The Genesis of Bottesini's Gran Quintetto For Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass and The Application of The Italian Scordatura

The Genesis of Bottesini’s Gran Quintetto for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass and
the Application of the Italian Scordatura
D.M.A. Document
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in
the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Andrew Keyvan Mehraban, M.M.
Graduate Program in Music
The Ohio State University
2021
DMA Document Committee:
Dr. Juliet White-Smith, Advisor
Dr. Paul Robinson
Professor Mark Rudoff
Dr. Graeme Boone

Copyright by
Andrew K. Mehraban
2021
Abstract
Giovanni Bottesini was a widely known performer and composer of double bass
repertoire. His solo and chamber compositions until the mid-1850’s showcased Bottesini’s
virtuosity on the instrument and often quoted operas.
The Gran Quintetto deviates from Bottesini’s compositional norm as it does not feature
the double bass as a virtuosic participant in the music nor does it quote opera. Rather, the double
bass plays a more supportive role in the ensemble and the piece features original melodies,
reflecting a mix of influences from Bottesini’s experiences in chamber music both at home and
abroad.
In addition to this composition’s unique origin, the range of the double bass part exceeds
the lower range of the traditional Italian three-stringed bass (A-D-G). Bottesini’s performances
of the piece and his preference for quartal tunings imply the consideration of the Italian
scordatura for these concerts. Exploration of the scordatura shows significant left-hand and
acoustic benefits when applied to the Gran Quintetto.
This document will discuss the origins of the Gran Quintetto and the Italian scordatura. It
will also illuminate the left hand and acoustic advantages inherent in this tuning specifically with
regard to the performance of the bass part in the Gran Quintetto. It will examine the piece and
the composer in the context of the historical time in which it was written. Included will be a
discussion of the advantages of using the Italian scordatura in performance of the Gran
Quintetto, and ways to integrate the Italian scordatura on a modern instrument. In addition, the
document includes a double bass part for the Gran Quintetto that utilizes the scordatura.
ii
Dedication
Dedicated to Mary Lou Kable (1929-2018) and Donald N. Valentine (1940-2020)
iii
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Juliet White-Smith, for her encouragement, support, and
guidance which made this project possible. I also wish to thank Dr. Graeme Boone, Dr. Paul
Robinson, and Professor Mark Rudoff for their roles as Doctoral Committee members and their
continued support and encouragement of the depth and thoroughness of the study.
I would like to thank Valeryia Nedviga, Noah Cisneros, Christopher Lape, and Sarah
Troeller for the preparation and performance of the Gran Quintetto for my chamber recital. I am
grateful for their hard work in the preparation and performance of the work. I am also thankful to
Professor Barry Green for his insight and guidance in the preparation of the performance.
I would like to thank my various music teachers and professors that have encouraged and
helped hone my musicianship and musical aptitude: Mary Lou Kable, Donald N. Valentine, Ed
Zunic, John Deliman, James Faulkner, Professor Al Laszlo, Dr. Paul Robinson and Professor
Barry Green.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Nate West, James Faulkner, Barry Green,
Dr. Paul Robinson, and Dallas Carpenter for providing fingering suggestions for the excerpts in
the document.
I am appreciative of the tireless efforts of Jossalyn Jenson who helped translate my
research in French for me. In addition, I would like to thank Andrea Ruocco for translating the
Italian texts for this research.
I am grateful for my family for their help and support in my doctoral studies.
Specifically, I would like to thank Alicia Mehraban and Katherine Mullin for thoroughly
examining and editing the document.
iv
Vita
2011…………………………………………………………..... B.M.E., University of Cincinnati

