Double

bass
[bass,
contrabass, stand-up bass,
string bass, upright bass]
(Fr. contrebasse; Ger. Kontrabass; It. contrabasso, contrabbasso;
Sp. contrabajo).
The largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in use. It
has four or (less often) five strings tuned in 4ths and sounds an
octave lower than the cello. In western art music it is best known
for its contribution to the orchestra, where it supplies not only the
power and weight but the basic rhythmic foundation, and has also
been used as a continuo instrument. More rarely the bass is heard
as a soloist, in which field its surprisingly large repertory includes
over 200 concertos. The instrument, normally played pizzicato, is
an essential member of jazz and dance bands; in many countries it
is used in military and concert bands.
1. Structure and tuning.
Double basses vary in shape and size more than almost any other
instrument. There are two basic designs: one is shaped like a viol,
the other like a violin.
3. History.
Research into the evolution of the double bass reveals a tangled
web of several hundred years of changes in design and fashion in
the dimensions of the instrument and consequently in its stringing
and tuning.
4. Repertory and performers.
Telemanns unusual Trillensymphonie in D (1730) for two double
basses, chalumeau, flute and harp continuo shows how differently
he treated high and low tuned violoni. The writing, which owes
more to peasant dancing than it does to court elegance, must be
one of the earliest examples of a work using a double bass
instrument as a soloist. Little other solo music is known from the
18th century (Stamitzs concerto, for example, is a transcription of
a viola work) until the solo parts in Haydns symphonies (e.g.
nos.68) of the early 1760s; then, in the four years from 1765, no
fewer than 28 concertos appeared (by Vanhal, Zimmermann,
Haydn, Franz Hoffmeister, Johannes Sperger and Dittersdorf).
Dragonettis success was unique in that for over 50 years no
musical gathering was considered complete without him. Not only
did his fine performances win him recognition throughout Europe,
but his kind, amiable personality endeared him to the British public.
He counted among his friends Haydn, Beethoven, Hummel, Spohr,
Liszt and many other composers.

The later Italian virtuoso Giovanni Bottesini had a different

approach to the bass. While some critics praised Dragonettis
powerful tone and his ability to play in tune, others scorned his loud
and rasping style. For Bottesini there was little but praise; his
delicate tone and agile technique stunned audiences and his ability
to dart from one end of the instrument to the other was
remarkable (H.R. Haweis).
The early 20th century saw the rise of Sergey Koussevitzky,
another virtuoso who conducted. The recordings he made in 1929
of his Valse miniature, Chanson triste and Lskas Wiegenlied
show the perfect command he had of his instrument. Koussevitzky
wrote comparatively little for the bass, his recital programmes
consisting largely of transcriptions (notably the Cello Sonata by
Strauss, Bruchs Kol Nidrei, Mozarts Bassoon Concerto and many
Baroque works).
The American Bertram Turetzky has commissioned over 200 works
and has developed his own particular style of playing, centred on
pizzicato and non-traditional bow techniques. In England Barry Guy
has explored new avenues of sound by coupling the bass to
electronic apparatus controlled during performance at the players
discretion.
It is hard to be certain when the double bass obtained a regular
place in the orchestra. Many 17th-century orchestras did not use
16' tone; there was no double bass in the Paris Opra orchestra,
for example, until the early years of the 18th century. But court
orchestras of the mid-18th century included double basses; usually
they were more numerous than the cellos. A modern symphony
orchestra generally has at least eight (for a fuller discussion see
Orchestra).
Any principal orchestral player must attain a standard equal to that
of the virtuoso soloist; advanced technique is required for most of
the works of, for example, Schoenberg, Strauss and Stravinsky.
Some of the more exposed passages occur in Brittens Young
Persons Guide to the Orchestra and A Midsummer Nights Dream,
Ginasteras Variaciones concertantes, Mahlers First Symphony,
Musorgskys Pictures from an Exhibition (orch. Ravel, 1922),
Prokofievs suite Lieutenant Kij, Rossinis six early string sonatas,
Saint-Sanss Le carnaval des animaux and Stravinskys suite
Pulcinella. Chamber music with double bass includes several
works by Mozart of a divertimento character (attesting the use of
the instrument in such contexts in 18th-century Austria),
Beethovens Septet (op.20), Schuberts Trout Quintet and Octet,
Spohrs Octet and Nonet, and many works by Hummel, Onslow
and others. Dvok used it in a string quintet (op.77). 20th-century

composers have turned their attention to the instrument in their

search for less familiar tone colours, e.g. Prokofievs Quintet and
works by Henze, many of which use artificial harmonics.