Ukko is the God of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology. In folk poems and prayers, he is also given the epithet Ylijumala, which means Supreme God, probably because of his status as the most highly regarded God and his traditional domain is in the heavens.

David Heyes writes: “This quartet was composed for my younger students at Wells Cathedral School, all aged between 11-14 years, and for a concert to celebrate the music of the legendary Finnish bassist-composer, Teppo Hauta-aho to whom the quartet is dedicated, on Friday 3 May 2019. I wanted the piece to have a Finnish theme or influence and Teppo suggested the title which I thought was perfect.

Recently I have composed several fast and rhythmic quartets for the junior basses and wanted to write something which was much slower and more atmospheric to develop different playing skills. Each part is carefully graded for a specific ability level, with Bass 1 playing in low thumb position and Bass 4 remaining in 1st position throughout.

The melodic material is shared between the parts, with the addition of Bartok pizz., glissandi and harmonics, to add contrast and colour. A four bar ground bass, played in open fifths by basses 3 and 4, acts as a unifying theme above which the melodic interest is displayed.

The bleak and vast Finnish landscapes of forests and lakes was the inspiration behind the piece, with thunderbolts added by Bass 4, and introduces music to younger players creating musical landscapes which are atmospheric, dramatic and evocative.”

Legend No.1 ‘Ukko Ylijumala’ was premiered by The Bass Legends in Quilter Hall, Wells Cathedral School (Somerset, UK) on Friday 3 May 2019.