2012…………………………………………………………..…... B.M., University of Cincinnati
2014………………………………………………………….……M.M., University of Cincinnati
2017………………………………………………………...…M.B.A., The Ohio State University
Fields of Study:
Major Field: Music
v
Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv
Vita.................................................................................................................................................. v
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Biography and Pedagogical Contribution ..................................................................... 4
Biography.................................................................................................................................... 4
Pedagogical Contribution............................................................................................................ 8
Chapter 2 – Historical Context ..................................................................................................... 10
Instrumental Music in Early Nineteenth-Century Italy ............................................................ 10
Music Publishing and the Concept of House Music ................................................................. 12
Bottesini and Chamber Music in the Concert Setting ............................................................... 13
Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Italy .............................................. 14
Chapter 3 – Evolution as a Composer........................................................................................... 18
Chapter 4 – The Italian Scordatura ........................................................................................... 21
A Brief Study of Tuning Practices ............................................................................................ 21
The Italian Scordatura ............................................................................................................... 23
vi
The Application of the Italian Scordatura ................................................................................. 27
Chapter 5 – Conclusion................................................................................................................. 34
Premiere of the Gran Quintetto ................................................................................................ 38
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 40
Appendix: Gran Quintetto Double Bass Part in Italian scordatura ............................................... 46
Preface....................................................................................................................................... 47
Double Bass Part in Italian scordatura….………………….………………………………….49
vii
List of Figures
Figure 1 - C-major arpeggio in standard tuning and Italian scordatura ........................................ 26
Figure 2 - C-minor arpeggio in standard tuning and Italian scordatura ........................................ 27
Figure 3 - Tonic-Dominant-Tonic motion in standard tuning and Italian scordatura................... 27
Figure 4 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 4 – mm. 1-12 - standard tuning ................................. 28
Figure 5 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 4 – mm. 1-12 - Italian scordatura .............................. 29
Figure 6 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 2 – mm. 160-165 - standard tuning ........................... 29
Figure 7 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 2 – mm. 160-165 - Italian scordatura ........................ 30
Figure 8 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 1 – mm. 182-200 - standard tuning ........................... 30
Figure 9 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 1 – mm. 182-200 - Italian scordatura ........................ 31
Figure 10 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 3 – mm. 76-82 - standard tuning ............................. 31
Figure 11 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 3 – mm. 76-82 - Italian scordatura .......................... 31
viii
Introduction
Giovanni Bottesini (1821-89) was one of the most prominent double bass players of his
time and a composer whose considerable output in chamber music permeates the double bass
repertoire. Pieces such as the Gran Duo Concertante and Duo Concertante sur les thèmes des
Puritains feature virtuosic passages that were critically acclaimed by international reviewers
between 1851-52.1
Up to 1858, Bottesini had a successful career as a virtuoso double bass player and
performer. In 1858, contrasting with his earlier performance career, Bottesini found need for a
different method of earning income upon his return to Italy. As performing music in the home
became more common, the demand for sheet music increased. Bottesini’s Gran Quintetto is an
example of his effort to hone his compositional craft through the sales of sheet music.
In the early nineteenth century, multiple tuning practices were used for double basses and
violones depending on the country and the number of strings that were on the instrument.2 In
France, there was a preference of a four-stringed bass tuned in fifths. In Germany, bass players
preferred a four-stringed bass tuned in fourths. However, Bottesini preferred the three-stringed
double bass and the Italian traditional tuning practice (A-D-G) for a majority of his career.
It is well recorded that Bottesini performed the Gran Quintetto publicly multiple times.
However, there are pitches in the double bass part that are outside of the range of the traditional
Italian three-stringed double bass tuning practice. Although there were a myriad of tunings
utilized at the time, it can be concluded that Bottesini likely used the Italian scordatura (G-D-g)
1
Gaspare Nello Vetro, Giovanni Bottesini 1821-1889, (Parma: Centro Studi e Ricerche dell’Amministrazione
Dell’Universita Degli Studi Di Parma, 1989), 4-5.
2
Brian John Siemers, “The History and Development of The Double Bass” (PhD diss., University of Cincinnati,
2001), 47-48, 66-74, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Paul Brun, A New History of the Double Bass
(Villeneuve d’Asq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000), Chapter 6.
1
to perform the piece. Aside from the acoustic benefits of the tuning, the Italian scordatura
provides significant left-hand benefits in terms of minimizing shifts and maximizing notes within
hand frames, resulting in a more technically accessible approach to the double bass part.
The foreground purpose of this document is to prove that the Italian scordatura is a
practical tuning solution for the Gran Quintetto and provides both mechanical and acoustic
benefits. Behind this, the purpose is to draw attention to a piece that is often overlooked in the
double bass chamber music repertoire as well as to present a specialized tuning practice. This
study will also discuss the nature of chamber music concerts in Italy and the role of sheet music
in the lives of both the composer and the public. By exploring the genesis of the Gran Quintetto,
this study will provide insight into the context in which the piece was written. As a result, the
document will become a resource to the greater double bass community regarding the piece and
the Italian scordatura.
The first chapter of the document provides a brief biography of Bottesini as well as a look
into his philosophy of using a three-stringed bass as opposed to a four-stringed bass. The second
chapter discusses instrumental music in the nineteenth century, music publishing, Bottesini’s
performance experience in the chamber music setting, and the rise of cosmopolitanism and
nationalism in the culture of Italy. Chapter three discusses the evolution of Bottesini as a
composer. Chapter four outlines the various tunings that were common at the time, the Italian
scordatura, the application of the Italian scordatura to the Gran Quintetto, and the acoustic
benefits of the scordatura. The conclusion discusses various ways a modern double bass player
could approach the Italian scordatura, and the premiere of the Gran Quintetto. Finally, in the
appendix, the document applies the Italian Scordatura in the Gran Quintetto.
2
This research is important and valuable because it reflects on an era of Italian chamber
music that was produced for performance in the home. In addition, the research will highlight the
performance practice of the Italian scordatura and showcase its use in the Gran Quintetto.
3
Chapter 1: Biography and Pedagogical Contribution
Biography3
Giovanni Bottesini was born into a musical family in Crema, Italy, on December 24th,
1821. His father, Pietro, was an amateur clarinetist and composer, and his brother, Cesare (b.
1816), was a violinist. Another brother, Luigi (b. 1817), was a trumpet player, and his twin sister,
Angela Maria, was a vocalist.4
Bottesini showed his versatility as a musician from an early age. From 1831-35, he
studied violin with Carlo Cogliati, a teacher in the town of Crema, and later performed (on
timpani) with his brothers Luigi and Cesare, and his father Pietro in the local cathedral orchestra.
During this time, Giovanni was a featured soprano soloist for the local church choir, and he also
sang the lead soprano role in Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri5.
In 1835, Bottesini’s father became aware of two scholarships available at the Milan
Conservatory: one for bassoon and one for the double bass. After asking his son which he would
prefer, Giovanni Bottesini, who had never played either instrument, chose the double bass and
successfully auditioned for the Conservatory after having only four lessons with his soon-to-be
professor, Luigi Rossi. He also studied music theory with Piantanisa and composition with
Francisco Basili and Vaccai.6 His earliest chamber compositions that featured the double bass
3
The biographical information about Giovanni Bottesini is varied and sparse: See Paul Brun, A New History of the
Double Bass (Villeneuve d’Asq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000), 224-38; Jeffrey Brooks, “Giovanni
Bottesini’s First American Tour.” International Society of Bassists XV, No. 2 (1989): 15-19; Raymond Elgar, More
About the Double Bass (Sussex: Raymond Elgar, 1963), 74-87; Enrico Fazio, “Bottesini, I Salotti Privati e le Società
Cameristiche e Orchestrali Italieane nel Secondo ’800.” Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana XIX No. 4 (1985): 479-95;
Luigi Insaghi, Giovanni Bottesini: Virtuoso del Contrabbasso e Compositore (Milano: Nuove Edizioni, 1989);
Gaspare Nello Vetro, “Cronologia” in Giovanni Bottesini 1821-1889 (Parma: Centro Studi e Ricerche
dell’Amministrazione dell’Università degli Studi di Parma, 1989); Alfred Planyavsky, Geschicte Des kontrabasses
(Tutzing: Hanz Schneider, 1984) 519-31; Rodney Slatford, “Bottesini, Giovanni,” accessed February 12, 2021,
https://doi-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.03691.
4
Paul Brun, A New History of the Double Bass (Villeneuve d’Asq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000), 225.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid, 226.
4
came during the end of his musical studies in Milan in the form of the Three Duets for Two
Double Basses, dedicated to his double bass professor.7
In 1839, upon completion of his formal studies at the Milan Conservatory, Bottesini was
awarded a prize of 300 lire by the institution. With an additional 600 lire loan from his cousins
and after an exhaustive search with the help of his friend, Arpasani, he purchased a bass, the
Testore, on which he would perform for the remainder of his career. The bass, located in a
marionette shop and buried under rags and old puppets, was resurrected by Bottesini and
restrung with three strings as opposed to four,8 a decision that would later define his philosophy
with regard to tuning practices.
After acquiring the Testore, Bottesini began his international solo career. At the Teatro
Sociale in Crema, Giovanni, his brother Cesare, and his father Pietro performed solo and
chamber pieces between the acts of Mercadente’s Il Giuramento. After the first act was
completed, he and his father performed Giovanni’s Adagio and Variations for Clarinet and
Double Bass.9 This began the tradition of Bottesini performing solo and chamber music between
the acts of operas. From 1841-44, Bottesini performed solo concerts in Italy and Vienna.10 In
1844, Bottesini became the principal bassist of the Teatro del Fenice Orchestra in Venice where
he met Giuseppe Verdi, who was producing his opera Ernani at the same theatre.11
In 1846, Bottesini and Luigi Arditi, a violinist and fellow student from the Milan
Conservatory, received an offer to perform as orchestral musicians on tour in Cuba and the
United States. Bottesini performed on tours in America in 1848 and 1850 as principal double
7
Giovanni Bottesini, Gran Duetto No. 2 per Contrabasso, ed. Rodney Slatford, (London: York, 1978), 1.
8
Brun, 226.
9
Dell’Universita Degli Studi Di Parma, 1989), 2.
10
Raymond Elgar, More About the Double Bass (Sussex: Raymond Elgar, 1963), 76.
11
Brun, 227; Elgar, 76.
5
bassist for the Havana Italian Opera Company, premiering four Verdi operas with the company
in the United States: Ernani, I due Foscari, Attila, and Macbeth.12 While on tour, Bottesini also
performed chamber music concerts. This portion of the tour included performances of two of his
major chamber works: The Gran Duo Concertante for Violin and Bass, and the Duetto
Concertante for Cello and Bass: I Puritani.13 In 1853-54, he performed an additional American
tour with the Julliens Ensemble as a featured soloist.14
In the interim, when Bottesini was not in America or Cuba, he made frequent visits to
England, performing on various chamber concerts for music societies such as the Musical Union,
the Beethoven Quartet Society, and The Old and New Philharmonic Societies.15 In 1849, he
performed the second cello part of Onslow’s Quintet No. 5 on the double bass, where his abilities
as a chamber music performer and his virtuosity were praised. It was reported in The Musical
World that “highly as we are disposed to rate the talents of [Bottesini] as a soloist, we can praise
him still more unreservedly as an [ambassador] of concerted music.”16 In 1851, he performed
Onslow’s Quintet in A minor, Op. 34, again performing the second cello part on the bass.17
Finally, in 1853, Bottesini performed Onslow’s Quintet No. 5 a second time.18 Following an
additional trip to the United States during the years 1857-58, Bottesini toured the French
provinces, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and England. In 1858, during his time in Italy,
12
Martin Chusid, "Casts for the Verdi Premieres in the U.S. (1847-1976)" AIVS Newsletter 2, Article 5 (1976): 2-3.
13
Vetro, 5.
14
Andrew Edward Palmer, "Giovanni Bottesini in the United States, 1848-1854." (PhD Diss., The University of
Memphis, 1995), 41, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
15
Enrico Fazio, “Bottesini, I Salotti Privati e le Società Cameristiche e Orchestrali Italiane nel Secondo ’800.”
Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana 19, No. 4 (1985): 610.
16
