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City Vignettes – Revised 2023

Patrick Neher’s 2008 composition for contrabass flute, double bass and piano, has been revised, re-edited, and arranged for two contrabasses and piano. This jazzy piece has received a face-lift!

After numerous performances and two recordings by the eminent contrabass flute player, Peter Sheridan, Patrick Neher came to the conclusion that the piece could likely be more accessible and would do well arranged for two basses. So, during the pandemic, he revised and re-edit the composition. With a few “tweaks” and some judicious editing, Mr. Neher has released the 2023 version. City Vignettes is now available for two contrabasses and piano, as well as the original composition for contrabass flute, double bass, and piano.

The three movements are: I – Corner Encounter, II – Lunàcité, and III – Block Party. As with many of Patrick Neher’s compositions, very competent players are required, and jazz is the primary genre, but there are many episodes of lyrical contemporary harmonies. This is a wonderful addition to the double bass duet repertory! Please see our contrabass in ensembles page to purchase either version.

November 9, 2023 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Duets News Sheet Music String Trio

AgroDolces trio for violin, cello, piano

Patrick Neher’s latest composition, AgroDolces for piano trio (violin, cello, and piano) is an exciting concert work that explores various ways to define and interpret music, including the feelings of “sweet and sour,” playful and forceful, lyrical and punctual. This virtuoso work was written for Nancy Bean, former Assistant Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Lloyd Smith, cellist, also formerly with the Philadelphia Orchestra; and it is in four movements: Happy, Bossa, Sara (Andante), and Allegro e giocosa

Purchase this romantic concert work, AgroDolces trio, on ISG’s violin page, cello page, or piano page. The composition will also, soon, be available in PDF format for tablets. Check out our page of sheet music available to download.

October 25, 2023 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Continually Advancing Music Series News Piano Trio Sheet Music

Double Stop Study No. 2

Patrick Neher’s latest double stop study for contrabass, Double Stop Study no. 2 is now available on the Premiere Pedagogy page and the double bass solos page. This work is intended as an etude but is well suited to performance. (Hear Patrick Neher performing) It is approx. 06:00 minutes in length, and utilizes the entire range of the double bass. It is an expressive work with lots of challenge, on par with college and professional players.

This composition is an elegy, dedicated to continuing the memory of the charismatic, compassionate and talented bassists, Robert Black and David Neubert. These lovely humans were taken from the bass world all too soon. They will be dearly missed.

June 13, 2023 by the isg team Composers double bass News Pedagogy Sheet Music Solo Music

Two Springtime Arias for basses

Patrick Neher’s new Two Springtime Arias for Two Contrabasses and Piano is now available on our contrabass in ensembles page. (be sure to scroll down the page to find it!)

This lyrical work, written in the spring of 2022, reflects on emotions of hope, sadness, joyfulness, frivolity, and curiousness. It is in two movements: “After Noon’s Lament” and “Reminiscence.” Performance time is just over 13 minutes. The composition is written for accomplished bassists of equal playing ability; amateurs and professionals. It is a good pedagogical piece as well but is designed for performance. The piano part requires a good command of the piano but is not terribly challenging – an accomplished student of accompanying will enjoy the expressive yet co-collaborative nature of the part.

Patrick Neher says; “Two Springtime Arias was written during the world-wide pandemic of Covid 19. When there was a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel, in the spring of 2022, I was inspired to compose an uplifting and challenging duet for basses, that expresses hope for a return to adventurousness; hope for a return to questing for knowledge (and shuttering of popular complacency). The duet is to be romantically interpreted with liberal tempo changes and rubato. While playing and working together, bassists will enjoy the comradship combined with feelings of accomplishment that they have created something meaningful… And they will have fun playing toegther!” ~PN, Dec. 2022

Audio Examples: Mvt.1 “After Noon’s Lament” and Mvt.2 “Reminiscence” both examples performed by Patrick Neher but are not intended to be the only “proper” interpretation. We’d like to hear Your Way!

Go to ISG’s contrabass in ensembles page to purchase.

April 23, 2023 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers double bass Duets News Pedagogy Sheet Music

Character Waltzes for Bass and Piano

ISG Publications announces the Second Edition of Patrick Neher’s Character Waltzes for Double Bass and Piano. This work, composed in 2014, is approximately 10-12 minutes and is four lyrical and short waltzes based on theatrical characters (there are “Izia”, “Marco”, “Frankie”, and “Josephine”).

The level of challenge is rated at 8 (out of 10) for the composition’s use of the entire range of the double bass and having challenge equal to a professional bassist’s ability. See a video performance, for more information, samples, and ordering information, please head over to our music for contrabass page. For more information on Patrick Neher and his compositions, please click here.

