List of Compositions Featuring the Double Bass

This page lists IMSLP entries which feature the Double bass.

Double Bass Solo

• 12 Waltzes by Domenico Dragonetti
• Monolog za kontrabas solo by Anđelko Klobučar
• Westbeth Capriccio by Pawel Andrzej Knapik
• Bass Solo by Ashlin Tyler Gibson
• Jazzy Suite by Salvador Martínez García
• Double Bass Sonatina, PVM 18, by Vazel Merenzeine
• Andante for Double Bass, Op.186, by Cyril Plante
• Préludes for Double Bass solo, Op.145, by Cyril Plante
• Las Antaras de Celso, by Daniel Cueto

Methods and Studies

• Dragonetti: 5 Studies for Double Bass
• Bottesini: Grande méthode complète de contrebasse
• Simandl: New Method for the Double Bass
• Nanny: 20 Études de virtuosité
• Warnecke: Ad Infinitum (history of the double bass)

Double Bass and Piano

• Bottesini
  • Elegy and Tarantella
  • Reverie
• Rossini: Péchés de vieillesse (Une Larme; see Henle)
• Glière
  • 2 Morceaux pour contrebasse et piano, Op.9
  • 2 Pièces pour contrebasse et piano, Op.32
• Fuchs
  • 3 Pieces for Double Bass and Piano, Op.96
  • Double Bass Sonata, Op.97
• Hindemith: Double Bass Sonata
• Chapuis: Choral
• Koussevitzky: Chanson triste, Op.2
• Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux (the elephant)
• Caimmi: Souvenir d'Amour
• Gouffé: Fantaisie, Op.14
• Hegner
  • Elégie
  • Fantasi über ein Lied von Franz Abt
  • Mazurka de concert
  • 3 Morceaux pour contrebasse

Concertos for Double Bass and Orchestra

Quick links: Dragonetti, Koussevitzky, Bottesini, Dittersdorf

See also: For double bass, strings

Classical

Viennese Concertos

These works are written for a historical tuning in thirds and fourths.

• Vanhal: Double Bass Concerto in E-flat major
• Dittersdorf
  • Double Bass Concerto No.1 in E-flat major, Kr.171
  • Double Bass Concerto No.2 in E-flat major, Kr.172
• Hoffmeister
  • Double Bass Concerto No.1 in E-flat major
  • Double Bass Concerto No.3 in E-flat major
• Pichl
  • Double Bass Concerto No.1 in D major
  • Double Bass Concerto No.2 in D major
• Zimmermann: Double Bass Concerto in D major
• Kohaut: Double Bass Concerto in D major (arguably in baroque style)

With other soloists

• Kozeluch: Quadruple Concerto in E-flat major, P II:1
• Dittersdorf: Symphony Concertante in D major, Kr.127
• Sperger: Concertino for Flute, Viola and Double Bass in D major, M.B.27
• Mozart
  • Serenade in D major, K.239
  • Per questa bella mano, K.612
• Sperger
  • A trionfar mi chiama
  • Al furor d'avversa sorte

Not yet available

• Sperger: Eighteen concertos
• Hoffmeister: One more concerto
• D. J. Kneissel: One concerto (unpublished)
• B. R. Roslaub: One concerto (unpublished)
• Haydn: One concerto, Hob.VIIc:1 (lost)
  • Only the first two bars of the solo remain, from the 1765 catalogue:

Other

• Dragonetti
  • Double Bass Concerto in G major, Op.1
  • Double Bass Concerto No.6 in D major
• Keyper: Romance and Rondò for Double Bass and Orchestra
  • See also: 7 Double Bass Concertos
• Capuzzi: Double Bass Concerto
• Cimador: Double Bass Concerto
• Anonymous: Double Bass Concerto in G major

Romantic

• Bottesini
  • Double Bass Concerto No.1 in F-sharp minor
  • Double Bass Concerto No.2 in B minor
  • Gran Duo Concertante
• Scontrino: Double Bass Concerto (highly acclaimed, but unpublished in its original form, and never recorded)
• Černý: Double Bass Concerto No.2

