Description

Echoes & Shadows is originally for 12 double basses and was newly arranged for` the German bassist, Manuela Uhlmann, by the composer. Aimed at the intermediate- …advanced bassists, the piece is rhythmically exciting, exploring a wealth of colours and timbres, alongside the energy and excitement which is typical of Simón García’s music. Simón García writes: “When I received the proposal from David Heyes to write a piece for twelve basses to end my BASS2014 concert I thought it a brilliant idea. The first word that came into my mind when thinking of twelve basses was ‘noise’, so I started looking for the opposite sounds. Would it be possible for twelve basses to sound kindly or gentle? That was my challenge! I started creating a minimalist soundscape, highly enriched rhythmically with harmonics which would work well. I searched through various types of pizzicato sounds but these created ‘noise’ rather than my original target. I needed a more ‘brilliant’ sound, so I opened the case of my old electric mandolin and started to play my bass with the pick. That was what I needed! Finally, the piece consists in a powerful melody which passes among all players over a harmonic and rhythmical ostinato. It is a piece with full of contained energy, highly rhythmic and timbral richness. We asked Friends on Facebook to suggest a title and received 70 entries, and the winning title was by Chino Chinoski Parrilla from Galicia (Spain).”
This edition includes accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tunings.