Romance for Contrabass and Orchestra, by Patrick Neher (2018) This short (7:30) vignette is not a difficult piece. Orchestra is small: One of each: oboe, bassoon, clarinet, trumpet, euphonium (or bass trombone), tuba, tympani, triangle, and a moderate strings section.
This piece is published in three additional formats:
~ for solo cello and orchestra.
~ for solo bass and small wind ensemble
~ for chamber orchestra alone (no soloist)
Go to our purchase site to rent or buy
New and hot-off-the-press, ISG Publications presents: Patrick Neher’s Symphony #2 “Cascade” (2016) in one movement. This 23 minute tour-de-force requires a rather large Classical orchestra with virtuosic players, particularly in the strings, wood winds and percussion.
A demo CD is available (gratis) as are study score, performance score and orchestral parts (rental or purchase).
“Symphony #2 ‘Cascade’ is a musical painting of mountainous environments, adventures and challenges. Imagine encounters of cascades of natural resources: water falls, of course, but also snow and rock slides, trees in large cascades of color, animals in large groups (herds, flocks) – cascading down mountain sides or traversing a meandering valley. My dreams while in these environments tend toward active movement; visions of falling debris, clouds, rain, hail, torrents of chemical reactions – catalyzed by sunshine and oxygen, myself falling from a high perch, piece-by-piece, yet soaring above cascades of wild flowers, striations of rock, glacier and lava flows.” – PN
Patrick Neher has just finished writing his first concerto for double bass. Concerto #1 “Pop” for Contrabass and Orchestra is three movements, playful, energetic, and “not too long” (12:00 minutes). It is contemporary sounding but very accessible on first hearing with catchy melodies. It is an exciting new piece for the double bass repertory!
Patrick Neher plays Concerto #1 “Pop” for Contrabass and Orchestra, with The Bellingham Technical Orchestra (3rd mvt.). Orchestrated for chamber orchestra (1,1,1,2,2; 1,1,1; tymp, perc,4,4,3,3,2) and solo contrabass, the sheet music, study score with solo part, performance score and parts can by purchased at ISG Publications.
A piano reduction is being created and will be released soon.
We asked Patrick why, in all his years of composing compositions with double bass, he never wrote a concerto: “I think it is because there are already so many concertos for double bass that really do a good job of showing off a player’s abilities. Before now, I didn’t think I had anything to contribute to the repertory. Now, I have a lot of ideas, and this will not be the only concerto for bass that I will write – promise!”
And why is it subtitled “Pop?” “Well, the second movement is an Elegy to my father who passed away a little more than a year ago. My Pop…. and the composition is very much in a sort-of Hollywood style!”
This new concerto is recommended for adept high-school and college players, as well as for professionals who want to apply their new techniques to a soon-to-be-popular piece!
See more compositions for double bass at ISG Publications