MUSIC FROM AN ISLAND

The Double Bass in 18th Century Vienna

Some background information and explanations about the solo and chamber-music repertoire for
Double Bass from the Viennese Classical Period, as performed at the final exams of Historical
Double Bass and Violone, Brussels Conservatory of Music, May June 2008.

Korneel Le Compte

MUSIC FROM AN ISLAND

The Viennese Double bass in the 18th Century

Historical context : politics, religion and music

Double bass by Thir

The Viennese Classical Period, more precisely the era between 1750 and 1800, presents us with an
astonishing and unique phenomenon : never in the musical history of the western world has the
double bass had such a prominent position in solo and chamber music, except for modern times.
Over 40 concertos and hundreds of other other soloistic pieces and chamber music with concertante
double bass have survived from this specific region and this specific period. And whilst no
concertos by any of the greater composers have survived, we know for a fact that Haydn wrote one
(only the first few bars remain, in his incipit catalog), and Mozart wrote a concert aria for bass with
obbligato double bass in his last year (interesting to note he wrote nothing for the cello...).
Whereas the double bass mainly adhered to its normal function in the other European countries and
regions, for the time of one or two generations it became one of the most important solo instruments
in the Viennese cultural territory. How did that come about ?

In his very informative book Der Wiener Kontrabass, Joseph Focht discerns several factors that
contributed to this Rise and Fall of the Solo Contrabass.
First of all, the political situation of Austria and Vienna was a very important factor. Although the
roots of the Viennese solo bass practice reach as far back as the end of the 17th century, it is no
coincidence that its glory period coincided with the second half of Empress Maria Theresia's
regence. Whereas her predecessor, the emperor Karl IV, had always favored and promoted
Mediterranean culture, and had allowed Spanish and Italian influences to dominate the Viennese
musical life, the thrift of his daughter Maria Theresia brought about by costly wars - put a brake
on the activities of the Wiener Hofkapelle. The Habsburg court, where most of the musical life had
been concentrated, lost much of its musical importance. Instead, musical activity was now
transferred to the Churches and Monasteries and their schools, and later still to the Viennese
nobility.
Most, if not all famous Viennese composers of the middle of the 18th century came from Austrian or
Bohemian Lnder, and almost without exception they were educated in these monasteries or in
their schools, mainly of Jesuit persuasion.
Maria Theresia's politics were aimed at distancing the Habsburg Empire from its adversaries :
Bayern, Sachsen, Prussia, as well as Spain and France. Through this political isolation, in
combination with the abundance of musicians in the monastery schools and the Viennese selfconsciousness, Viennese music remained almost entirely closed to external influences during the
first half of the Empress's tenure.

Vienna had, so to speak, become an island within Europe.

Another important change was the fact that under Maria Theresia, German started to replace the
Roman languages (Latin, Spanish and Italian) in court and in literature, which brought with it an
inclination towards the homegrown Alltagskultur. In the realm of music, this meant for instance
that the divertimento-style was greatly influenced by popular, non-courtly entertainment music.
The divertimento, as played in the music chapels of the monasteries and the nobility, was extremely
important in the development of the Viennese bass style. It formed a ground for improvisational
techniques and formulas that gradually evolved into the solo works for the Viennese bass.
The trade of (music) manuscripts and prints was controlled by the Jesuit Order, whereby especially
music from the surrounding confessional enemies Saxony and Prussia was heavily censured. By
controlling all schools and universities, and by controlling all book and music publishing they
suppressed the Enlightenment (Aufklrung).
When Maria Theresia's son, the Emperor Joseph II, came to power, things changed. The Jesuit
Order was abolished by the Vatican in 1773. Numerous monasteries and universities, places of
(musical) education were closed.
With the disappearence of the Jesuit influence, music as a school subject rapidly lost much of its
importance. Also, it greatly diminished the migration of musicians and the spreading of instruments
and especially of music scores, since the commercial traffic of scores was much less important than
the trade within the Order. Let us not forget that in the 1780's Joseph II closed down over 700
monasteries. He also reformed, in 1783, the liturgy and thereby, indirectly, the church music. These
measures led to massive unemployment of church musicians amongst them numerous bass
players. Before, practically every church and every form of church-music had had a double bass.

