Bottesini: Fantasia on Bellini's La sonnambula

Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) is frequently compared to Paganini, and not without good reason: both were charismatic musical personalities who captivated the public wherever they appeared, and both revolutionised the playing techniques of their respective instruments. Bottesini introduced the solo bass strung with only three strings and tuned a whole-tone higher than usual in order to attain a more brilliant and sustainable sound. This musician, already a legend in his own time, not only performed as a travelling virtuoso on the stages of the world but also as a celebrated operatic conductor and composer. It is therefore no wonder that Italian opera also strongly influenced his compositional production.

The double bassist Alberto Lo Gatto recorded his CD with the programmatic title 'Belcanto' with an Italian bass built during the19th century, played in so-called solo tuning, and his accompanist Luca Antoniotti also plays an historic instrument, an Érard grand piano built in 1871. They interpret variations and fantasias based on arias of Bellini and Paisiello in which Bottesini sounds out the entire spectrum of the double bass, from lyrical expressiveness to breakneck virtuosity.

Moreover, we can also hear the soprano Emanuela Galli, who sings some of the opera themes in their original versions and interprets the well-known romance 'Une bouche aimée'.

Recorded in 1994

Born in Crema, northern Italy, in 1821, Bottesini was not only a leading double bass player and conductor, but also a successful composer whose prolific output included at least ten operas as well as numerous sacred and orchestral works. His popularity today, however, is largely due to the extensive range of pieces he wrote – both concerti and solo – for the double bass. Fundamental to the instrument’s repertoire, these works have been widely published and even feature in the syllabuses of examining boards and conservatoires around the world.

Dubbed the ‘Paganini’ of the double bass, Bottesini effectively exploited the technical possibilities of the instrument, thus furthering its history. His ability to understand its idiosyncrasies resulted in idiomatic writing that, combined with his passion for opera, is extremely lyrical – as evident in this recording, which perfectly encapsulates the variety and style found within his works for double bass and piano. The disc features, among others, popular arias by Bellini and Paisiello which contain wide-ranging cadenza-like passages that demand mastery of the fingerboard and phenomenal bow control: here we encounter Bottesini the showman, and are exposed to the ‘bel canto’ style that was such an intrinsic part of opera at that time.

Performed by the talented Stefano Sciascia and David Giovanni Leonardi, this is a feast of virtuosic display not to be missed, and reveals how the double bass – an instrument not generally associated with solo repertoire – is capable of holding its own, and to great effect.

New booklet note by the double bassist and scholar Fiona M. Palmer.

Giovanni Bottesini, an accomplished and respected conductor, also enjoyed a globe-trotting career as “the Paganini of the double bass”.

For this recording manuscript sources have been used for his Fantasia on Bellini’s La sonnambula, Variations on Nel cor più non mi sento from Paisiello’s La molinara, arrangements of famous works such as Chopin’s Étude in C sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 7, the Air from Bach’s third Orchestral Suite and other pieces.

Volumes 1–3 of this series are available on 8570397, 8570398 and 8570399.

“Thomas Martin’s comprehensive… survey of Bottesini’s hair-raising bravura works for double bass reaches Volume 4 with these impressive performances. Highly recommended.” BBC Music Magazine on the disc’s original release