Three Impressions

Three Impressions is a colourful and accessible trio of pieces for three double basses. Playable as a suite, singly or in any order, these attractive and engaging pieces are ideal for the progressing bass and ideal for any audience or occasion. It has been said that music is one of the oldest forms of communication, that it can even bridge boundaries of time and culture to share thoughts or emotions. If we were to accept the probability these several little snippets, these three trios, project a wordless dialogue, we might further imagine in this shared reflection a story of sorts being told – such as: We hear in the old adage that, “Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd”, and though we must say there are moments when one on one is best, there is nonetheless a bit of unkindness in that attitude. The trio entitled “Three’s No Crowd”, with its awkward 5/4 meter and edgy accompaniment (not to mention the need for three colleagues to perform it), suggests some degree of discomfort with that sentiment. In the quiet aloneness of “Soliloquy” the human need for balance is considered, that one must find solace in moments of solitude, but without the camaraderie of our tribe we will not feel ourselves complete – and so we close with the thought that there also are those moments when we are “Better Together”. Three Impressions was commissioned by David Heyes for 40 @ 40, a project to commission forty new double bass pieces to celebrate Recital Music’s 40th birthday in 2026.