It is a remarkable paradox that Joseph II, whilst being a music lover and a progressive, enlightened
man, nevertheless administered a great blow to the musical life of his time :

Joseph II

So sehr aber Joseph fr die Tonkunst eingenommen war und ganz in Ihr lebte, so muss man doch
eingestehen, dass selbe sehr viel durch seine Neuerungen verloren habe. Durch Aufhebung der
Stifter und Klster, durch Einziehung der Stiftungen, durch Verminderung des beynahe tglichen
musikalischen Gottesdienstes wurde die Zahl der Snger, Organisten usw. so sehr herabgesetzt
dass sich nach wenigen jahren leider ein bedeutlicher Mangel zeigte. Die meisten Snger hatten
vorhin ihre Kunst den Seminarien und Stiftern zu verdanken. Ein jedes Kloster, beynahe jede
Kirche in der Hauptstadt war mit einem wohl unterrichteten, kunstfertigen Organisten besetzt, der
durch tgliche Uebung bey Choralmtern, Vespern usw. Meister in der Kunst wurde.
(M. Stadler, 1748-1833).

Double Bass by Thir

Stylistically, the Viennese music of this period retains some baroque characteristics. Most of the
works we are talking about here, fall in the period where baroque influences are still very present,
whilst the classical style is also being developed.
More and more the divertimento style, in which the bass had played such an important part, gave
way to the newbred string quartets of enlightened bourgeois Hausmusik, in which the
participation of amateurs grew very fast. The musical sociolect of professional ensembles with an
ever-present double bass was replaced by laymen, amateur musicians who strove to free themselves
from pre-enlightenment cultural roots. In these circles the cello started to replace the bass.
It is very interesting to note that basses far outnumber celli in the Viennese violinmaker's output of
that period. For a number of years, the double bass was a far more important instrument in Viennese
musical life than the cello was. This only changed when bourgeois culture became more important.
The bass was soon regarded as being old-fashioned and became associated with the old political
and religious ways. After just one generation of glory, the double bass regained its subordinate
position. It was now outdated and outmoded and had to bend its head against the winds of change.

The enlightened Emperor Joseph II himself played the keyboard and the cello for his own pleasure,
and had a keen interest in the new-fangled ways from Paris and Berlin.From now on, the Viennese
bass tuning gradually got out of fashion, although it remained in use with amateur players who
continued to play the fretted bass in third-fourth tuning for a long time, well into the nineteenth
century.
No method seems to have been written for the Viennese bass, and almost no original fingerings
remain in the pieces written for it. From what we can find, we can conclude that fingering was very
close to the way the bass is played today. Of course, the Applikatur was adapted to the tuning in
thirds and fourths, and there are significant differences in the fingering of scales and triads between
the modern bass and the Viennese style. But the use of left-hand fingers 1, 2 and 4 (with extensions
including the 3rd finger), and the use of thumb position are very familiar to modern players.
Let us go back briefly to the importance of the divertimento-style for the Viennese solo bass music.
Around 1760 the Divertimento a tre was established. Except for its composition of two unequal
upper voices over a bass, it hasn't got much in common with the older Triosonata. It features short
phrases or motifs, clear patterns, a simple harmony and a total lack of fugue, counterpoint or
imitation. There is no indication that a harpsichord was involved.
The form of two unequal voices over a bass can be traced down to the improvisational style of
unwritten Gebrauchsmusik. Most of the divertimenti of the 1760's and 70's could be played with
a varying distribution. A change from a doubled menuet to a soloistic Trio can be imagined. We
cannot recognize a clear distinction between chamber and orchestral music, between soloistic
or choristic distributions.
(Because of the isolation of Vienna under Maria Theresia's reign, Viennese music detached itself
from the evolution in its neighbouring countries. It followed its own way down from the baroque
style, thereby retaining many of the old habits and practices : the string instrument articulation for
instance stays close to the articulation of baroque vocal music.It is important to realise this close
connection to the old baroque style when studying Viennese classical music).
Already around the turn of the century, the divertimento got out of fashion and was gradually
replaced in the bourgeois concertlife by keyboard music, string quartets, quintets etc. The art of
improvisation from handwritten scores got lost since the amateur musician needed a fully
annotated, printed part from which to play.
It comes as no surprise then, that none of the Viennese solo bass literature was ever printed. The
surviving pieces come to us in the form of manuscripts or handwritten copies.(In those days almost
every competent musician also worked as a professional copyist at least at some point in his career,
and the market for handwritten copies was very important).
Even Hoffmeister, who founded his own music publishing company in 1784, never published his
own pieces with solo double bass. Mozart's bass aria Per Questa Bella Mano KV 612 (written in
1791, Mozart's last year) was never printed either. By the end of the 18th century, the heyday of the
Viennese Bass was coming to an end, and nobody bothered to publish pieces that nobody was
interested in buying and playing.

