P. Hindemith’s Eight Pieces For Double Bass Solo: compositional and dramaturgical peculiarities

Abstract

Statement of the problem. The heritage of German composer Paul Hindemith significantly influenced the development of double bass art of the XX century. Yet, from the 1920s, the author of one of the most renowned chamber works with double bass of his time, the Sonata for Double Bass and Piano (1949), a composer, multi-instrumentalist, P. Hindemith actively involved the double bass in other works, both chamber and solo ones. The Eight Pieces for Double Bass Solo (1927) for a long time have not been the focus of attention of contemporary researchers or double bass players. However, one should not underestimate the fact that P. Hindemith turned to the double bass as an instrument capable of performing a solo work. P. Hindemith’s double bass works still receive insufficient attention from both foreign and domestic musicologists, although many aspects of the composer’s work are highlighted in the studies of E. Hartmann (2013), J. Haney (2008), D. Trippett (2007) and others. The most complete information about the Eight Pieces for Solo Double Bass is given in the Introduction by G. Schubert (1997) before the publication of these pieces, however, their analytical interpretation has not yet been the subject of special research. The purpose of our study is to identify the compositional and dramaturgical peculiarities of Hindemith’s Eight Pieces for Double Bass Solo and to determine their role in the development of the double bass “branch” in the composer’s work. The following scientific methods were used: historiographic approach to study the scientific sources devoted to P. Hindemith; structural-functional and textological approaches in analytical descriptions. As a result of the analysis it was concluded that the Eight Pieces for Double Bass Solo by P. Hindemith are unique as they are a vivid example of the composer’s search for non-standard solutions connected with choosing the solo instrument timbre and the cycle-making factors. From the 1920s, the timbre of the double bass solo in Hindemith’s works in most cases correlates with the semantic spheres of joke, parody, sarcasm or grotesque. Created for home performance with friends, Eight Pieces for Double Bass Solo present the parody direction in the composer’s work. The cycle was undoubtedly influenced by Gertrude Hindemith’s preferences and talents. Gifted not only as a singer, cellist and double bassist, but also as an actress, she played these pieces not only at private parties for friends, but also performed them on stage following all the “acting” remarks written in Hindemith’s manuscript. The Eight Pieces built by the principle of “the cycle in cycle”, and their dramaturgy is subjected not only to musical logic, but also to numerous nonmusical factors (reflected in the remarks, graphics, etc.), which determined the theatrical nature of the work. After a real flourish of Hindemith’s chamber and instrumental work in the 1920s, the composer focused mainly on symphonic genres. However, his interest in double bass didn’t exhaust itself. After many years of active work in the symphony genre, P. Hindemith again turned to it as a solo instrument in the Sonata for Double Bass and Piano – the peak of the evolution of this instrument in his music. However, the formation of the sound image of the solo double bass in the composer’s was gradual since the 1920s. The Eight Pieces for Double Bass Solo, which were an important step on this path, despite being intended for home music, laid not only the foundations of a sound image of the double bass, but also the aesthetic basis of the instrumental theater.