Auld Robin Gray

Double Bass & Piano
Composer: Giovanni Bottesini

Product code:

RMD1045
Publisher:

£7.50

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Description

Auld Robin Gray is based on an old Scottish melody composed by Rev. William Leeves, which he set to a poem by Lady Anne Lindsay. The melody has been used by many composers, most notably Joseph Haydn, and Bottesini’s version for double bass and piano, according to Chris West (The Paganini of the Double Bass, 2021), dates from 1887.

Bottesini played Auld Robin Gray in London in February 1887 but this is probably one of the composer’s least known works. In one movement it introduces the theme, with a simple and straightforward accompaniment, followed by variations which employ the entire range of the double bass, ending with a coda which is designed as a flashy and impressive audience pleaser.

Auld Robin Gray is a fun and light-hearted piece, contrasting lyrical melodies with virtuosic harmonic flourishes which should appeal to performers and audiences alike.

This edition includes accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tuning.

Read more
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The Composer
David Heyes
Description

Auld Robin Gray is based on an old Scottish melody composed by Rev. William Leeves, which he set to a poem by Lady Anne Lindsay. The melody has been used by many composers, most notably Joseph Haydn, and Bottesini’s version for double bass and piano, according to Chris West (The Paganini of the Double Bass, 2021), dates from 1887.

Bottesini played Auld Robin Gray in London in February 1887 but this is probably one of the composer’s least known works. In one movement it introduces the theme, with a simple and straightforward accompaniment, followed by variations which employ the entire range of the double bass, ending with a coda which is designed as a flashy and impressive audience pleaser.

Auld Robin Gray is a fun and light-hearted piece, contrasting lyrical melodies with virtuosic harmonic flourishes which should appeal to performers and audiences alike.

This edition includes accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tuning.

Read more

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More Info

EditorDavid Heyes
OrchestrationDouble Bass & Piano
Publishers numberRMD1045

Contents

About the Composer

Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) was the greatest double bass virtuoso of the 19th- century and many of his compositions for double bass are still at the heart of the solo repertoire today. He spent much of his life in the opera house, as conductor and composer, and his music is inspired by the lyrical, cantabile, and virtuosic pyrotechnics of 19th-century Italian opera. Bottesini was known as ‘the Paganini of the double bass’ and was one of the greatest musical superstars of his day.

About the Arranger

About the Editor

David Heyes (b.1960) studied double bass with Laurence Gray and Bronwen Naish, later at the Royal College of Music in London, and completed his post-graduate studies in Prague with František Pošta (Principal Bass, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra). He has given recitals and masterclasses in 20 countries over the past few years and has been a juror at a number of international competitions, three times as chairman. David’s collaborative work gained him a prestigious award from the David Walter Charitable Trust of New York for his pioneering activities as a soloist, teacher, publisher, and commissioner of new music for double bass and he works with composers throughout the world to expand the double bass repertoire by commissioning new music and by rediscovering forgotten ones. Since 1983 more than 700 works have been written for him, music from one to twenty basses and from beginner to virtuoso, and he has premiered ten contemporary concertos with orchestra. David began to compose in 2013 and has had music performed and recorded in 29 countries across five continents. He is a D’Addario Performing Artist and has recently commissioned a solo double bass from British master-luthier Martin Penning.