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| Home > GIG BAGS & COVERS > Mooradian Double Bass Gig Bags and Covers |
Karr Morton RAMSIER VIRTUOSO DOUBLE BASS |
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Gary Karr and Mark Morton, bassists PAUL RAMSIER - COMPOSITIONS FOR VIRTUOSO DOUBLE BASS Compact Disc Recording Contents: all by Paul Ramsier: Divertimento Concertante on a Theme of Couperin Road to Hamelin Gary Karr/ Louiville Orchestra Silent Movie Eusebius Revisited Mark Morton and Christopher Finkelmeyer Gary Karr, double bass -- Mark Alison Morton, double bass The Louisville Orchestra -- Robert Bernhardt, conductor Christopher Finkelmeyer, piano Divertimento Concertante on a Theme of Couperin The critically acclaimed Divertimento Concertante on a Theme of Couperin is the first of a series of works for double bass composed by Paul Ramsier. It was commissioned by Gary Karr, and premiered by Karr with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa on June 20, l965. At its premiere, Roger Dettmer, writing in The Chicago American, called it "six compact variations of subtlety, humor, and finesse." Since its premiere, it has been performed with orchestras around the world more than 150 times. Road to Hamelin Road to Hamelin was first heard on October 14, l978 in a performance by Gary Karr, who commissioned, narrated and performed the work with the Toronto Symphony conducted by Victor Feldbrill. According to John Kraglund of the Toronto Globe and Mail, Road to Hamelin "could take its place with other children's favorites, like 'Peter and the Wolf.' This review is echoed by others, such as David Hendricks of the San Antonio News-Express, who says that the piece "joins the ranks of Saint-Saens' 'Carnival of the Animals' and Prokofief's 'Peter and the Wolf.' The composition is truly original and properly dramatic for the children's story." The narration is based on a scenario by Ruth Ramsay. It is a recognized standard work for the doublebass Silent Movie In his notes, the composer comments: "I've often wished that silent movies with live music hadn't become obsolete by the time I started to go to the movies. I've imagined how much fun it would be to improvise music while the action unfolded on the screen with its tense and tender moments. - So this piece expresses a nostalgia for something I've never experienced. Its intent is not to satirize, even though some passages suggest a smile. "In a way, this piece is the reverse of a silent movie, since the music is supplied, but the visual image is missing." Silent Movie was first performed with strings and harp by Gary Karr with I Musici de Montreal, conducted by Yuli Turovsky, in Montreal on September 5, l985. Ramsier revised the work in l995 for performance by Mark Alison Morton at the International Society of Bassist's Convention at Indiana University. The recording by Morton incorporates that revision, in its version for solo double bass and piano. Eusebius Revisited (Remembrances of Schumann) Recognizing that the lyric qualities of the solo double bass are ideal for music of the Romantic period--but that no major composer of that period composed for the instrument -- Ramsier conceived of a large work, a "paraphrase" of piano pieces by Robert Schumann. Composers such as Liszt would paraphrase music of other composers, though "the emphasis is definitely not pyrotechnical, as it sometimes was for Liszt. Bach also would paraphrase his own compositions-and those of other composers-for various instruments or ensembles because they would work that way. So there is precedent. "When I got going on it, I found that I'd set a difficult task for myself. It needed to preserve the integrity of the original music, as if Schumann might have known what the bass could do. "In Eusebius Revisited, the progression of these pieces follows a romantic scheme of my own, which might suggest Eusebius, the poet, emerging from the past. The poet might arrive tentatively, almost shyly, becoming ever more ardent and lively, even playful, finally giving in to an unabashed love of life. In VI (Moderato sostenuto), an unaccompanied solo follows - a free lyric cadenza that reminisces on Schumannesque themes. It leads into a reflective "night piece" that takes the poet back into his own century. Eusebius Revisited provides its own encore, something I felt would suit music of such romantic temperament." The piece was conceived for solo bass with strings and piano. The first performance took place in Seattle by Gary Karr with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra conducted by Giora Bernstein on March 5, l980. The recording by Mark Alison Morton utilizes the version for double bass and piano. Eusebius Revisited was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. |
