daly's Theatre the Piccadilly Theatre the Palace Theatre and other London variety houses in West End productions. He married Isabella Dawson Davidson on 1 July 1940 in Worcester and shedied in 1973. He died in 2001 after a long period of ill health. During the 1960s Norman was an active freelance player working as an extra bass player with the London symphony orchestras including the BBC. Quite when The Bull Steps Out was written isn't certain but Norman sent me a copy to consider for republishing - it is assumed that the original publication appeared sometime during or just after the war. It was a 'one off' that he probably played for light music evenings in the theatres. The piece has been very popular and has been used for examinations on various syllabuses around Grade 7 level. An unpublished manuscript copy of a double bass 'method' is on file that Norman Hester wrote when he retired but it is mainly a compilation of various scales and exercises similar to many that were published in the early 20th century. A photograph of him as a young man is held at the Royal Society of Musicians in London which he joined in 1930 and of which he was a loyal supporter until he died.

An easy virtuoso work published here for the first time and now much performed. Recorded Slatford/Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields (EMI). AMEB (Australian Syllabus) 2004. Orchestral material on hire from Yorke Edition (not Spartan). Programme Note: As a young professional player in the 1960s my work as a double bassist with chamber ensembles and small orchestras took me all over the world. This presented an unparalleled opportunity to scour libraries and archives wherever I went. Long before the advent of the photocopier and e-mail research was far more challenging than it is today. Eastern Europe was particularly difficult to access with manycollections kept under lock and key for all but a few hours a week. One quickly found colleagues who were keen to share information gleaned in passing even though they had no specific interest in one's own particular specialism (it is so often the peripheral topics that fascinate as much as the main subject under investigation and one can quickly be side-tracked into political and social issues that have only slender bearing on the job in hand!). In the early 1970s James Brown the then sub-principal oboist of the English Chamber Orchestra with whom I was working at the time stumbled across a small collection of double bass manuscripts at the Royal Danish State Library in Copenhagen. They were by Franz Anton Leopold Keyper (b. c.1756 d. Copenhagen 7 June 1815) a double bassist of Dutch origin who worked as principal of the Royal Chapel Orchestra in Copenhagen. Keyper's son was the bassoonist Franz Jacob August Keyper (1792-1859). The collection included a number of concertos some chamber music and various naïve fragments. Although hardly the work of a Mozart or Haydn the style is characteristic of the period. For an instrument such as the double bass whose 18th century solo repertoire is largely written for tunings that are no longer in everyday use Keyper's music is easily approachable in its

The Italian virtuoso Francesco Petracchi enjoys an international reputation both as a player and a teacher. This book is the essence of his teaching and explains his system of fingering in the thumb positions with clarity and with many musical examples. Grade: Advanced

'Should be in every bass player's library'. Making Music. Grade: Advanced

Delightful virtuoso homage to the fiddle music of the composer's Scotland... a stunning work'. Notes. 'The timbreof the instruments match up beautifully'. The Guardian London. Two playing scores. Grade: 8

'An easy piece... Suitable for players who have been studying for about eighteen months'. Music Teacher. Dare was a Scottish composer and an amateur bassist.

A rather jolly sequential duet by the youthful Edward Elgar . Sunday Times London . A good piece for a school concert . Making Music . Grade: Easy

A collection of four Bagatelles For Double Bass which utilise the first four positions. Scored for Double Bass and Piano. Suitable for grades 2 - 4 and part of the ABRSM Double Bass Syllabus.

Relatively easy; written for the student. The second of the three movements is a tuneful Quodlibet based on folk songs.

Thirty-five easy Pieces for Double Bass and Piano. A wealth of short and enjoyable tunes for school concerts festivals and exams. A tremendous amount of music packed into 48 pages. I highly recommend this book ...useful for a variety of levels of students'. American String Teacher. Contains a selection of pieces for the ABRSM and AMEB (Australian Syllabus) Double Bass examinations.

'A pleasantly engineered four movement suite for Double Bass which is technically quite undemanding ... an attractive concert item' The Strad. Suitable for Grade 5 players and part of the ABRSM Double Bass Syllabus.