ISG Publications / ISG Music Promotions is dedicated to publishing, presenting, and promoting today’s composers of music for double bass, cello, strings, and other instruments in combinations and solos that provide challenge for the player and lyrical yet contemporary accessibility for audiences.

January 7, 2023 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers double bass News Sheet Music Solo Music

Sextet for Contrabassi

Neher – Merci François, Souviens-Toi! for six double bass players was released in 2018 but is now available in a Second Edition print. This lovely sextet was written for and performed by the faculty of the 2018 Rabbath Institute Los Angeles, organized by Cielito de Jesus (performance video link here – sorry it is from a cell phone so the audio is not high fidelity). It is an original composition of Patrick Neher based on an etude from Francois Rabbath’s Nouvelle Technique pour Contrebass (Leduc), in three lyrical sections, with the middle section being completely “free composed” with no references to the Rabbath etude, then returning to the referenced material to end the piece. This composition is a perfect piece to display the potentially sweet and lyrical qualities of double basses in ensemble. One of Patrick Neher’s formidable compositional skills is writing lyrical music for contrabasses in ensemble. Any level of performer(s) will enjoy this piece!

Be sure to see the video and order the music on the basses in ensembles page of ISG Publications.

August 30, 2022 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers double bass News Pedagogy Sextet Sheet Music

Swing Set for Contrabass (2021)

ISG Publications is please to announce the new release of Patrick Neher’s concert etude, Swing Set for Contrabass. As part of our Virtuoso Creation series and our Premiere Pedagogy series, these challenging set of four lyrical etudes can be performed as a short (about 07:00 minutes) concert solo, or can be part of your daily study to facilitate both your technique and musical interpretation skills. There are some “extended techniques” required of the piece, including some humming/singing in pitch.

Patrick Neher’s new piece, Swing Set for Contrabass, is a lyrical and dynamic solo work that can be a wonderful addition to any bass player’s library, but a professional level of performance is required.

Purchase Swing Set for Contrabass on our contrabass page or our pedagogy page.

June 8, 2022 by the isg team Composers double bass News Pedagogy Sheet Music Solo Music

Giampaolo Bracali – Soliloquy

Second Edition

ISG Publications is please to release the Second Edition of Giampaolo Bracali’s competition solo, Soliloquy. The late Maestro Bracali composed Soliloquy for the 2005 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition, and it was the required new music piece for the competition. Though played by numerous bassists at the time, it seems to have been forgotten. With this issuance, we’d like to remind bassists of this seminal work. It is mostly lyrical and utilizes the entire range of the bass. Though a tad challenging for most bassists, it is a great study piece as well as a deeply thoughtful concert work. The Second Edition is attractively covered and printed with good contrast for your music stand. A PDF version for tablets is also available.

Please see our Contrabass Solos page for more information and purchasing.

May 24, 2022 by the isg team Composers News Sheet Music Solo Music

Concerto in D for Viola and Contrabass

Written for and to honor the accomplished career of Scott Slapin, violist, ISG Publications is pleased to announce the New Release of Patrick Neher’s stunningly virtuosic, yet accessible, Concerto in D for Viola and Contrabass with String Orchestra (or Piano). This new concerto for a moderately rare combination of instruments (viola and contrabass duet), is now available in two versions: full orchestra score with soloists and string parts by rental or purchase, and solo parts with piano reduction (see either our viola repertory page or contrabass repertory page). Both the orchestra and piano versions come with a demo recording performed by Scott Slapin, viola, and Patrick Neher, contrabass, with the Bellingham Technical Orchestra strings backing them up.

The piece is playful and energetic with three moderately quick movements, totaling approx. 18 minutes. The level of playing ability required is definitely “Professional” but is a good goal for anyone studying to be a solo violist or bassist (The contrabass part is in regular orchestral tuning. The composer does not recommend solo tuning for this piece, as the harmonic series of the regular open strings is utilized to its potential). Mvt 1 demo. Mvt 2 demo. Mvt 3 demo.

The demo recording can be obtained, gratis, by making an inquiry via our contact page. It will be sent to you via reduced fidelity mp3. Or you can receive a full-fidelity CD in the mail (USA only).

A welcome piece to the viola and bass duet repertory, Patrick Neher’s Concerto in D is an adventurous but enjoyable and rewarding composition with innovative musical development; a truly lyrical modern composition.