Modern

• Koussevitzky: Double Bass Concerto, Op.3
• Nanny
  • Double Bass Concerto in A major (the "Dragonetti"; orchestral arrangement probably came later)
  • Double Bass Concerto in E minor
• Ōzawa: Double Bass Concerto, Op.22
• Findeisen
  • Double Bass Concerto No.1, Op.15
  • Double Bass Concerto No.2, Op.25

Chamber music featuring the Double Bass

Duos

• Geier: Sonata for Viola d'amore and Double Bass, Op.27
• Dragonetti: Duet for Cello and Contrabass
• Rossini: Duet for Cello and Double Bass in D major
• Dittersdorf: Duetto for Viola and Violone, Kr.219
• Sperger: Duet for Viola and Double Bass
• Roussel: Duo, L.35 (with bassoon)
• Elgar: Duet for Trombone and Double Bass

Duos with piano accompaniment

• Novello: Thy Mighty Power
• Bottesini
  • Tutto che il mondo serra
  • Une bouche aimée
  • Duet for Clarinet and Double Bass
• Molbe: Angelus, Op.70
• Lotter: Darby and Joan (also with strings)

For ensembles of double basses

• Bottesini: Gran Duetto No.2 for 2 Double Basses
• Verrimst: Variations on Au Clair de la Lune for 3 Double Basses
• Lewalter: Klezmer Fantasy (for double bass quartet)

String ensembles

String quintets: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass

• Dvořák: String Quintet No.2, Op.77
• Boccherini: 3 String Quintets, G.337-339 (Op.39)
• Farrenc: Nonet, Op.38 (composer's arrangement)
• Eybler: String Quintet in D major (Viennese classical, with an independent bass part)
• Bottesini: String Quintet in C minor
• David: Les quatre saisons
• Onslow: at least 11 string quintets were first published with a double bass part, sometimes as the default, otherwise provided as an option instead of the second cello
  

String sextet: two violas and one cello

String sextet: one viola and two cellos

• Suter: String Sextet, Op.18
• Dobrzyński: String Sextet, Op.39

String octet: one cello and one double bass

• Bruch: Octet

Other

• Rossini: 6 Sonate a quattro (for 2 violins, cello and double bass)
• Wilm: String Nonet, Op.150
• Molbe: Septet, Op.43
• Eybler:
  • Quintets for violin, 2 violas, cello and double bass
    • String Quintet, Op.6 No.1
    • String Quintet, Op.6 No.2
  • Quintets for viola d'amore (or 2 violas), violin, viola, cello and double bass
    • Viola d'Amore Quintet No.1
    • Viola d'Amore Quintet No.2
• Schuberth: String Quintet No.2 'Fantaisie Concertante', Op.19
• Dragonetti: Quintets for solo double bass, violin, 2 violas and basso (e.g. Add MS 17726)
• Patouart: 6 Cello Sonatas, Op.2 (No.6, with a figured "ContraBasso" part)
• Brzowski: Septuor (the precise instrumentation is unclear)
• Anonymous ("Kirsten"): Partie a Tre (baroque trio for low strings; double bass is doubtful)
• Gibbons: Renaissance viol music featuring the "Great Dooble Base"
  • Fantasias for 3 Viols
  • Galliard for 3 Viols
• Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli: Quartetto pel Miserere
• Georg Christoph Wagenseil: Suite in C major for 3 Cellos and Bass

Viennese Classical

"Violone" in this period invariably refers to a contrabass instrument; "Basso" is ambiguous and may refer to a group of instruments

• Hoffmeister: Quartetto for Contrabbasso Obbligato
• Vanhal: Divertimento in G major, W.VIb:13 (for violin, viola and cello or violone)
• Michael Haydn
  • Divertimento in C major, MH 27
  • Divertimento in E-flat major, MH 9
• Works with a lower part named "Basso"