“Onslow, Quintet in D (No. 5); Sainton, Deleffre, Hill, Piatti, Bottesini.” The Musical World 24, No. 28 (1849):
438.
17
“Quartet Association [Onslow, String Quintet in A Minor, op. 34; Sainton, Cooper, Hill, Piati, Bottesini],” The
Musical World 30, No. 23 (1852): 358.
18
“The Musical Union [Quintets by Onslow and Mendelssohn].” The Musical World 31, No. 21 (1853): 319-20.
6
he composed the Gran Quintetto for two violins, viola, violincello, and double bass.19 The
aforementioned experiences with Hausmusik and string quintet music of the time likely planted
the seed for him to compose the Gran Quintetto.
Bottesini gave his final concert tours in Europe from 1880-86, after which he settled in
Parma and, at the suggestion of Verdi, he took the job of director of the Royal Conservatory of
Parma in 1888. During this time, Bottesini wrote Tutto Che Il Mondo Serra (an arrangement of
Chopin’s Etude for Piano, Op. 25, No. 7, probably set to Bottesini’s own poetry20) and Une
Bouchee Aimeé for voice, double bass, and piano, which were to be his final chamber pieces
utilizing the double bass.21
Bottesini played his final concert in Parma and was subsequently struck down by a fever
from which he never recovered.22 After battling liver cirrhosis, Bottesini died on July 7th, 1889.23
19
Brun, 230-231.
20
Sources that show that it was probably set to Bottesini’s own poetry: Jaime Ramirez-Castilla, “Musical
Borrowings in the Music for Double Bass by Giovanni Bottesini: A Reconsideration Beyond Operatic Paraphrases”
(DMA Document, University of Cincinnati, 2007), 28, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Francisco
Gonçalves de Azevedo, “Fryderyk Chopin’s Music On Double Bass: Four Etudes Transcribed For Double Bass And
Piano” (DMA Document, University of Georgia, 2011), 34, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
21
Vetro, 5.
22
C.P.S., “Giovanni Bottesini [Obituary of the double bass virtuoso and composer],” The Musical Times 558, No.
30 (1889): 485.
23
Brun, 231.
7
Pedagogical Contribution
It has been common throughout music history for double bass players to vary their
tunings to accommodate the pieces they were performing. With regard to solo literature, the most
well-known pieces such as the concertos of Dittersdorf, Dragonetti, Sperger, and Vanhal were
best facilitated in Viennese tuning (A-D-F#-A) as were the less widely performed solo works of
Hoffmeister, Pichl, and Mozart.24 The tuning practice encouraged arpeggiated passagework as
opposed to more lyrical, melodic writing, limiting variety within solo repertoire.25
Bottesini’s Testore double bass, which originally had four strings, was, in contrast to
Viennese practice, tuned in fourths. This tuning resulted in performers being able to move the
left-hand more freely along the fingerboard. Bottesini had a luthier remove the lowest string,
making his bass a three-stringed bass tuned in fourths (A-D-G). He was adamant about the use of
a three-stringed bass, and explicitly stated in his method book, Grande Méthode Compléte de
Contre-Basse:
“…I commence by speaking of the double bass itself – of which by the ease and certainty of the fingering,
as well as by the neatness and roundness of its tones, is complete with only three strings…No one who is
acquainted with the nature of the double bass can deny that the extra string has been added for the sole
purpose of giving to the instrument some additional lower notes. This is doubtless of some importance to the
composer, and is, to a certain extent, useful, particularly in sustained notes. But if the double bass gains, by
this fourth string, a greater extension of the deeper notes, this extension cannot be obtained without detriment
to quality of tone, which naturally becomes impaired as the strings are increased in number.
Those who doubt this fact need only make the experiment upon the instrument – this I have myself done over
and over again. The question had, for some years, seemed to me of sufficient importance to induce me to
experiment upon the effect of the fourth string on the best double basses that passed through my hands,
particularly those of the celebrated Gaspar de Salo…the result was always the same, and always bad: all
those instruments, without exception, lost with the fourth string that clear and sonorous quality so necessary,
especially in the low notes. Hence, we are led to this conclusion; that it is much better to sacrifice a few low
notes to the perfect clearness and sonorousness of the double bass than to sacrifice those qualities to the slight
advantage of four lower notes obtained by the addition of a string.
Besides, in England, where classical music is in great favor, and admirably executed, the want had never
been felt, to my knowledge, of adding a fourth string to the double bass.”26
24
Brun, 103.
25
Ibid., 105.
26
Lucas Drew. “Double Bass Notes: On the Study of the Double Bass with Three Strings by Giovanni Bottesini
(1821-1889)” American String Teacher (Spring, 1969): 5.
8
This opinion and practice led Bottesini to experiment with other three-stringed tunings
including B-E-A (solo tuning), C-F-Bb (high-solo tuning) 27 and likely G-D-g, the Italian
scordatura, which will be discussed later in this document regarding its application to the Gran
Quintetto.28
In light of these accommodations, Bottesini was able to extend the upper range of the
instrument in his compositions. Bottesini’s astute attention to double bass technique and skill as
a composer allowed him to write more accessible, yet challenging pieces with a wider variety of
melodic content. He expanded upon existing techniques such as harmonics and double stops in
ways that had not been done before, and contributed to the development of thumb position on the
double bass.29 The impact of his innovative double bass technique, which is showcased in his
method book, can be summarized in a review which states:
“How he bewildered us by playing all sorts of melodies in flute-like harmonics, as though he had a hundred
nightingales caged in his double-bass! Where he got his harmonic sequences from; how he hit the exact place
with his long, sensitive, ivory-like fingers; how he swarmed up and down the fingerboard, holding it round
the neck at times with the grip of a giant, then, after eliciting a grumble of musical thunder, darting up to the
top and down again, with an expression on his face that never seemed to alter, and his face always calmly
and rather grimly surveying the audience.”30
27
Brian John Siemers, “The History and Development of The Double Bass” (PhD diss., University of Cincinnati,
2001), 128, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
28
Brun, 130.
29
Giovanni Bottesini, Grande Méthode Compléte de Contre-Basse (Paris: Escudier, 1869): 86-116.
30
Hugh Ronald Haweis, My Musical Life, Volume 1 (California: W.H.Allen & Company, Limited, 1896), 25-26.
9
Chapter 2 – Historical Context
Instrumental Music in Early Nineteenth-Century Italy
In the early nineteenth century, the performance of instrumental music was widespread in
Italy at private, public, civic, and religious venues.31 A generation earlier, Charles Burney, in his
book The Present State of Music in France and Italy, noted that the “energetic instrumental
concerts in Milan were made up of amateurs [who] performed well.”32 He described other
examples of instrumental music throughout his travels in Italy, noting the various sizes of
ensembles (or “bands”) and their venues:
“There was a grand Funzione at the Santi Apostali, on account of the reconciliation of the Pope and
the King of Portugal. It was at this church that I first saw his Holiness, and a great number of
Cardinals, and heard Te Deum. There were two large bands of Music, and an immense crowd. The
music was composed by Signor Mosi. Cristoforo sung charmingly; the airs were pretty, but the
choruses poor. In the evening the outside of the cupola, church, and colonnade of St. Peter, together
with the Vatican palace, were finely illuminated which affords a spectacle to the inhabitants of
Rome, not to be equaled in the universe. And in the balconies, next to the street, at the palaces of
most of the Cardinals, besides illuminations, there were concerts of very numerous bands of
instrumental performers; but chiefly at the residence of the Portuguese Ambassador, where the
hands employed amounted to above a hundred, and these continued their performance all night.”33
Similarly, at the turn of the nineteenth century, instrumental music was vibrant in Italian
culture. Pope Pius VII had several military bands for the entertainment of the people.34
Napoleon’s inauguration as King of Italy was celebrated by orchestras and bands performing
symphonies. Instrumental music was enjoyed by the ecclesiastical members of the church35
during religious festivals and feasts. Events, such as the Carnival, also had outdoor music.36
31
Luca Aversano, “La Musica Strumentale in Italia Tra Sette e Ottocento: Declino o Viva Tradizione?” Revista
Italiana di Musicologica 40, No. 1/2 (2005): 354.
32
Ibid, 353.
33
Charles Burney, The Present State of Music in France and Italy (London: T. Becket, 1773): 269-270.
34
Cristina Cimagalli, “Musiche in Piazza nella Roma del Primo Ottocento,” Revista Italiana di Musicologia XLIII
(2008): 159-60.
35
Ibid., 157-58.
36
Ibid., 171.
10
As the demand for new music grew, the distinction between operatic and instrumental
music evolved. While instrumental music was meant to “access metaphysics and deep
meanings,” opera was considered “superficial and oriented to delight the senses.”37 Opera was
rooted in the primacy of melody and it further distinguished itself as “a genre [that expressed] the
essence of a nation.”38 The text of the choruses from Verdi operas, such as “Va pensiero” from
Nabucco, resounded with the Italian public who longed for a unified country.39
To Italians, melodic music was popular, nationalistic, and appealed to all, while a focus
on harmony represented the qualities of a learned composer and was therefore considered
foreign.40 Ultimately, the public demand and interest was the determining force behind the
popularity of music. This view of the public as a “protagonist” is evident in the correspondence
of many of the composers at the time, who in turn viewed the public as the “’arbiters’ of their
work.”41 It was not unusual for composers to write instrumental pieces which quoted existing
operatic melodies. Both Paganini and Bottesini incorporated borrowed operatic melodies into
their instrumental works, a contributing factor in their ability to connect with audiences.42
37
Aversano, 356.
38
Anna Tedesco, “National Identity, National Music, and Popular Music in the Italian Music Press during the Long
19th Century,” Studi Musicologica 52, No. 1-4 (2011): 260.
39
Marlene Cornielje, “Verdi and the Risorgimento: Nationalism in Nabucco, La Battaglia di Legnano and Don
Carlo(s)” (MA Thesis, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2012), 30, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
40
Tedesco, 263-265.
41
Carlotta Sorba, “To Please the Public: Composers and Audiences in Nineteenth-Century Italy,” The Journal of
Interdisciplinary History 36, No. 4 (Spring, 2006): 597.
42
Jeffrey Brooks, “Giovanni Bottesini’s First American Tour,” International Society of Bassists Magazine 15, No. 2
(1989): 15; “Genoa [Teatro Sant’Agostino: Paganini],” The Harmonicon III, No. 26 (1825): 37.
11
Music Publishing and the Concept of House Music
Opera maintained its dominant role in the musical world through the nineteenth century,
therefore composers of instrumental music sought new ways to remain relevant. With the
increased demand of public and private concerts, publishing houses became a vital resource for
composers to expand their output to concert and domestic settings. Various composers wrote
arrangements of popular operas such as La Traviata which the public would appreciate.43
Sheet music was considered a “consumable art,” and was part of a daily, weekly, or
monthly diet of social activities,44 and as it became a valued commodity, a network of publishers
and retailers began to emerge to meet the public demand. A composer’s livelihood depended on
the income the network provided,45 and it was the responsibility of publishers to ensure that the
music they sold accommodated the taste of their customers.46 For instance, publishers such as
Ricordi would produce reductions of operas in the form of “vocal scores, piano scores, or sheet
music for smaller ensembles to serve the emerging Hausmusik market.”47 The publisher
Giuseppe Carulli further ensured that the music would meet the needs of the public by
performing his own publications at gatherings in his living room.48 As piano and vocal
reductions were a primary source of income, publishers were eager to produce instrumental
43
Susanna Pasticci, “’La Traviata’ en Travesti: Revisitazioni Del Testo Verdiano Nella Musica Strumentale
Ottovetesca” Studi Verdiani 14 (1999): The end of the article documents several different variations of music from
La Traviata that were produced in various forms of sheet music.
44
Marie Sumner Lott, The Social Worlds of Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music: Composers, Consumers,
Communities (Champaign, Urbana: University of Illinois, 2015), 21.
45
Derek R. Strykowski, “The Negotiation of Nineteenth-Century Style: A Case Study in Composer-Publisher
Relations,” International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 49, No. 2 (December, 2018): 218.
46
Ibid, 219.
47
Bertelsmann, “Opera: Passion, Power and Politics” September, 2017, accessed February 14th, 2021,
https://www.bertelsmann.com/media/news-und-media/downloads/the-exhibits-from-the-ricordi-archive.pdf.
48
Patrizia Florio, “La Produzione degli editori Carulli (Milano, 1822-1832)” Fonti Musicali Italiane 2 (1997): 71.
12
music based on operatic themes that not only supported the instrumental music concerts that took
place in concert halls, theatres, and salons, but also provided a secondary source of income.49
Bottesini and Chamber Music in the Concert Setting
From 1849-53, when not on tour in America, Bottesini performed in chamber music
concerts in England, specifically for the Musical Union, the Beethoven Quartet Society, and the
Old and New Philharmonic societies. The chamber music concerts were commonly in one of two
forms: private concerts, which were hosted by accomplished amateurs, and semi-private
concerts, where musicians had the opportunity to connect with patrons and supporters of the
arts.50 Bottesini’s involvement in both private and semiprivate events in England would
eventually influence his compositional output and performance career upon his return to Italy,51
where he assumed the role of “musical courier,” not unlike the Italian virtuosi Sivori, Bazzini,
and Piatti, establishing a link between German, French, and Italian music.52
Aware of the delay of the progression of instrumental music in Italy, Bottesini committed
himself to popularizing Italian chamber music as an “organizer [and promoter] through his
compositions, and chamber performances.”53 Existing music venues became the principal sites
for chamber music performance in Italy in the nineteenth century.54 These venues hosted musical
gatherings consisting of amateur and professional musicians.55 In 1861, Bottesini helped