About the instrument The Viennese Double Bass

The pieces in my exam programs for Chamber Music and Historic Double Bass are mostly from the
Viennese Classical period, and were written for a double bass tuned in thirds and fourths. Now what
makes the classical Viennese bass so special ?
The Viennese Bass was a very typical instrument, and it is instantly recognizable. It has a flat back,
gamba shape, frets, a very long string length, and an ornamented peghead. It is quite
interesting to note that, in contrast to the other string instruments, the bass in the Viennese cultural
realm was not at all influenced by the Italian school. Whereas elsewhere in Europe basses were
built of very different sizes, shapes, number of strings etc, the Viennese bass was of a very uniform
type. In the Viennese bass we find a reflection of the isolation of Vienna from the rest of Europe.

Peghead on a Thir bass

Apart from its construction and its looks, what is important is its tuning in F-A-D-F#-A, and its
string length : it is typically around 108 110 cm, with many instruments even exceeding that.
For a solo double bass, that is quite a long string. Modern basses usually have a standard string
length of 105 cm, some solo basses have even shorter string stops.
The string length, in combination with the frets, makes for a strong, distinct sound, that is more in
the baritone to tenor sound colour than a real basso profundo. The tuning in a D-major chord
gives the bass a very open, resonant sound with lots of overtones.
The fact that the main notes in the key of D-major and its neighbouring keys can be played as open
strings and harmonics gives the player the choice of using the instrument's natural resonance or to
vary that basic colour by stopping the notes with the left hand. So, although it seems that certain
techniques and fingerings might have been obvious, and commonly used, there is still a wide range
of options for the player to vary tonal quality and resonance. For the bassist who has grown up with
the modern tuning in fourths, it is a very rewarding and challenging journey full of discoveries at
every turn.
Technically, the frets make the long string more managable, and even extensions are quite common.
As Quantz noted, the frets also help to achieve a more distinct sound. On the other hand, the fivestringed version (with a rather shallow fingerboard curve) was perfect for solo playing (in which the
(in-)voluntary touching of neighbouring strings with the bow often enhanced the sound by adding
resonance-inducing chord notes), but less successful in orchestra passages. Leopold Mozart's
comments in this regard were very much to the point.
The bows were made from local woods, and no exotic woods were used. They were quite light and,
again, quite bright sounding. Many players made their own bows.
Earlier Viennese basses invariably have 5 strings, or were originally built for 5 strings. Many were
later converted to 4 strings. In many virtuoso pieces, especially those by J.M. Sperger, the 5th
string is not used at all. In most other music, the lowest string is only used for bottom notes in
cadenzas (I-IV-V-I and the like), in some pieces the 5th string is needed for broken chords, in which
the hand is clamped down on the fingerboard (much as in guitar chords) and the bow does most of
the work.
It is indeed typical of the Viennese Tuning that the right (bow-) hand has a lot of work to do : since
the intervals between the open strings are so small (fourth, major third and minor third), the bow
has to move back and forth between strings much more often than on a bass tuned in fourths.
The tuning evolved from a d-minor tuning (in earlier church music) A-D-F-A to the later standard
D-Major : A-D-F#-A (top four strings). The 5th string could be tuned between low D and low F,
depending on what the piece needed. (The F as a bottom note, which might seem strange in a Dmajor tuning, stems from the habitually observed limits of the vocal range, and indeed even the
four-string bass in fourths was for a long time tuned F (not E !) -A-D-G before it adopted the low E
as its bottom string).
Usually seven gut frets were used (rarely eight). When the frets started to disappear, the bass's
string lengths gradually shortened. The spread of the left hand is indeed easier on a fretted bass than
on an unfretted one.

