Yorke-Edition

Three double basses. 'Seven short movements in contrasted tonal style. Lovely straight forward writing...useful in bringing pupils together'. Music Teacher. Few difficulties. Score and parts.Grade: Easy

This is a superbly engraved volume with comprehensive fingering and bowing instructions prepared from an early manuscript by the Italian virtuoso Francesco Petracchi.Grade: 8

These Three Waltzes are tuneful pieces of medium difficulty and provide a great stepping-stone to more advanced playing. Suitable for Grade 6 standard.

A petite concerto for Double bass with three well-contrasted movements. This is an enjoyable piece with nothing unmanageable for a moderately advanced player. A versatile piece for use in music club programmes as well as ABRSM Double Bass Syllabus. Orchestral material for strings with optional percussion (1 player: glock triangle tambourine xylophone).

Set work for Isle of Man Competition 1982 by an important British composer '...uses the bass in a dramatic and colourful way... a fine piece...' The Strad.Grade: Advanced

Four Double Basses. Eight well-known Christmas carols in a new guise. Score and parts.The Programme of Christmas Carols was first performed in New Orleans in 1976. In its original version the players were required to wear Dickensian costume and a seasonal narrative preceded each of the carol arrangements. The texts appear below.Duration without text: c.20 minutesDuration with text: c.45 minutesIntroduction by Robert RoheThe introductory text assembled with the kind assistance of Father Peacock of Loyola University of New Orleans was designed for use where the receptivity of the audience warrants. So little is known about thebeloved Christmas carols it is fitting that a brief sketch of the carols' past be used to enhance the familiar music.If desired the introductory text may be omitted at the discretion of the performers.The brief text preceding each carol should be used to acquaint the audience with what to expect from a quartet that will be playing the unexpected. The text also will pace the program and will extend performance time to around 45 minutes.In performance the bass viol quartet of New Orleans wore peaked caps and turtle necked sweaters to simulate the street performers of Dickens' time. The choice of four string basses for this program was to bring the closest relatives of the true viol into play.History and development of the Christmas CarolThe celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ has been observed for nearly 2 000 years through the ritual of the Christian Church with part of that ritual being devoted to celebration in song. In those early days church music was sung only no musical instruments taking part in the service.The type of song used by the church had the name 'plain-song'. It was a single line of melody plain and unadorned sung by one or more voices. By the year 1660 A.D. it had developed a second name 'The Gregorian Chant' after Pope Gregory who encouraged the use

'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

Four Double Basses. 'A marvellous piece for inculcating good intonation in the young'. The Strad. A short lyrical quartet of medium diffilty showing the cantabile of the instrument to good advantage. Everyone has something to do but the first part is more challenging.Grade: Medium

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

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

A good arrangement of a beautiful operatic melody; useful as an introduction to advanced playing particularly in legato.Grade: 8

This delightful encore for Double Bass and Piano accompaniment is a spoof of Saint-Saens' well known tune from Carnival of the Animals. Talented American Bassist David Walter composed and dedicated this piece to Fred Zimmerman. A challenging piece suitable for grade 7 Double Bassists. AMEB (Australian Syllabus) 2004