49
Pasticci, 123.
50
Lott, 3-4.
51
Bottesini’s chamber music experience in both private and semiprivate concerts date back to 1851, where he
performed a duet with the cellist Piatti. See “Herr Ernst’s Concert,” Saroni’s Musical Times III, No. 14 (1851): 146.
For additional examples, see “London,” Saroni’s Music Times V, No. 7, (1852): 76; “The Musical Union,” The
Musical World XXIV, No. 28 (1849): 438-439; and “Quartet Association” The Musical World 30, No. 23 (1852):
358.
52
Enrico Fazio, “Bottesini, Private Solons and Italian Chamber and Orchestral Music Societies of the Nineteenth-
Century,” Nueva Revista Musicale Italiana 19, No. 4 (1985): 610.
53
Ibid, 611.
54
Sorba, 596.
55
Lott, 7.
13
establish the first Quartet Society in Florence, and in 1862, he organized the Society of Popular
Concerts in Naples with the aim of making German chamber music classics (Mozart, Haydn,
Beethoven) heard alongside Italian works.56 He also established the Neapolitan Quartet Society,
which furthered promoted Italian chamber music.57 Bottesini’s chamber music compositions, in
particular the Gran Quintetto, as well as the establishment of various musical organizations,
exhibited his devotion to the promotion of instrumental music in Italy.
Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Italy
Prior to the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into numerous nation-states. In 1805,
Napoleon crowned himself King of Italy58 and, through a series of annexes and treaties, united a
majority of Italy under French rule.59 With a “plan to contribute to [Italian] happiness,” he
introduced a system of jurisprudence for the rights of individual citizens, invested in the nation’s
roads and infrastructure, strengthened primary and higher education, and established a
manufacturing system that supported machine-building and metallurgy. He also enforced higher
taxes to promote social and economic progress and cohesion.60
Initially, the Italians benefitted and welcomed this political reconstruction. It was,
however, the financial strain of the increased taxes on the Italians that would eventually be the
downfall of Napoleon’s Italy. Taxes on land, professions, litigations, and books all weighed
heavily on Italy’s population. Additionally, strict conscription laws were enforced to support
56
Fazio, 614.
57
Ibid, 615.
58
Peter Hicks, “How Napoleon Became ‘King of Italy,’” accessed February 12, 2021,
https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/how-napoleon-became-king-of-italy/
59
Christopher John Wickman, “The Napoleonic Empire, 1804-14,” accessed February 12, 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/The-Napoleonic-empire-1804-14
60
Wickman, “Napoleonic Empire”
14
Napoleon’s armies. Peasants were penalized if they attempted to avoid military service, whereas
the wealthy could avoid service with monetary compensation.61
From 1814 to 1815, the Congress of Vienna was called to reestablish the territorial
divisions of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars and subsequent downfall of Napoleon. One of the
outcomes resulted in France losing all territory conquered by Napoleon. The Venetian and
Lombardy regions were returned to Austria, and the rest of Italy was, once again, divided.62
The taxes, laws, and resulting political and financial strain caused the Italians to welcome
a new Austrian leadership. However, the new regime led by the traditionalist Francis II of
Austria and his chief minister Klemens von Metternich, was characterized by political tyranny,
religious intolerance, intellectual conformity, and economic immobility.63 According to
Metternich, it was the duty of Austria to enforce internal order. From 1815-48, Metternich
influenced Italian continental affairs and gained a reputation of ruling with an iron fist in an
attempt to maintain order and control. Between 1820 and 1831, the Italians organized a series of
failed revolts, which led to Austrian repression in the form of military intervention and routine
police checking throughout the country.64 These revolts were the beginning of the unrest that
would lead to the Italian revolutions of 1848.65
The turmoil within Italy gave way to a platform for expressing nationalism, which was
associated with pride, unity, and common values. Simultaneously, cosmopolitanism, which
implied the embracing of a wide variety of cultures and experiences and, on some level,
diversity, was on the rise. Initially, these concepts seemed to be in direct conflict with one
61
E.J. Miller, “The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy,” The British Museum Quarterly 31, No. 3/4 (Spring, 1967): 75-
76.
62
Wickman, “The Restoration Period,” accessed February 12, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy/The-
restoration-period
63
Massimo Salvadori, Italy (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1965), 101.
64
Ibid., 102.
65
Wickman, “Restoration Period.”
15
another. Nationalism, as advocated by groups such as Young Italy, was centered around national
unity, a republican government, and a unitary state because “without unity there is not truly a
nation.”66 Cosmopolitanism, on the other hand, was perceived as “an absence of roots, folk spirit,
developed subjectivity, or the capacity to transmit authentic feeling,” implying a negative
connotation.67
Many musicians, after traveling abroad for various performance pursuits, began to
question the idea of a dichotomy between nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Writers such as
Giuseppe Mazzini viewed nationalism and cosmopolitanism as parallel positions, concluding
that “’nationalist cosmopolitans’ felt [as if] people should direct their energies and affections
towards a single nation and that such focalization would facilitate the realization of a larger
spiritual or human purpose.”68 Musicians who returned to Italy would promote musical
nationalism at home, further “suggesting that cosmopolitanism and nationalism were aligned,
rather than contradictory.”69
Outside of Italy, industrialization and urban expansion led to the emergence of civic
music associations of socially prominent amateurs and patrons. The aforementioned formation of
independent musical organizations and the resulting network of composers, publishers, and
musicians coincided not only with the decline of aristocratic patronage, but also with the rise of a
European middle class that had a desire to experience high culture more directly.70 This
66
Marco Sampoalo, “Young Italy,” accessed February 12, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Young-Italy
67
Dana Gooley. “Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Nationalism, 1848-1914.” American Musical Society 66, No. 2
(2013): 524.
68
Gooley, 526.
69
Ibid.
70
Strykowski, 224.
16
independence created the necessity of public support for artists, and as a result, the connection
between composers and musicians solidified.71
Upon Bottesini’s return to Italy in 1861, he needed to establish and maintain a steady
income.72 It is well known and documented that he was not the most fiscally responsible person.
Described as an epicurian, “he was an inveterate smoker as well as a gourmet who proclaimed
openly his preference for Italian cuisine and had a marked taste for first-class champagne.”73
Consequently, he was often penniless and explored new opportunities to compose and perform.74
In order to support himself, Bottesini founded several performance organizations which
were meant to showcase Italian music. In an event that was sponsored by The Florence Quartet
Society, a quartet by Cherubini was performed, which the Vienna Musical Journal reported as
“showing progress in Italy.”75 In another performance promoted by the Neapolitan Quartet
Society, Bottesini performed his own Gran Quintetto.76 His Quartet in Re was a winner in the
Second Basevi Competition, and reviews indicated that the Italians were beginning to be
successful in their aspirations to compose chamber pieces comparable to their European
counterparts.77 The wide variety of international musical experiences and founding of several
organizations to showcase Italian chamber music, including his compositions, proved him to be
the musical embodiment of a nationalist cosmopolitan.
71
Daniel M. Fox, “Artists in the Modern State: The Nineteenth Century Background.” The Journal of Aesthetics and
Art Criticism 22, No. 2 (1963): 135.
72
Dell’Universita Degli Studi Di Parma, 1989), 9.
73
Paul Brun, A New History of the Double Bass, (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000), 238.
74
Vetro, 2.
75
“Florence [Quartet Society].” Dwights Journal of Music XXII, no. 15 (1863): 328.
76
Fazio, 615.
77
Ibid., 616.
17
Chapter 3 – Evolution as a Composer
Bottesini’s early double bass compositions were highly technical but did not feature the
melodic writing that would emerge in his later compositions. During his collegiate studies, he
wrote three Gran Duos for Two Double Basses which were more technical in nature. His
subsequent chamber music compositions such as Duet for Clarinet and Double Bass, the Gran
Duo Concertante, and the Passione Amorosa contained original melodies and focused on the
interplay between the two solo instruments. The melodies were longer, more florid, and
showcased the virtuosity of the performers.
Bottesini’s solo compositions, on the other hand, paraphrased melodies from popular
operas of the time, were mostly in theme and variation form, and provided the opportunity for
him to demonstrate his technical ability on the double bass. His Fantasia on “La Sonnambula,”
which includes the Bellini melodies “Un Pensiero” and “A non Giunge,” was reviewed by a
critic who painted Bottesini as a “master of all the means necessary to give variety to his
performance, and [who] employs them so skillfully, …he was highly successful.”78 Another
critic praised Bottesini as a “rarely gifted, extraordinary genius,” whose Gran Duo on I Puritani
“was rendered with a sweetness, brilliancy, and… astonishing execution [causing] the audience
to cheer him from every part of the theatre.”79 The latter incorporates the trading of melodic
content between the two solo instruments, again quoting Bellini arias. The reviews, although
reveling in Bottesini’s technical capability on the double bass, drew attention to pieces of
78
“London Wednesday Concerts [Pischek, Giovanni Bottesini (Double Bassist), Thalberg].” The Musical World
XXIV, no 20 (1849): 316.
79
Andrew Edward Palmer, "Giovanni Bottesini in the United States, 1848-1854." (PhD Diss., The University of
Memphis, 1995), 11, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
18
Bottesini’s core compositional repertoire: pieces that incorporated well-known, Italian opera
melodies as main themes.80
During this time, there was a rise in popularity of new instrumental music written in the
quatuor concertante style. The defining characteristics of this style included the skillful
treatment of melodic phrases and the resulting interplay among the voices in the ensemble.81
This compositional style, especially the melodic writing within the pieces, appealed to the Italian
sheet music market. The Gran Quintetto, for example, was described as “[sharing] the same
strong melodic appeal” as the music of Saverio Mercadente, to whom the piece was dedicated.82
The melodic content of the piece utilizes the quatuor concertante concept of dialogue, which is
“distinguished by a richly developed phrase, which is now heard in one instrument, or in another;
now as the main song, and now as an accompaniment to another larger phrase which comes in as
a second idea; and this phrase in all the forms that it has been able to take under the expert hand
of the [composer], is always spicy and with a graceful effect.”83
Bottesini’s chamber music compositional norm prior to the Gran Quintetto included
operatic paraphrasing and emulating the operatic style which showcased the virtuosic ability of
the performers. Main themes were derived from popular operas of the time (such as those by
Bellini and Donizetti), were written with a homophonic texture, included recitative-like
moments, and often did not abide by a specific formal structure. Pieces such as Passione
80
Palmer, 10-12.
81
Janet M. Levy, “The 'Quatuor Concertante' in Paris in the Latter Half of the Eighteenth Century,” (PhD diss.,
Stanford University, 1971), 59, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
82
Jeremy Nicholas, “Bottesini Chamber Works,” accessed February 15, 2021,
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/bottesini-chamber-works
83
Michele Ruta, “Sull’inaugurazione Della Società Del Queartetto [Importante Coinvolgere Musicisti Giovani.
Edecucuzioni: Mozart, 7o Quartetto d’archi; Bottesini, Quintetto d’archi; Violinista Giuseppe Pozzo, Violista
Giuseppe Merola, Paolo e Alberto Boubée; Beethoven, Settimino].” Gazzetta Musical Di Napoli X, No. 42 (1862):
166-67.
19
Amorosa and the Gran Duo Concertante contained original melodies, yet still emulated the
operatic paraphrased style.
However, the Gran Quintetto is written in a completely different style for the production
of sheet music and performance by amateur musicians. The original melodies in the piece lend
themselves well to the dialoguing nature of the quatuor concertante style. In addition, the piece
emulates traditional classical forms such as sonata form, Scherzo-trio form, and ternary form,
resulting in “the Italian romantic melos [being] assimilated to the ways of Viennese
classicism.”84
Reviews of the Gran Quintetto were laudatory, in one case describing the opening
melody in the first movement as “[beginning] in dramatic fashion, with the first violin singing a
fetching operatic melody.”85 The blend of the melodic content and formal structure further
characterized Bottesini as a “nationalist cosmopolitan,” as “the melodic ideas of the work,
passionately Italian, are covered with peregrine harmonies and masterfully conducted according
to the laws of the great German quartet players, in order to create a very happy fusion of the two
styles.”86
In the Gran Quintetto, the double bass functions as a foundation of functional harmony
while participating in the dialogue inherent within the style of the piece. This participation
requires efficient left-hand movements, which is difficult on a four-stringed bass in standard
tuning. However, alternative tuning practices, specifically the Italian scordatura, can provide an
effectual solution for the left hand.
84
Giulio Odero, “I Quartetti I Quintetti Per Archi,” in Giovanni Bottesini 1821-1889 (Parma: Centro Studi e
Ricerche dell’Amministrazione Dell’Universita Degli Studi Di Parma, 1989): 113.
85
Edition Silvertrust, “Gran Quintetto for String Quintet in c minor, Op. 99” accessed February 12, 2021,
https://www.earsense.org/chamber-music/Giovanni-Bottesini-Gran-quintetto-for-String-Quintet/
86
“Un Quintetto Di Bottesini [Corrispondenza Da Parma],” Gazzetta Musicale Di Milano XLIV, No. 11 (1889):
177.
20
Chapter 4 – The Italian Scordatura
A Brief Study of Tuning Practices
During the turn of the nineteenth century, multiple tuning practices were common among
double bass players in Europe. Not only did the intervals between the strings vary, but so did the
number of strings. Prior to the nineteenth century, four-stringed basses were often tuned in fifths
