Why the Bass? Part 2

   Because it's fun!  The people in the orchestra are some the most interesting, thoughtful, kind people I know.  And out of those, the bass players are among the most entertaining.  I think the very act of playing such a ridiculously large instrument requires an outstanding sense of humor.   And our roll as the plow horses of the orchestra, as one former colleague put it, demands a certain appreciation for the absurd.

     Just yesterday, we started rehearsals for Ein Heldenleben (a Hero's Life), Richard Strauss' autobiographic tone poem (talk about an ego!)  I came to my place on stage, and noticed there was no music stand.  Without missing a beat, Charles, my stand partner quipped,"Sorry, budget cuts."  We quickly summoned a stage hand who righted the situation.  Charles has a few other famous quotables:  for marking bowings (whether the bows go up or down, in unison) he is a firm believer in the "Set it and forget it" method as well as "Bow it and stow it."  He is also a proponent of, if all else fails "Keep the bow moving."  Another member of the section can always be counted on to mimic  on the bass, what the violins are playing, in the same register!

     While we are on the topic of Heldenleben, I should just say that it alone would be a very good reason to play the bass. It is one of the most powerful and spectacular pieces, as well as bass parts, in the repertoire.  The range itself of the bass part is over three octaves.  We start out on a low E-flat, (the piece is in E-flat Major, the key of heroes!), a note on the bass's extension.  What is the extension?  This is one of the most frequently asked questions we bass players get.  Audience members come up and ask this almost every concert.  On the scroll of every bass in the section is a strange looking gizmo, a mini-fingerboard attached to the curved part of the peg box.  This extra piece of wood allows the low E-string to be extended down to low-C, or on two basses, to low-B.  This enables us to play 4 or 5 extra low notes and makes for an even more dramatic sound-chasm in the depths of the orchestra.  We as bass players, love these low notes and they are very plentiful in Heldenleben.

     When we start the piece, it is like a locomotive of sound, all power and steam. It pulls away from the station at full tilt, and never stops its journey until the very end.  In the meantime, Strauss covers various parts of his life, including those nasty critics (pecky woodwinds), true love (solo violin) and even a battle scene.  He also quotes himself by including a few passages from his some of his other orchestral works:  Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Don Quixote, and Also sprach Zarathustra.  Ego aside, this is truly one of the great orchestral pieces.  Come and check it out this coming week at Davies Symphony Hall.