Strings and Piano

See: The Silvertrust guide to piano quintets and sextets

Piano quintets

• Dussek: Piano Quintet, Op.41 (the first successful piano quintet)
• Hummel: Piano Quintet, Op.87
• Ries: Piano Quintet, Op.74
• Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D.667 "The Trout"
• Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in C minor
• Labor: Piano Quintet, Op.3 (the double bass is independent and often solo)

Piano sextets: +1 viola

• Mendelssohn: Piano Sextet, Op.110

Piano sextets: +1 violin

• Glinka: Grand Sextet
• Onslow: Piano Sextet, Op.77b (composer's arrangement)

Other

• Martin de Villers: Piano Quartet, Op.posth
• Potter: Concertante on La Follia

Wind Ensembles

• Mozart: Serenade in B-flat major, K.361/370a "Gran Partita"
• Sperger: Divertimento in D major, M.C IV:6
• Neukomm: Septuor Concertant
• Rosetti
  • Partita in F major, M.B18
  • Partita in F major, M.B21
• Varèse: Octandre
• Dvořák: Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op.44 (includes cello)
• Nielsen: Serenata in vano, CNW 69 (includes cello)
• Brauer: Pan

Also including a piano

• Boisdeffre: Septet, Op.49
• Kalkbrenner: Septet, Op.132 (includes cello)
• Ries: Sextet, Op.142 (as sextet)
• Onslow
  • Sextet, Op.30
  • Septet, Op.79a
  • Piano Sextet, Op.77b (composer's arrangement)

Strings and Winds

Septets: clarinet, bassoon, horn, string trio, double bass

• Beethoven: Septet in E-flat major, Op.20
• Blanc: Septuor, Op.40

Octets: clarinet, bassoon, horn, string quartet, double bass

• Schubert: Octet in F major, D.803
• Witt: Septet

Nonets: wind quintet, string trio, double bass

• Spohr: Nonet, Op.31
• Farrenc: Nonet, Op.38
• Onslow: Nonet, Op.77
• Rheinberger: Nonet, Op.139
• Martinů: Nonet No.2, H.374

Decets: wind quintet, string quintet

• Helsted: Decet, Op.18
• Dubois: Decet

Other combinations

Due to wildly varying instrumentations, this section aims to be complete.

• Boccherini: Sextet in E-flat major, G.467 (without cello)
• Walckiers: Flute Quintet, Op.90
• Massonneau: Quartet for English Bass Horn
• Pleyel
  • Septet in E-flat major, B.251
  • Nocturne in D major, B.201A (composer's arrangement}}
• Beethoven: Sextet in E-flat major, Op.81b; the first printed edition gives the cello part as "Violoncello e Basso" with solo passages for both; see Henle for a discussion and YouTube for an example.
• Spohr: Octet, Op.32
• Prokofiev: Quintet, Op.39
• Hindemith: Octet
• Hauff: Nonet (with 2nd violin instead of flute)
• Molbe: works with English horn instead of oboe
  • Octet, Op.47
  • Nonett, Op.61
  • Decett, Op.124
  • Serenata, Op.46 (basset horn instead of clarinet)
  • Grüne Klänge, Op.141
• Dubois: Nonet
• Naumann: Serenate, Op.10
• Schulhoff: Concertino (for flute, viola and double bass)
• Michael Haydn: works with a "Violone" part
  • Divertimento in D major, MH 173 (for horn, viola and violone)
  • Divertimento in C major, MH 179 (for oboe or flute, viola and violone)
  • Divertimento in G major, MH 518 (for oboe, bassoon, 2 horns, violin, viola and violone)
  • Quartet for English horn, Violin, Cello and Bass, MH 600
• Poulenc: Le gendarme incompris (suite), FP 20b