(C-G-d-a), a practice derived from the 17th century Italian violone, and sounded one octave
below the written pitch.87 This was practical due to the fact that performers could avail
themselves to playing either the cello or the bass, which was common. Examples of pieces which
relied on this tuning, specifically of the low C, included the French composer Jean-Phillipe
Rameau’s operas (Les Fêtes d’Hébe and Les Boréades) and Symphony No. 2 by the Flemish
composer Antoine Mahaut.88
Quintal tuning, albeit sensible for the reasons above, had challenges from a physical
standpoint. The amount of left-hand shifting required is a daunting and exhausting task
exacerbated by the coarse, thick, tense, high-action strings of the time.89 In order to mitigate
strain on the left hand, double bass players experimented and eventually developed a tuning
system in fourths (E-A-D-g) described in 1782 by J.S. Petri as follows:
“The reason for this tuning is the too great distance between the fingers that prevents the hand from stopping
four successive tones as on the violin or the cello. The fingers cannot stop more than three tones and, since
only two more tones can be played, including the open strings, the next string must be tuned a fourth higher.
Notwithstanding, to stop these tones with clarity, one must have a large hand with long fingers.”90
87
Paul Brun, A New History of the Double Bass, (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000), 114.
88
Ibid, 115-116.
89
Ibid, 116.
90
Johann Samuel Petri, Anleitung zur pratischen Musik (Leipzig: 1782): 457.
21
Acoustically, there were still challenges to the set-up of the four-stringed bass tuned in
fourths. Specifically, the strings were set too close together and the quality of the lowest string
was poor:
“More than three strings…overload the bridge too much. As a result, the tone becomes muffled and unclear.
Besides, the strings are set too close together…so that one cannot play forcefully on the middle strings
without taking the risk of also hitting a neighboring string.”91
In addition, consistent with Francoeur’s quote, the pressure of the strings on the upper sound
plate restricts its motion, resulting in more stress on the instrument as a whole and diminishing
the ability of the instrument to carry sound well.92 For these reasons, the low E-string, according
to some bass players at the time, was simply not worth the trouble.93
It was not uncommon to see three-stringed basses in Europe in the second half of the 18th
century. However, while some bass players continued to tune in fifths with three strings (G-D-a),
others used quartal tuning (A-D-G).94
Tuning practices at this time also varied geographically. Germany had a long-standing
tradition of utilizing a four-stringed bass tuned in fourths (E-A-D-g).95 The French favored a
three-stringed bass tuned in fifths (G-D-a).96 In Italy, double bassists used quartal tuning on their
three-stringed basses (A-D-G)97 which, in their opinion, offered a brighter tone and a more facile
left-hand approach. Bottesini was an advocate of the latter and openly proclaimed its benefits
91
Louis Joseph Francoeur, Traité Général des Voix et des Instruments d’Orchestre (Paris: 1813): 83.
92
Alexander Yurivich Pershounin, “The Three-Stringed Solo Double Bass: Origins, Advantages, and Decline”
(DMA Document, University of Southern Mississippi, 2002), 51, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
93
Brun, 121.
94
Ibid.
95
Brun, 126-127; Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich, Contrabass-Schule (Bonn: N. Simrock, 1830): 93; Wenzle Hause,
Kontrabass Schule (Dresden: Hilscher, n.d.): 2-3.
96
Michele Corrette, Méthodes pour apprendre à jouer de la contre-basse à 3, à 4, et à 5 cordes (Paris: aux adresse
ordinares de musique, n.d.): 9; Victor Frédéric Verrimst, Méthod de Contrabasse (Paris: E. Gérard et Cie., 1866): 1.
97
Bonifacio Asioli, Elementos Para el Contrabajo con un Nuevo Modode Hacer Uso de los Dedos, translated by
Mariano Herrere y Sessé (1823): 10.
22
over the four-stringed bass (as outlined in Chapter 1 of this document), a practice that was also
adopted by the English and Spanish.98
The Germans criticized the range of Italian three-stringed quartal tuning, claiming that it
did not allow one to play a regular G-major scale without transposing a portion of the scale in
some fashion. For example, in Haydn’s Creation of the World (La rèsurrection du monde), they
claimed that this method of tuning ruined the intended expressive effect that lower tones would
have provided:
“With this paltry range, the orchestra sounds like an organ without pedals, and the most beautiful passages
are in this way disfigured and mutilated. Had Haydn written his Creation in Italy, he certainly would not
have depicted the rising of the moon as he did, because the Italian system of tuning produces an opposite
effect.”99
In response, the Italian pedagogues Luigi Rossi and Giorgio Anglois waved off this
criticism and the latter offered an alternate solution: Anglois and his students would occasionally
tune the third string down to a G, which expanded the range to the necessary low tones to play a
non-transposed G-major scale. This resulted in a three-stringed tuning practice used in Italy (G-
D-g), which would eventually be known as the “Italian scordatura.”100
The Italian Scordatura101
The limited range of the three-stringed bass in Italy required double bass players to
develop creative solutions to perform orchestral pieces. Adolphe Brulon’s Methode de Contre-
Basse (1841) was one of the first method books to introduce the Italian scordatura and provides
98
Brun, 126.
99
Brun, 129.
100
Ibid.
101
Information regarding the Italian scordatura and its application is limited and a full resource on the topic has not
been written: See Luigi Rossi and Giorgio Anglois: Metodo per il Contrabbasso d’Orchestra (Turin: G. Magrini:
1846); Paul Brun, A New History of the Double Bass (Villeneuve d’Asq, France: Paul Brun Productions, 2000): 114;
Eric Halfpenny, “The Double Bass” The Bass Sound Post 9, No. 6 (1968): 8-14; Fiona M. Palmer, Domenico
Dragonetti in England (1794-1846) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997); Adolphus Charles White, “The Double Bass”
Proceedings of the Musical Association 13th Session (1886 - 1887): 106.
23
fingerings for scales for the tuning, but is one of few written in this way.102 Aside from the
practice of transposing the double bass part, tuning the lowest string down to G was a viable
tuning practice and promoted by Rossi and Anglois:
“Each of these [tuning practices] has its advantages and its drawbacks. The German [tuning practice] seems
at first glance the best, because it combines a great extension [of range] with the simplicity of the handling:
but the number of strings supplied makes it extremely difficult in playing strongly on the intermediate strings,
to avoid the smear of the bow on one of the [neighboring strings], and is opposed to one of the essential
qualities of the double bass player: strength [of sound].
The French system, free from this drawback, presents the difficulty in handling, since it is not possible to
play a scale of only four notes without transposition of the hand. Beyond the fifth interval, which separates
one string from the other, there is an excessive disparity in their thickness, which [as a result] harms the
equality of sound.
The Italian system, less extensive than the others, combines the two advantages of simplicity of handling and
strength [of sound]. That is what is required for our music and for our orchestras, and consequently we give
preference to the Italian system. Those who blame the Italian double bass for its [range] say that, if Haydn
had to write in Italy, he could not have painted the ascension of the moon with such realism. Assuming that
Haydn would not have been embarrassed by the lack of a G, and that, admitting the need for this note, it
rarely happens that its octave cannot be replaced without damage to the musical effect, we have seen our
Anglois several times (and on their example, the other Turinese Contrabassists) instantly lower the third
string to obtain the sound required by the effect, retuning it with equal promptness after the need has ceased.
Thus, even the ascension of the moon, as painted by Haydn, would be perfectly imitated. We propose to all
Double Bass players the use of this device.”103
This tuning practice was often employed by English double bass players. Eric Halfpenny,
in The Bass Sound Post, remarks on the tuning practice and its preference in England:
“The formerly well-known three-string bass (still played in much folk music) has generally been tuned g, d,
G (or g, d, A). It appears to have been valued for its smartness of speech and greater sonority at a time when
the individual capabilities of different orchestral instruments were being more precisely exploited. The
English school of violin makers produced many fine three-string basses, incidentally, developing certain
details of proportion and body size that are practically ideal. Its great merit, freedom of speech, comes from
the easy clearance of the bow on each string and the exceptionally light bridge-loading. Richard Strauss
himself praised its noble cantabile tone and recommended its mixture in bass sections to strengthen the bass
line.”104
Given the preference of the tone and sound output, the Italian scordatura was commonly
used in orchestras in the nineteenth century and was pioneered by the double bass virtuoso
102
See Carl Fischer, New and Revised Edition of Celebrated Tutors: Method for the Three String Bass (New York:
Carl Fischer, 1891); Otto Langey, Practical Tutor for the Double Bass with Three Strings (London: Hawkes and
Son, n.d.).
103
Luigi Rossi and Giorgio Anglois: Metodo per il Contrabasso d’Orcestra (Turin: G. Magrini: 1846): 5-6.
104
Eric Halfpenny, “The Double Bass” The Bass Sound Post 9, No. 6 (1968): 13.
24
Domenico Dragonetti. It is believed that Dragonetti employed this tuning during performances of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony when it was premiered by the Philharmonic Society in London:
“Dragonetti’s years with the Society were those when [Beethoven’s] Ninth Symphony was not sufficiently
familiar, or well enough understood, to be interpreted and performed as well as it would be during the
following century. It is fascinating to consider that the majestic recitative section of the fourth movement
was played by a solo double bass. That the player was Dragonetti is incredible. It is important also to note
Carse’s assertion that following Dragonetti’s death the exposed recitative section was played by the lower
strings in toto. Finally, the tessitura of the line would have required Dragonetti…to tune his bottom string
down a tone, if playing on a three-stringed instrument…”105
Although the Italian scordatura was applied in the performance of various symphonic
works, there is little information of its utilization in Italian chamber music nor are there many
examples of it in the literature. Despite the lack of its mention in literature, the Italian scordatura
is valuable as a tuning practice, even in pieces that are written in standard tuning as the document
will later show. The Italian scordatura allows the double bassist to facilitate their part on a three-
stringed bass and provides significant left-hand and acoustic advantages. An example is the Gran
Quintetto, which is a difficult piece to perform on a four-stringed bass in standard tuning and
impossible on a three-stringed bass tuned in fourths due to its limited range. Bottesini not only
premiered the piece on his three-stringed bass but would have had no choice but to alter the
tuning of the lower string in order to accommodate the lowest note in the piece (G2). Therefore,
this tuning practice is to be considered as the piece would have likely been conceived of in this
context and it also provides acoustic benefits, such as the resonance of the instrument, as well as
the technical efficiency of executing major and minor arpeggios.
Acoustically, as noted by Bottesini and Paul Brun, the three-stringed double bass, by
nature, is more clear, sonorous, and has the capability of producing a bigger sound.106 However,
there are other attributes resulting from the Italian scordatura. First, the octave Gs improve the
105
Fiona M. Palmer, Domenico Dragonetti in England (1794-1846) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997): 184.
106
Brun, 122.
25
resonance of the instrument overall due to the fundamental low G and the sympathetic higher
string.107 This results in a more vibrant and open sound, a sonic advantage not possible in a
traditional four-stringed bass. Second, the Italian scordatura minimizes the movement in the left
hand for arpeggios. In standard tuning,108 major and minor arpeggios require shifts, especially in
the lower register and the first octave. One of the major advantages of the Italian scordatura is
that major arpeggios that start on the fourth finger of the lowest string can be performed without
shifting. In contrast, they are executed by the use of a pivot.109 The fingering that results for a C-
major arpeggio, for example, would be 4-1-4-4, eliminating the need for a shift as required in
standard tuning (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - C-major arpeggio in standard tuning and Italian scordatura
Similarly, minor arpeggios, such as the C-minor arpeggio, can be performed using the 1-
4-1-1 fingering as opposed to 1-4-2-2 in standard tuning (Figure 2).
107
Bruce Rogers Jackson, “The g-d-G-C scordatura tuning for the double bass: A historical survey, theoretical
rationale, pedagogical study, and compositional demonstration” (PhD Diss., Ball State University, 1996), 4,
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
108
Standard tuning in this document is the German tradition for four-stringed basses: E-A-D-g.
109
“A pivot differs from a shift in that the thumb remains stationary on the back of the neck rather than moving with
the hand while the other fingers are allowed to deviate from a given position by one semitone in either direction.”
Alfred J. Polidoro III, On Pedagogical Methods for Jazz Double Bass (PhD diss., California State University, 2018),
13, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
26
Figure 2 - C-minor arpeggio in standard tuning and Italian scordatura
The Italian scordatura also allows for the advantage of using one finger for the tonic-
dominant-tonic motion as opposed to using the whole hand (Figure 3). This allows the remaining
fingers to be available to perform passages without shifting immediately to accommodate scalar
motion.
Figure 3 - Tonic-Dominant-Tonic motion in standard tuning and Italian scordatura
Finally, if a bass player is using a three-stringed bass, the performer will be able to realize
the benefits that Bottesini describes in his method book as was outlined in the first chapter of this
document: more clarity in articulation and increased resonance.
The Application of the Italian Scordatura
The left-hand efficiencies that are derived from using the Italian scordatura in the Gran
Quintetto include maximizing the number of notes within a hand-frame as well as minimizing
