Christopher Ira Boyder

The Three-String Double Bass by Christopher Boyder. Christopher Ira Boyder

So finally here it is! A definitive handbook to ALL your questions about rare (gut/silk) three-string double basses. Where do they come from? Who made them? Who played them? How much are they worth? Should you go ahead and restore? How should you play one? What is their relevance in today's modern age?The gut three-string double bass first appeared in the late 18th century. They were distinctly different to other "bass" role instruments at their time. The size dimensions of the three-string instrument resembled what appears in the modern day full size 3/4 and 4/4 orchestral instruments. This book will give descriptive information about makers of the three-string double bass. It will provide an explanation regarding its pivotal role in promoting and establishing the standardized orchestral double bass and it will discuss the soloists, repertoire and composers of the instrument. The gut three-string double bass is usually considered to be a rare piece of antiquity, the original instrument that solo double bassists performed on. It is henceforth suggested that these pioneering soloists were responsible in creating the turning point for the resemblance of what we have come to see and hear in the modern double basses. Finally, this book will provide advice on treatises and methods for Baroque/Classical ensemble and string performers regarding correct period performance practice and technique. A composer's influences regarding period sonorities will be briefly mentioned. The gut three-string double bass had an extremely brief circulation in history! This book can also be seen as an introduction and an equally rare historical description of one of the "last rare relicts" of an instrument that may have otherwise "sneaked" its way past historical records completely...