THE PROGRAMS
I. Chamber music (28th May 2008, 10 am)

F. Hoffmeister : Quartet nr. 3 in D for violin, viola, cello and bass

Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) wrote three bass concerti and four string quartets in which
the bass plays first violin. These were probably written in the 1770's. Although Hoffmeister
grounded his own musicpublishing company in 1784, none of his works for solo bass were
published. By this time the decline of the solo bass was gradually setting in. He did publish parts of
the 3rd quartet in an arrangement for flute, violin, viola and cello...
We have to thank Sperger for having kept Hoffmeister's bass works in his private collection.

J.M. Sperger : Quartet in D for flute, viola, cello and bass

One of the all-time greatest bass virtuosi was Johann Matthias Sperger (1750-1812). Not only did
he write 18 bass concerti, numerous duets, trios, divertimenti with solo double bass, he was also
astonishing player. Many of his works are extraordinarily challenging even for today's players.
In Sachen Leistungskraft ist Sperger ein Riese was only one of the many admiring comments
from his contemporaries. At his funeral, Mozart's Requiem was performed, which illustrates the
esteem in which he was held.

J.M. Haydn : Divertimento in D for horn, viola and bass

Like his elder brother Joseph, Michael Haydn (1737-1806) was educated at The Seminar of St.
Stephan's. He worked as Kapellmeister for the Bishop of Groswardein (Dittersdorf succeeded him),
later he became Konzertmeister at the Salzburger Hofkapelle. Some of his smaller works contain
bass parts for the Viennese Bass, which seems to indicate that he knew some of the virtuosi of his
time.

II. Historic Double Bass Exam 1 (30th May 2008, 11 am)

G. Rossini : Duetto for cello and bass

Giaocchino Rossini wrote this duetto, which was re-discovered in 1968, for the famous double bass
virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti, and for a certain Salomons whilst he was in London. Although for a
while it seemed certain for which Salomons the piece was written, recent research seems to indicate
several possibilities. The piece was written for Dragonetti and one of his students, but it seems
possible that Dragonetti actually played the cello part (he was also an accomplished cellist) and
that his student played the bass.
In any case, it is a beautiful example of Rossini's humorous style. It was written, rehearsed (?) and
performed in one day. We have no idea how it sounded, but it makes one think that maybe we just
rehearse too much nowadays...
The Italian bass back then had three strings tuned in fourths : A-D-G. (In France it had three
strings tuned in fifths : G-D-A). As a matter of fact, the Italian three-stringed bass survived for a
very long time, and was used as late as the early 20th century. When Verdi wrote his famous double
bass solo in Othello, which starts on an open low E, he specifically mentions : 0nly for the
basses with four strings. Indeed, three-stringed basses usually played the lower notes up an octave
which Verdi didn't want, in this case.
Dragonetti, who was a star avant la lettre, travelled to England and made a handsome living as
a bass soloist and teacher. He also had a keen business instinct and brought numerous string
instruments to England many of the finest Italian violins and basses that can be found in England
were brought there by him.
He himself preferred his Gasparo da Salo double bass, which is now in San Marco Church in
Venice.
The bow that Dragonetti used and which is still known today as the Dragonetti-bow looks like
a saw. The distance between the stick and the hair is extremely wide. The frog is of the clip-in type.
This type of bow was made out of pernambuco.
The bass i will be using for the Duetto was built by Stefan Krattenmacher after old Italian
examples. I converted it to three strings for the occasion. The bow is a copy of an authentic
Dragonetti-bow, and was made by David van Edwards from England.