Also including a piano

• Hummel
  • Septet No.1, Op.74
  • Septet No.2, Op.114
• Czerny: Nonet
• Moscheles: Grand septuor, Op.88
• Potter: Sextet in E-flat major (includes solos for Dragonetti)
• Blanc: Septet, Op.54
• Saint-Saëns: Septet, Op.65
• Rubinstein: Octet, Op.9
• Dolmetsch: Piano Octet, Op.27
• Coleridge-Taylor: Nonet, Op.2
• Hindemith
  • Anekdoten für Radio
  • Der Dämon, Op.28
• Krogulski: Octet, Op.6
• Ries
  • Quintet or Septet, Op.25 (as septet)
  • Ottetto, Op.128
• Kalkbrenner: Grand Quintetto, Op.81
• Alexander Fesca: Septet No.1, Op.26
• Pfitzner: Sextet, Op.55
• Osborne: Sextet, Op.63

Transcriptions

• Eccles: Violin Sonata in G minor
• Rossini: Péchés de vieillesse (une Larme)
• Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata, D.821
• Goens: Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op.12 (No.2: Scherzo)
• Monti: Csárdás
• Paganini: Moto Perpetuo, Op.11

Orchestral parts

Orchestral works with double bass solos

• Telemann: Grillen-Symphonie, TWV 50:1
• Novello: Rosalba (Sestetto)
• Haydn
  In some editions of Haydn's symphonies, the bass solos have been given to the cello instead (more info).
  • Symphony No.6 in D major, Hob.I:6
    Intact in Herzmansky (1965), but Landon (1965) spuriously gives the second part of the solo to the cello; this is adopted by Stringer (2009).
  • Symphony No.7 in C major, Hob.I:7
    The bass solo is given to the cello in Praetorious (n.d.) but intact in Landon (1965).
  • Symphony No.8 in G major, Hob.I:8
    The bass solo is intact in Landon (1965).
  • Symphony No.31 in D major, Hob.I:31
    The bass solo was given to the cello by Mandyczewski (1907), but restored by Landon (1964).
  • Symphony No.45 in F-sharp minor, Hob.I:45
    Surprisingly, all editions leave the bass solo intact.
  • Symphony No.72 in D major, Hob.I:72
    The bass solo is intact in Landon (1964) and Paulsson (2011).
• Mahler: Symphony No.1 (the "Frère Jacques" solo)
• Verdi: Otello (Act 4)
• Lotter: The Ragtime Bassplayer (the entire double bass section as soloists)

Continuo parts

Bach, Johann Sebastian

• Cantata BWV 164 Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet

Charpentier, Marc-Antoine

• Concert pour quatre parties de violes

Vivaldi, Antonio

• L'Estro Armonico, Op.3

Combined Cello and Double Bass parts

Beethoven, Ludwig van

• Egmont Overture, Op.82
• Symphony No.1
• Symphony No.2
• Symphony No.3
• Symphony No.4
• Symphony No.5
• Symphony No.6
• Symphony No.7
• Symphony No.8
• Symphony No.9

Dvořák, Antonín

• My Homeland
• Slavonic Dances, Op.46

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

• Requiem
• Symphony No.41

Franck, César

• Symphony in D minor

d'Indy, Vincent

• Symphonie sur un Chant Montagnard Français, Op.25

Mendelssohn, Felix

• Elijah
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Symphony No.1
• Symphony No.2
• Symphony No.3
• Symphony No.4
• Symphony No.5
• Violin Concerto

Schumann, Robert

• Symphony No.2

Individual Double Bass parts

Andersen, Carl Joachim

• Pirun Polska, Op.49

Bizet, Georges

• Symphony in C major

Beethoven, Ludwig van

• Piano Concerto No.1
• Piano Concerto No.2
• Piano Concerto No.3
• Piano Concerto No.4
• Piano Concerto No.5

Liszt, Franz

• Piano Concerto No.2

Mendelssohn, Felix

• The Hebrides, Op.26

Strauss Jr., Johann

• The Blue Danube

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr

• Swan Lake (suite), Op.20a
• Violin Cocerto, Op.35

Parks, Young

• Shower of Blessing