May 14, 2022 by the isg team Composers Duets News Recordings Sheet Music String Orchestra With soloist

Character Suite for Contrabass and Piano

Patrick Neher – Character Suite for Contrabass and Piano, (or for Contrabass Solo, or for Contrabass with another bassist accompanying), is the latest title added to ISG Publications’ Premiere Pedagogy Series of innovative compositions for students and teachers.

Written for Cielito de Jesus and her students, this composition explores four “characters” and how to develop musical personality. The four movements can be performed individually or as a group and total approximately 10:00 minutes. The movement titles indicate the characteristics to develop: Foup and Twils (allegro moderato), Under Dripping Palms (andante), Plumb Foup (allegro), and G’mma’s Waltz (allegro). The solo bassist can perform in orchestral or solo tuning, as both piano parts and accompaniment bassist parts come with both tunings. Hear demonstration recordings of Character Suite on Patrick Neher’s personal web page (click the Book Two tab).

Bassists are encourage to study the pieces with a teacher, and the teacher can play the accompaniment bass part or the piano. But these pieces can also be rewarding to perform solo, with no accompaniment. This innovative way of making music provides potential for spontaneous creativity. In fact, the soloist could specify where he/she wants to be accompanied and by whom – the bassist or the pianist. Fun!

The level of skill required to play these pieces is in the moderate to advanced junior high or high school range, but college students and professionals alike will be challenged to be creative with the material. Thus, the four character tunes are oriented toward multi-skill level, they are listenable, and are especially fun to play!

Purchase Patrick Neher’s new Character Suite at our contrabass solos page.

May 7, 2022 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers double bass News Pedagogy Sheet Music Solo Music

New Release – Prokofieff Ballade op.15 for Contrabass and Piano

As part of our Virtuoso Performer Series, ISG Publications is please to release Serge Prokovieff’s spirited and contemporary Ballade, op. 15, recently edited and transcribed for contrabass by Patrick Neher. Ballade was originally composed for cello and piano, but the composition lays well on the contrabass and has many “bass-like” characteristics. Patrick Neher has always been inspired by Prokofieff’s music, and Ballade is one of those pieces that is “perfect for the bass,” so he edited and arranged the work for contrabass. This unique publication is an excellent vehicle for a bassist and pianist to explore a wide range of potential expression and emotions. Certainly a “tour de force” work for the pianist, the composition is also complex enough for the bassist to provide years of challenge!

Dedicated to Nikolai Pavlovich Ruzsky, Serge Prokofieff wrote Ballade for Cello and Piano in 1912, and yet it still sounds contemporary, as if written just yesterday! It has a freshness that is timeless. The work is especially challenging for pianists. Clearly Prokofieff’s technique of playing the piano is well on display in this piece, requiring substantial “extended” techniques that even the most accomplished pianists will have to develop to play the work’s emotional content as intended.

Ballade was first performed in Moscow, February 1914, by Prokofieff, with cellist, Yevsey Belousov. The first publication of the work was in 1915 by publisher, J. Jurgenson. This new edition comes with the piano score spiral bound and the contrabass part staple bound. A PDF version is in the works. Purchase the sheet music on ISG Publication’s contrabass solos page.

February 11, 2022 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Duets News Sheet Music Solo Music

After Every Man, second edition

Patrick Neher - After Every Man for Clarinet, Violin, Double Bass and Piano

Now Available is the Second Edition of Patrick Neher’s 2016 composition, AFTER EVERY MAN for clarinet, violin, contrabass, and piano. This six movement piece is subtitled “Theatrical Scenes” and is a 27 minute drama describing human emotional terraces. Any one movement can be performed separately but is intended to be together as a whole, dramatic performance. Via the composition, the composer attempts to musically describe and connect the audience with numerous states of deep contemplation and emotion that many humans go through in their life, from “contentment” to “absolution.” Influences of Shostokovich, Stravinsky, and jazz are apparent.

Patrick Neher says; “The piece announced itself, and I heard the themes in a very vivid dream that I had one night in the Spring of 2016. I awoke and wrote down the themes as fast as possible!”

The piece is available with full piano score, clarinet, violin and contrabass parts. See the Contrabass in Chamber Music page for purchase.

December 23, 2021 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Mixed Instruments or Voice News Quartet

NEW RELEASE: Affinità Ferrose – Michele Bernabei

The third composition in our new performance music series, Continually Advancing Music (CAM) is Affinità Ferosse for Piano Trio by young Italian composer Michele Bernabei. Affinitá ferrose is loosely translated into English as “an affinity for iron” or “magnetic attraction.” The music is energetic and very dynamic with challenge of a moderate nature for all instruments. Some “extended techniques” are used, but in general it is the interesting rhythms, dynamic range, pitch range, and counterpoint that the listener will find compelling and attractive (just like iron to a magnet)! The piece is not very long and the composer states that it’s drama fits well at the end of a contemporary music performance, as the finale or as an encore. ISG Publications is excited to publish the work as a wonderful new addition to the piano trio repertory.

