The five pieces can be performed singly or in any order and each can be repeated if necessary. A short narration could be spoken between movements and The Adventures of Pinocchio joins a fun and accessible collection of double bass quartets for younger players.

“This collection of double bass quartets is based on The Story of a Puppet (La storia di un burattino) by Italian author Carlo Collodi (1826-1890). Originally written as a series of short stories for an Italian children’s magazine (1881-1882), the tale proved to be immensely popular and was later (1883) published as a standalone novel. In the 147 years that have now passed it has been translated into an estimated 260 languages – translated into English in 1892, fourteen full length English language movies are now based on Collodi’s work.

Pinocchio’s story is one of many trials as the puppet follows his dream of becoming a real boy, often thwarted as he yields to a number of temptations which without fail lead to terrible misadventures. The music setting I chose for “The Marionette” reflects the boy’s carefree lifestyle. Geppetto, the peasant woodworker/puppeteer, longing for a son, finds his hope in the slab of wood which he forms into Pinocchio. The introduction to his song finds Geppetto in a pensive mood that soon gives way to a more cheerful and optimistic tune.

The enchanting Fairy with Turquoise Hair befriends Pinocchio, first as a sister and then mother figure, who rescues him time and again as his adventures and journeys go wrong, and a chorale seemed to best mirror her almost reverential disposition.

A giant and terrible creature, the Dog Fish (Squalidae, a type of shark) is said to be five stories high and two miles long, with a mouth that can accommodate a train. This creature somehow comes across and swallows both Pinocchio and his father, and his song is of course quite frightening.

Two murky and menacing fellows appear in the person of a Fox and a Cat who very much wish to acquire Pinocchio’s five gold sequins, coins used in long ago Venice, and it is only the Fairy with Turquoise Hair that can finally save Pinocchio from the pair. This duo’s tune projects a sneaky and rather dark ambience.

[Programme notes by Michael Montgomery]