the number of shifts needed to perform the piece.
27
An example of how the tuning consolidates the notes to fit within a hand-frame is in the
opening twelve measures of the last movement of the Gran Quintetto. In standard tuning (Figure
4), the octave leap and the subsequent notes require a shift in the first two measures. When using
the Italian scordatura and beginning the excerpt with the first finger (Figure 5), the shift is
eliminated because the first two measures are in one hand-frame. The same observation can be
made in mm. 5-6. In mm. 10, standard tuning requires one shift on the fourth beat of the
measure, whereas with Italian scordatura, a pivot is used to remove the shift. The resulting
fingering for the excerpt is significantly easier for the left hand.
Figure 4 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 4 – mm. 1-12 - standard tuning
28
Figure 5 - Bottesini: Gran Quintetto, Mvt. 4 – mm. 1-12 - Italian scordatura
Another example of maximizing the number of notes within a hand-frame can be seen in
the second movement of the Gran Quintetto, highlighting how pivoting can eliminate shifts due
to the tuning practice. The scalar motion in mm. 160-165, with no help from the key signature,
requires four shifts in standard tuning (Figure 6). With the Italian scordatura (Figure 7), three of
those shifts are eliminated with pivots, keeping notes within a single hand-frame.
29
As shown above, the Italian scordatura eliminates shifts by keeping passages within a
single hand-frame. In tandem with this tuning, shifts can be reduced by the use of a finger
replacement as well. An example of this is shown in the first movement of the Gran Quintetto.
Using standard tuning, one fingering option would include a fourth finger shift (4-4) from the G
to the B-flat on the D-string (Figure 8). This shift in mm. 190 and mm. 192 is practical in
standard tuning because it prepares the left-hand for the subsequent notes in the passage.
Furthermore, there are unavoidable shifts in the C-major arpeggio in mm. 196-198. However, the
Italian scordatura, as well as a finger replacement in mm. 195 (Figure 9), allow the performer to
avoid six shifts in the passage.
30
The tuning also helps with tonic-dominant-tonic motion, which, in turn, removes shifts
since other fingers are available for the subsequent notes of a passage. In mm. 77-78 of the third
movement of the Gran Quintetto, standard tuning (Figure 10) forces shifts to occur. Pivots in
mm. 77 and 78 remove a shift while consolidating notes within hand frames (Figure 11).
31
The excerpts presented in this chapter are the more significant examples of how the
Italian scordatura minimizes left hand motion by consolidating notes into single hand frames and
eliminating the need for frequent shifts. When applied appropriately, such as in the Gran
Quintetto, this method of tuning allows for ease of execution in the left hand. The edition of the
part in Italian scordatura (Appendix) provides more examples.
Acoustic Benefits
Previously, it was stated by Francoeur that more than three strings on the bass results in a
muffled and unclear tone, the strings on a four-stringed bass are too close together, and bass
players cannot play as forcefully on the A and D-strings without the risk of hitting a neighboring
string. With a three-stringed bass, there are acoustic benefits such as more resonance, a sustain in
pizzicato notes, and an improved tone.
Considering resonance, or the amount of reverberance within the body of the instrument,
the octave G-strings on the three-stringed bass in Italian scordatura add to the resonance of the
instrument due to the natural harmonic series of the strings. When playing the low G-string, the
upper G-string sympathetically vibrates with more intensity than when using a closed G on the
E-string of a four-stringed bass. In addition, the opposite is true: when the upper G-string is
played, the bottom G-string vibrates with some intensity as well. The lack of the interference
from the additional string, the decreased pressure against the top of the instrument, and the
strong connection of the harmonic series produces more resonance in the instrument.
Due to the resonance, the sustain of a pizzicato note is changed. In an experiment, it was
observed that the three-stringed bass sustained a pizzicato pitch (both open strings and closed
tones in first position) longer than that of a four-stringed bass by a half-second on average.
32
Also, there is a notable difference in the tone of the instrument. Certain notes speak more
clearly in comparison to a four-stringed bass. For example, on a four-stringed bass, the note A-
flat (fourth finger on the E-string) is not only difficult to play in tune, but also less likely to speak
clearly. However, on the three-stringed bass in the Italian scordatura, the note speaks with
greater ease and clarity, which is exemplified in mm. 68-73 of the third movement of the Gran
Quintetto.
The tuning for the double bass has changed over time to help facilitate left hand
efficiency. In addition, it was common in the nineteenth century to have a three-stringed bass as
it was believed to have a clearer sound. The Italian scordatura captures these advantages while
extending the range of a traditional Italian three-stringed bass. As Bottesini was an avid
proponent of the three-stringed bass and premiered the Gran Quintetto, the Italian scordatura
would have been a practical adjustment to accommodate the piece.
33
Chapter 5 – Conclusion
There are considerations that need to be made if a double bass player intends to perform
the Gran Quintetto on a three-stringed bass. One of these is the level of modification of the
double bass, and another is the programming of the concert with the piece.
It is plausible that Bottesini used the Italian scordatura in the performance of the Gran
Quintetto for several reasons. His three-stringed double bass was tuned in fourths, and he favored
the three-stringed instrument’s tone and resonance. The range of the double bass part in the Gran
Quintetto is outside of the range of the Italian traditional three-stringed tuning.
While it is possible to perform this piece on a four-stringed double bass, one might
consider playing it three-stringed and tuned similar to what Bottesini likely used. Altering an
instrument for this tuning may seem like a daunting task, however it is not an impracticability
since there are various ways to modify a double bass in order to take advantage of the Italian
scordatura.
A full conversion would require a new bridge, a removal of a bevel from the fingerboard,
and an adjustment to the tailpiece and nut. These modifications would result in a more
historically accurate instrument and, in turn, a more authentic sound where the acoustic benefits
would be fully realized.
A second option, or partial conversion, would involve respacing the grooves in the nut
and bridge and modifying the tailpiece. In addition to achieving the authentic sound and tone of a
three-stringed instrument, the new spacing of the grooves would not interfere with a traditional
four-stringed setup, and double bass players would be able to move between three-stringed and
four-stringed setups with ease.
34
A third option involves the removal of the lowest string and tuning the A string down to a
G. While this is a practical move toward an “authentic” instrument and sound, the acoustic
benefits may not be fully evident compared to the complete three-stringed conversion due to the
spacing of the strings. With the strings so close together, it is difficult to project the maximum
amount of volume from the instrument which invites the risk of the strings hitting the
fingerboard if there is too much pressure applied to them.
Tuning the A string down to a G without the removal of a string is an additional option.
While this is the most practical solution in a concert or recital setting, it does not capture the full
range of the acoustic benefits that are possible with the Italian scordatura. Among these
possibilities, a partial conversion is the most practical solution that provides the maximum
benefit with regard to tone.
Another consideration for the modern double bass player is performance on gut strings.110
For the purpose of this document, a brief summary of the evolution and types of bass gut strings
that are commonly available are discussed.
As the size of the double bass increased over centuries, the strings required modification
to compliment the instrument. In order to achieve this, sheep or beef intestines were twisted
together to add mass to the strings, allowing them to produce a focused sound on a larger
instrument.111 Daniel Larson, a string maker for the modern-day Gamut company, uses the
110
There is an abundance of resources on the makers, production, and variations of gut strings: See Djilda Abbott and
Ephraim Segerman, “Gut Strings” Early Music 4, No. 4 (Oct. 1976), pp. 430-437; Patrizio Barbieri, “Roman and
Neopolitan Gut Strings 1550-1950,” The Galpin Society Journal 59 (May, 2006), 147-181; Mimmo Peruffo, “The Mystery
of Gut Bass Strings in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Role of Loaded-Weighted Gut,” Recercare 5 (1993),
115-151; Mimmo Peruffo, “Italian Violin Strings in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Typologies, Manufacturing
Techniques and Principles of Stringing,” Recercare 9 (1997), 155-203; Stephen Bonta, “The Making of Gut Strings in
18th-Century Paris,” The Galpin Society Journal 52 (April 1999), 376-386; Jenny Nex, “Gut String Makers in Nineteenth-
Century London,” The Galpin Society Journal 65 (March 2012), 131-160.
111
Mimmo Peruffo, “The Mystery of Gut Bass Strings,” 116.
35
“lefts” of the gut ribbons in order to make larger strings.112 Lower strings are wound with copper,
silver, or a combination of the two, which helps add focus to the tone of the string.113 As sound
travels faster through copper than silver, copper-wound strings will possess a brighter tone than
silver-wound strings.114 While it is common today to see steel strings on double basses, gut
strings and/or wound strings would provide a more historically accurate sound for the time
period discussed in the document.
There are several types of gut strings available today. Red Diamond Bass Strings are
comprised of beef intestine wound with nylon,115 whereas Efrano Gut Bass Strings are gut
wound with silver.116 Clef Gut Strings117 and Lenzner Natural Gut Upright Double Bass Strings
118
, on the other hand, are made of pure gut. There are also customizable options for a musician
to consider.119 Although these various types of gut strings are available, double bassists hoping to
recreate the most historically accurate sound with a three-stringed bass tuned in the scordatura
would utilize pure gut strings for the top two and a wound string for the low string. With this
combination of strings as well as either the fully converted bass or partially converted bass,
double bassists today can emulate a historically accurate sound. In addition, two pure gut strings
and two wound strings are the best option for a detuned A string without the removal of the
112
Daniel Larson, in fact, states the following on the Gamut website: “Lefts are used for larger strings where
strength is not so crucial, but a buildup of mass is necessary. I use them for the cello d-2, (1.50 mm), and larger
diameters of strings.” See Daniel Larson, “Making Gut Strings,” accessed April 9, 2021,
https://www.gamutmusic.com/new-page.
113
Mimmo Peruffo, “Italian Violin Strings,” 192.
114
Gamut Music, Inc., “Wound Strings,” accessed April 9, 2021, https://www.gamutmusic.com/wound-strings.
115
Gamut Music, Inc. “Red Diamond Bass Strings Set,” accessed April 9, 2021, https://shop.gamutmusic.com/red-
diamond-bass-string-set.
116
Lemur Music, “Efrano Gut Bass String Efrano Gut Bass Set,” accessed April 9, 2021,
http://www.lemurmusic.com/European-Gut-Bass-String-Efrano-Gut-String-Set/productinfo/S0910.
117
Uptown Bass String Instrument Company, “Clef Gut Upright Double Bass Strings,” accessed April 9, 2021,
https://uptonbass.com/shop/clef-gut-upright-bass-double-bass-strings.
118
Gollihur Music, “Lenzner Natural Gut Upright Double Bass Strings,” accessed April 9, 2021,
https://gollihurmusic.com/natural-gut-upright-bass-strings.
119
Gamut Music, Inc. “String Calculator,” accessed April 9, 2021,
http://www.gamutstrings.com/calculators/calculator.htm.
36
lowest string. While the acoustic benefits are not as high with this conversion option, the
utilization of gut strings can help to recreate a more accurate sound than a four-string double bass
tuned in Italian scordatura with steel strings.
It is important to note that there are other works by Bottesini that would benefit from the
Italian scordatura. Performers who have programmed pieces that have a low G (G2) as the lowest
note, scalar and arpeggio motion on the upper two strings, and arpeggios that favor the pivot
motion outlined in the previous chapter should consider the scordatura. Bottesini’s Elegy and
Tarentella, Fantasy on Sonnambula, and Variations on the Carnival of Venice are pieces that
could be performed in the scordatura.
The Italian scordatura was popular in England for three-stringed basses. As cited earlier,
double bass pedagogues Otto Langey and Carl Fischer wrote a method book specifically for the
three-stringed bass in Italian scordatura. Fischer states, “[The Italian scordatura] has been
generally adopted in England for the three-stringed bass. Formerly the general rule has been to
tune the third string to A. It is obvious, that tuning to G, is preferable as it adds a note to the
compass of the instrument and facilitates octave playing on the third and first strings.”120 Both
books contain exercises with fingerings, and the Langey method book provides a detailed
practical application of the scordatura in orchestral excerpts.121 These books show that not only
were three-stringed basses common in England as orchestral instruments, but the Italian
scordatura was taught and encouraged.
This document proves that the Italian scordatura is a viable tuning practice to use for the
Gran Quintetto, mainly because the piece can be performed on a three-string double bass.
120
Carl Fischer, New and Revised Edition of Celebrated Tutors: Method for the Three String Bass (New York: Carl
Fischer, 1891): 5.
121
Otto Langey, Practical Tutor for the Double Bass with Three Strings (London: Hawkes and Son, n.d.): 86-121.
37
Although it is not explicitly written in any literature, it can be postulated that Bottesini used this
tuning to perform the Gran Quintetto because of his use of the three-string bass tuned in fourths,
the range of the piece extending below the low A, and the resulting ease of performance.
Appendix A is a scordatura version of the double bass part.
Premiere of the Gran Quintetto
After moving to Venice in 1858, and due to his interest in chamber music, Bottesini
became aware of the De Contin family, who were wealthy patrons of the musical arts.122 He took
up residency and premiered the Gran Quintetto on March 15, 1858, in a chamber concert in
which he collaborated with C. Trombini on violin, Giuseppe De Contin on violin, Francesco De
Contin on cello, and Prof. Moja on viola. The program for the evening was as follows:123
G. De Contin Concerto per Violino