Michele Bernabei is an accomplished jazz trumpet player and composer. He earned a BM in trumpet at the Conservatory “N.Paganini” of Genoa and an MM degree with full marks in jazz arranging and composition at the Conservatory “G. Verdi” of Turin, Italy. He studied composition at the Conservatory of Turin with Giorgio Colombo Taccani and in parallel at the “Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale” of Fiesole with Fabio Vacchi. At the same time he received the ABRSM diploma in String Orchestra Direction under the guidance of Fabrizio Dorsi. His compositional language is influenced both by jazz, improvised music, and the theater.

Purchase the SHEET MUSIC here.

April 26, 2021 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Continually Advancing Music Series News Piano Trio Sheet Music

NEW RELEASE: Jean Ahn – Froggy, Froggy for Piano Trio

Jean Ahn’s “Froggy, Froggy” for Piano Trio

The second new composition in our Continually Advancing Music Series; Froggy, Froggy for Piano Trio by Jean Ahn, promises to be an immensely popular piece for contemporary music concerts. Dr. Ahn was influenced by Korean folk lore and poetry, and brings the well-known “Froggy, Froggy …” to life in her 2009 composition adapted in 2013 for piano trio.

From an international call that resulted in more than 50 submissions, Jean Ahn is one of five composers that ISG Publications has chosen to highlight in our new series of chamber music publications, Continually Advancing Music.

Purchase the music on our sheet music sales web site, here.

January 21, 2020 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Continually Advancing Music Series News Piano Trio Sheet Music

NEW RELEASE – CAM Series: Donald Wheelock – String Trio

Wheelock String Trio (violin, viola, cello) – 2003/2019

Donald Wheelock presents his 2003 trio in a new revised edition (2019), prepared specifically for ISG Publication’s new series, Continually Advancing Music (CAM). This wonderful addition to the string trio repertory was written for the Forester Trio, and is a superb example of carefully crafted lyricism and counterpoint – following in the tradition of the great string trio composers, such as Beethoven. Listen to audio examples performed by the Forester Trio:
Mvt. 1, Mvt 2, Mvt. 3, Mvt. 4, Mvt. 5

This beautiful publication comes with a full-size (10×13″ pages), readable score and concert parts with intelligent page turns. PDFs (for reading on your tablet) are also available.

For professional musicians, and those aspiring to be, ISG Publications provides stunning and compelling concert repertory. Purchase this exclusive publication on our site:
LINK TO PURCHASE Full Sheet Music (link to viola page. Same on vln, and cello)
PDFs

October 17, 2019 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers Continually Advancing Music Series News Recordings Sheet Music String Trio

Sonatina #4 for Contrabass

Patrick Neher’s latest opus is Sonatina #4 for Contrabass and Piano. This lyrical but virtuosic work is about 24 minutes total and includes two movements: February (Moderato, rhapsodic and very lyrical) and March (Allegro vivace giocoso). Completed in January of 2019, the Sonatina was written for the Dixie State University bass festival (February, 2019), and is dedicated to composer and bass player, Frank Proto. See video example. Buy the sheet music here.

January 24, 2019 by the isg team Chamber Music Composers News Sheet Music Solo Music

Findeisen “Nixenreigen Fantasie”

Theodor Albin Findeisen (1881-1936) wrote Nixenreigen Fantasie, for double bass and piano, around 1910-1912, and the work is his Opus 9. Dr. Robert Matheson, bassist, composer, arranger, and professor has brought this and other works of Findeisen to light in his doctoral thesis. Dr. Matheson has chosen ISG Publications to disseminate Findeisen’s compositions, that have been out of print or were never published.

Findeisen’s music represents the only compositions for solo double bass from the early twentieth century’s compositional style akin to Richard Strauss or early Schoenberg. It is rich, full, romantic, and challenging, with full use of chromaticism and counterpoint.

“Nixenreigen” is based on a poem that tells of a musician’s walk home one night through the woods, when met by fairies frolicking about and dancing to his music. To have the double bass play the lead role in this story is quite a feat in itself. The entire range of the instrument is utilized in the composition, and even though the lyricism is beautiful, it is a wonderful technical challenge for any student or professional bassist.

ISG Publications is proud to present this newly published composition.

January 22, 2013 by the isg team Chamber Music News Sheet Music Solo Music