Domenico Dragonetti at an advanced age.

J.M. Sperger : Sonata for viola and bass

Another one of Sperger's chamber pieces, with both players' parts very virtuosic. As always with
Sperger, there is no need for a fifth string, and it is probable that he used a four-string bass for his
own solo appearances. Sperger takes the bass up really, really high, and he must have been the first
bassist to have used harmonics in fork fashion, with thumb and 3rd finger. These are still natural
harmonics, since the thumb is not pressed down on the fingerboard but rather touches a harmonic
while the 3rd finger touches another harmonic a fifth, fourth or third higher. One might call them
half-natural harmonics. (I prefer to call them supernatural harmonics).
Sperger was a bit of a showman, he wasn't shy of showing some panache in his performances,
and he introduced some sound effects such as hinter dem Steck (play behind the bridge), or
glissandi an example of which can be heard in the second movement of his duosonata for cello
and bass (see below).

F. Hoffmeister : Quartet nr. 4 for violin, viola, cello and bass

The fourth of four quartets with solo bass. These pieces are the only ones of their kind in the
Viennese repertoire, if we discount a short one-movement Sperger piece for double bass and string
quartet.

W.A. Mozart : Concert Aria Per Questa Bella Mano for bass voice, double bass obbligato and
orchestra

A lot has been written about this piece by Mozart (1756-1791), and a lot of nonsense too,
unfortunately. More unfortuantely still, a lot of this nonsense (but far from all of it) came from bass
players who couldn't come to grips with this wonderful piece.
The aria was written for the singer Grl (or Gerl) who had previously sung in some of Mozart's
opera's, and for the bass player Franz Pischlberger who, like Gerl, belonged to Schikaneder's
Freihaus-Theater.
Like so much Viennese classical bass music, it is more or less (rather less, i'm afraid) playable on
the modern bass in fourths, but it never sounds quite right.
This is the piece with which i seriously started to study Viennese Tuning, around twenty-five years
ago. I never looked back.
Actually, my personal discovery of the Viennese Tuning inspired me to write a little limerick then :
Do you know Mozarts basspiece-with-singer
on which many a bassist did linger ?
If you tune the bass right
it becomes a delight :
You can play it with only one finger !
In all honesty, the bit about the one finger isn't quite true. Viennese tuning isn't necessarily
easier, but it sure sounds a hell of a lot better.

III. Historic Double Bass Exam 2 (23rd June 2008, 11 am)

J.S. Bach : Suite Nr.2 in b minor BWV

J.S.Bach (1685-1750) composed his four Ouvertren or Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069 when
he was Kapellmeister at the court of Cthen, where he also wrote many of his other great
instrumental works. Probably the most popular of these Suites is the one in b minor (BWV 1067), in
which the transverse flute plays the main role. The Suite was probably written for Pierre Gabriel
Buffardin, composer and flautist, who worked in Dresden at the time.
Although in this piece all eyes and ears are for the solo flute, the bass part (as in much of Bach's
work) is very demanding, and it is still considered a great test of the bass player's technical and
musical competence.