F. De Contin Adagio per Violoncello
Alard Gran Duetto Concertante, Op. 31
G. Bottesini Gran Quintetto per due Violini, Viola,
Violoncello, e Contrabasso
L. van Beethoven 3rd Quintetto, op. 29
F. Haydn 3rd Quartetto, op. 14
In a review of the premiere, Bottesini’s prowess as a musician and composer were
discussed:
“The noble family of De Contin, which in Venice are the main music lovers, got Giovanni Bottesini, in the
evening of the 14th of July, also known as the king of the note. Very few people (friends and artists) had the
opportunity to listen to a quintet for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass in the classical style of Onslow,
a beautiful composition by the performer, played by him and C. Trombini, Giuseppe and Francesco De
Contin, and the Professor Moja. The first exhibition was so successful that they had to [repeat the piece], for
sure because of the talent of Bottesini. We cannot say if he is better as a composer or as a performer.”124
122
A. Trombini, “Venezia, 19 luglio [Famiglia De Contin: serata musicale con Bottesini; Bottesini, Quintetto per
due violini, viola, violoncello, contrabbasso; membri della famiglia De Contin, Trombini, Seeling].” Gazzetta
musicale di Milano 30 (July 25, 1858): 241.
123
Ibid.
124
Ibid.
38
The Gran Quintetto was also performed on November 20, 1858. Bottesini, who again
played the double bass for the performance, was joined by Cavallini and Trombini on violin,
Santelli on the viola, and Quarenghi on the cello.125 The Gazzetta musicale di Milano published
the following review:
“Listening to good classical music that is well played is a rare event…Even if it was a private event, the
artists involved need to be known. In this way, the music fan will know how the love for great musicians of
the past gives strength to the musical intelligence, building up to great artists. This event took part with
Bottesini on double bass, Cavallini and Trombini on Violin, Santinelli on the viola, and Quarenghi on cello.
This is one of the best ensembles of professors. The event was so prestigious not only for the music of
Beethoven: the few people who could listen to the concert had the possibility to listen to some original
compositions by the performers, especially a quintet by Bottesini. Our hope was not disappointed: the concert
began with a classical composition by Quarenghi in which Bottesini played the second cello part. This piece
has rich and beautiful modulations, is sober and elegant, and perfectly played by the performers who know
their parts and their instruments to perfection. The quintet by Bottesini was better than our expectations of
him as a composer: we know that it’s easy to fail in this kind of modern work. In string quartets and quintets,
other contemporary composers try to imitate the past too much or not enough, paying only attention to the
taste of today. In fact, it’s not rare that an Italian composer sacrifices a style which is clear and spontaneous
of songs. We are happy to say that Bottesini is overall an Italian composer: his music has the fire, the
precision, and the clearness of our music! The first movement is strict and the technical thoughts are never
above the feelings of the music. The Scherzo is very gracious; the Adagio is inspired by original ideas that
are frequently developed. The ending is brilliant, “popular,” with different colors, and a chorale which is
repeating in different modes and in different sounds with a singular effect and beautiful. This work is very
unique and very individual and dedicated to Saverio Mercadente: the work is indeed worthy of the
dedication!”126
The Italian scordatura provides left-hand and acoustic benefits to the double bass and
they are exemplified in the Gran Quintetto. This document explains these benefits and
encourages other double bass players to experiment and perform on a three-stringed instrument.
While this study deepens the understanding of Bottesini’s evolving compositional style, his
experimentation with tuning, and provides a fuller picture of his chamber music repertoire, it also
informs the double bass community of a tuning practice with practical benefits for solo and
chamber music repertoire.
125
“Il secondo concerto di Bottesini e Trombini,” Gazzetta musicale di Milano XVI, No. 47 (1858), p.375-77.
126
Ibid, 375-76.
39
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45
Appendix: Gran Quintetto Double Bass Part in Italian
Scordatura
46
Preface
The purpose of the edition in this appendix is to represent a historically accurate view of
the double bass part based on the conclusion that Bottesini, who performed the piece several
times throughout his life, would have had to make an adjustment to the tuning in order to
perform the low G within the piece. A common solution for the range of the three-stringed bass,
in both Italy and England, was the Italian scordatura which is adopted in this edition. In addition,
the fingerings within the part showcase the left-hand advantages of the tuning practice.
Several decisions needed to be made with regard to the source material of the bass part.
First, editions of the Gran Quintetto that were in the public domain needed to be considered. The
Ricordi edition, published circa 1866, is the source material for the double bass part presented in
this document.127
In addition, a choice needed to be made between showing a sounding pitch or the
fingered note.128 The choice was made to show the fingered note for two specific reasons. First,
this solution does not require the performer to rethink the pitches on the lowest string (a written
A will sound a G), lending to the overall ease of performance. Second, this method of notation
exemplifies the left-hand benefits of the Italian scordatura more clearly. The edition in this
appendix presents the double bass part with string numbers in Roman numerals underneath the
staff129 and left-hand fingerings above the staff. This explicit detail clearly shows the left-hand
benefits and is easy to interpret by the performer.
127
Giovanni Bottesini, Grann Quintetto per due Violini, Viole, Violoncello e Contrabasso (Milan: Tito di Gio
Ricordi, 1866).
128
For the purpose of this document, a “sounding pitch” refers to a note that sounds as intended by the music (i.e. a
written G sounds a G). A “written pitch” refers to a note that is written as one note, but sounds a different pitch due
to a scordatura (i.e. in the case of the document, a written open A string will sound a G).
129
I = G, II = D, III = Low G.
47
Double bass players who wish to study and perform the piece and reference this edition
should strongly consider a partial three-string conversion of their double bass. The partial three-
string conversion does not eliminate the ability of the double bass to be a four-stringed bass: in
fact, it gives performers the flexibility to convert the instrument from a three-stringed bass to a
four-stringed bass (and vice versa) at their discretion and with ease. Having the ability to perform
on a three-stringed bass will help achieve a more historically accurate representation of the piece.
A critical edition of the piece is planned as a future project. This involves reviewing
manuscripts and comparing them to the source material for this edition.130 The finished product
will include all parts and an additional part for three-stringed double bass, presented in a similar
fashion to the part in this appendix.
130
There are three specific manuscripts that are in various locations in Italy as references for this future work: 1). A
manuscript part by Alessandro Vesella, written in 1876, can be found in the Biblioteca dell’Instituto di Archeologia
e Storia dell’Arte in Rome; 2). Manuscripts of the first and second violin, viola, and double bass parts is located in
the Instituto Musicale “F. Vittadini” in Pavia; 3). An autographed manuscript with the dedication “Al mi caro amico
Casella. Bottesini” exists in the Conservatorio S. Pietro a Maijella in Naples.
48
Gran Quintetto per due Violini, Viola, Violoncello e Contrabasso
Double Bass (Scordatura) Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889)
Edited by Andrew K. Mehraban (2021)
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49
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Gran Quinetto - Double Bass
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61

