Bass Solo

Parry’s two finest and most popular anthems, Blest Pair of Sirens and I was glad, make an attractive coupling to his famous choral works. The 45-minute work The Soul’s Ransom, with its sequence of solos and choruses, forms a broadly symphonic four-movement structure and The Lotos eaters; a setting for soprano, chorus and orchestra is performed by Della Jones, a characterful soloist. This is a full and atmospheric recording to match the incandescent performances.

Recorded on their first concert tour, this is the first release by Dave Bainbridge's new band Celestial Fire. Featuring a mix of IONA music (some rarely played live, such as 'Brendan's Voyage/Return'), music from Dave's solo albums and even a Yes cover or two, this recording shows the astonishing breadth of talent and stunning musical sensitivity in this new line up…

In many performances of the Bartok Solo Sonata its legendary difficulty is more apparent than its beauty and nobility: the violinist sweats profusely in a cloud of resin dust, his bow reduced to a tangle of snapped horse-hair, and the sound he produces is gritty and rebarbative, eloquently expressive of strenuous effort. Nigel Kennedy's account is the most warmly lyrical that I have heard, his tone beautiful and expressive in even the most hair-raising passages.

This riveting music documentary traces the history of piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage boogie-woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity. One highlight in the treasure trove of musical gems is the legendary Oscar Peterson Trio (bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis) who, after a twenty-year hiatus, reunited in order to 'prove that it still had the magic.' Over 45 minutes of classic and contemporary performances complemented by rare film footage and in-depth interviews with a cast of jazz legends, creates a chronicle spanning four decades of Oscar Peterson's unforgettable music.

This program presents highlights from the renowned Bass Day Festival. Some of the world's greatest bass players gather to perform solo, jam, and share their expertise with bass enthusiasts. The featured artist in this production is Billy Sheehan. The award-winning musician exhibits his talent at three performances, and then answers questions on technique for members of his appreciative audience.

This is Lucile Boulanger’s first solo recital. The French gambist, universally praised for her natural and moving playing – BBC Music Magazine even described her as ‘the Jacqueline du Pré of the viola da gamba’ – juxtaposes Bach with Carl Friedrich Abel, a great master of the bass viol and a close friend of the Bach family. Although Johann Sebastian never wrote for solo viola da gamba, we know that he transcribed many of his works for other instruments. So Lucile Boulanger has chosen, for example, to transcribe three dances from the Sixth Suite, ‘because it sounds particularly good on the viol, being written for five-stringed cello (a step towards the six or seven strings of the viol?). It is in D, the viol key par excellence, and its style, already somewhat galant , is reminiscent of Abel… This album gives me the opportunity to showcase the viol as both a melodic instrument – with the grain of the bow, the fragility of tone – and a polyphonic one.’

With these words begins the first written cello method, authored by Michel Corrette and published in Paris around 1741: the cello, a bass instrument, is considered a “noble pillar of harmony”. At that time, music history was roughly in the middle of the basso continuo era, which began during Monteverdi’s lifetime with the “Seconda Pratica” and ended during Robert Schumann’s lifespan. A lot revolved around the melody of the bass line, its realisation and rendering. In Corelli’s orchestra, a large bass section comprising many instruments of different sizes, with several cellos, double basses, lutes and harpsichords, was placed just behind the concertino. Behind them were the intermediate voices, first and second violas. Only behind the latter were those who carried the melody of the upper voices, namely the violinists. Such a setting has nothing to do with today’s musical practice and sound expectations. The vast bass section determined the tempo, the character and the dynamics. Those providing the melody had to adapt; any resistance would have been pointless.