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JOHNSTONE – “BASS IN BACH” (2 Albums of original Bach-influenced pieces for the young) – for SOLO DOUBLE BASS

Other Identification: “Bass In Bach” is music very similar to Bach composed for young and/or less experienced bassists which sounds good and convincing on the bass but is actually a far bit easier than our maestro Bach himself! However, don’t view these pieces and expect to find exact Bach-like copies, or even original Bach undiscovered gems! That is not the purpose: the goal here is to create modern day ‘Bach ambience’ pieces, not academic Baroque period purities. These 18 pieces are conceived for the ‘modern’ bass – we are looking at NEW pieces featuring Bachian influences.
Of course, for the more ambitious or those more advanced, there is no problem at all in grouping several pieces together and playing them as a ‘quasi’ Suite: perhaps rather impressive would be to try including the original title “Bass in Bach” Suite for Solo Double Bass, regardless of which movements are finally selected for the Suite (and not really important if several different keys are used)!

Movements or sections: List of individual pieces in “BASS IN BACH” and approximate timings:
1.. Gavotte in C (2’ 00”)
2.. Bourree in G (1’ 15”)
3.. Polonaise in D (2’ 15”)
4.. Sarabande in E minor (2’ 30”)
5.. Minuet in G (No. 1) (3’ 15”)
6.. Minuet in G (No. 2) (3’ 45”)
7.. Gigue in C (1’ 15”)
8.. Sarabande in A (2’ 30”)
9.. Allemande in D (2’ 00”)
10.. Prelude (Fugue) in E (2’ 00”)
11.. Ouverture in C minor (Introduction) (3’ 00”)
12.. Prelude in E (3’ 15”)
13.. Courante in A (1’ 15”)
14.. Gigue in G (2’ 00”)
15.. Toccata in E (3’ 00”)
16.. Toccata-Fantasia in F (3’ 30”)
17.. Largo (Sicilienne) in E minor (with optional 2nd Bass) (3’ 30”)
18.. Arioso in F (with optional 2nd Bass) (2’ 45”)

Instrumentation: Solo Double Bass
All music contained in two PDFs:
PDF 1 – Pieces 1 to 9
PDF 2 – Pieces 10 to 18

Approximate difficulty: I have chosen easy double bass tonalities for the pieces. However, it should be made clear that all are conceived as individual pieces and not as a set or suite. I am conscious of the tasks given to young players, and I am well aware that playing an entire Suite of Johann Sebastian Bach in public for the first time is a momentous but nerve-racking occasion for most (probably all!) of us, and so with my pieces I feel it better that most players concentrate on perhaps just a couple of specific movements.
The goal of producing beautiful concert music is of the same importance to the composer in the easiest pieces to those of most difficulty. All are highly programmable, these can be played confidently and convincingly in public. Later everyone will feel a little more comfortable about tackling real J.S. Bach for the first time, but advanced players, and even professionals, will have extra repertoire to insert alongside their other Bach pieces!

Dedicatee of this presentation (if applicable): This whole project is dedicated to the international Bach-Day movement “Bach in the Subways”

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