The Genesis of Bottesini's Gran Quintetto For Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass and The Application of The Italian Scordatura

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The Genesis of Bottesini's Gran Quintetto For Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass and The Application of The Italian Scordatura

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The Genesis of Bottesini’s Gran Quintetto for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass and

the Application of the Italian Scordatura

Andrew Keyvan Mehraban, M.M.

Graduate Program in Music

The Ohio State University

DMA Document Committee:

Dr. Juliet White-Smith, Advisor

Dr. Paul Robinson

Professor Mark Rudoff

Dr. Graeme Boone

virtuosity on the instrument and often quoted operas.

acoustic benefits when applied to the Gran Quintetto.

Dedicated to Mary Lou Kable (1929-2018) and Donald N. Valentine (1940-2020)

I am appreciative of the tireless efforts of Jossalyn Jenson who helped translate my

Italian texts for this research.

examining and editing the document.

2011…………………………………………………………..... B.M.E., University of Cincinnati

Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii

Chapter 1: Biography and Pedagogical Contribution ..................................................................... 4

Chapter 2 – Historical Context ..................................................................................................... 10

Instrumental Music in Early Nineteenth-Century Italy ............................................................ 10

Music Publishing and the Concept of House Music ................................................................. 12

Bottesini and Chamber Music in the Concert Setting ............................................................... 13

Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Italy .............................................. 14

Chapter 3 – Evolution as a Composer........................................................................................... 18

Chapter 4 – The Italian Scordatura ........................................................................................... 21

A Brief Study of Tuning Practices ............................................................................................ 21

The Italian Scordatura ............................................................................................................... 23

Premiere of the Gran Quintetto ................................................................................................ 38

Appendix: Gran Quintetto Double Bass Part in Italian scordatura ............................................... 46

Double Bass Part in Italian scordatura….………………….………………………………….49

Figure 2 - C-minor arpeggio in standard tuning and Italian scordatura ........................................ 27

Figure 3 - Tonic-Dominant-Tonic motion in standard tuning and Italian scordatura................... 27

the Italian scordatura.

Angela Maria, was a vocalist.4

sang the lead soprano role in Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri5.

Double Basses, dedicated to his double bass professor.7

with regard to tuning practices.

tour with the Julliens Ensemble as a featured soloist.14

him still more unreservedly as an [ambassador] of concerted music.”16 In 1851, he performed

the seed for him to compose the Gran Quintetto.

utilizing the double bass.21

method book, can be summarized in a review which states:

ensembles (or “bands”) and their venues:

Bottesini and Chamber Music in the Concert Setting

gatherings consisting of amateur and professional musicians.55 In 1861, Bottesini helped

exhibited his devotion to the promotion of instrumental music in Italy.

Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Italy

taxes to promote social and economic progress and cohesion.60

the wealthy could avoid service with monetary compensation.61

religious intolerance, intellectual conformity, and economic immobility.63 According to

would lead to the Italian revolutions of 1848.65

developed subjectivity, or the capacity to transmit authentic feeling,” implying a negative

Giuseppe Mazzini viewed nationalism and cosmopolitanism as parallel positions, concluding

rather than contradictory.”69

between composers and musicians solidified.71

In order to support himself, Bottesini founded several performance organizations which

“showing progress in Italy.”75 In another performance promoted by the Neapolitan Quartet

successful in their aspirations to compose chamber pieces comparable to their European

the musical embodiment of a nationalist cosmopolitan.

showcased the virtuosity of the performers.