J.B.Vanhal : Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra in Eb

Johann Baptist Vanhal (1773 1813) was one of the most important composers of his time. His
works (symphonies, concertos, chamber music, church music) were widely distributed and some of
them were performed by Haydn and Mozart, with whom he also enjoyed playing music.
His double bass concerto was written in 1773, and we owe it to Sperger that it survived to our age.
It is easily one of the best double bass concertos of the Viennese classical period, if not simply the
best.
In the surviving manuscript, numerous passages have 8va signs written over them, apparently in a
different handwriting from the original. It is generally believed that these were added by Sperger
which would be in keeping with Sperger's reputation as having been a bit of a show-off. I have
chosen to stick to the original pitch for most of the concerto, with a few exceptions thrown in for
good measure.

J.M. Sperger : Duo for Cello and bass in b minor

And Sperger again...He is quite incontournable in Viennese bass music. This duo may well be the
hardest piece that i know from Sperger's. Still, i haven't played them all, so who is to say what else
is in store ?
(By the way, this may very well be the very first time in over 200 years that this duo is played. In
fact, it is one of the numerous works that are impossible to perform on a modern bass. Only on a
Viennese-tuned instrument can you attempt to come close to Sperger's intentions).
Whereas in the Sonata for viola and bass both parts are more or less equally difficult and equally
interesting, here the cello plays a typical bass player's part and the bass goes up into the
stratosphere. Sperger keeps amazing me. He may not have been the greatest composer but he did
know how to play the double bass.
For once, we also get way from the ubiquitous D-major, and enjoy the minor mode. One of the
elements that led to the downfall of the Viennese bass was precisely that as music became more
complicated, more chromatic, and generally more adventurous, the D-tuned bass (pun intended)
couldn't keep up. One way around the problem was to tune up the whole bass a half or whole step
to Eb or E major (or even up a third to F in Sperger's case him again !), but as soon as the
modulations started going off in all directions, the Viennese bass had to throw in the towel and
make way for the more universally usable tuning in fourths.
Sperger was the only one who sought to vary his output by using different tonalities, some of which
were further removed from D-major, but to no avail. Exit the Viennese bass...

THANKS

I would like to dedicate this special day to the memory of my dearly beloved father who passed
away earlier this year, and who would have been so happy and proud to witness the event. He was
no musician but an artist at heart. He introduced me to Bach and the Beatles, and he taught me
everything that is important in life.
Above all he was the warmest, most honest and most loving person i have known.
To my children Viola, Tobias and CeyLan, who have always been so supportive of my crazy plans
and ambitions, and whose love is unconditional thank you. Xiexie ni.
To my beloved Haruko, always there no matter what domo arigato gozaimashita.
To my mother, my brothers and sisters, who are all gently crazy in their own special way, and who
are always there (whether i need them or not) thank you.
To Pierre Nicolas, the bassist of Georges Brassens, who inspired me to take up the bass in the first
place merci Pierre.
To all the wonderful teachers, staff and especially to all the students who have inspired me these
past years, who have played with me and given me so much true, loving friendship thank you from
the bottom of my heart.
To my colleagues, for understanding and supporting me bedankt jongens.

And very special thanks today to my fellow-students and good friends :

Ann Cnop (Violin II in Bach and Vanhal, Viola in Haydn, Hoffmeister, Sperger Quartet)
Annelies De Cock (Violin I in Vanhal and Bach)
Madoka Nakamaru (Violin)
Ronan Kernoa (Cello)
Mika Akiha (Violin in Hoffmeister, Viola in Sperger Sonata)
Manuela Bucher (Viola in Bach and Vanhal)
Zsuzsi Gyurina (Traverso in Sperger)
Sien Huybrechts (Traverso in Bach)
Dimos Debeun (Harpsichord)
Dymphna Vandenabeele (Oboe I)
(Oboe II)
Jean-Pierre Dassonville (Horn I)
(Horn II)
Ren Laryea (Voice).

May life be good and merciful to all of you.

Bedankt voor alles Frank. Je was een geweldige leraar.