Per questa bella mano, K. 612
For bass soloist and obbligato double bass with 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in D, and strings
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
This late aria of Mozart features the unique combination of bass voice and double bass obbligato and orchestra. It was written in March of 1791, just before Mozart began work on The Magic Flute, and both of the soloists in this aria took part in the premiere of that opera. Franz Xaver Gerl, the bass soloist, sang the role of Sarastro in The Magic Flute, and Friedrich Pischelberger, the double bass soloist, played principal bass in the orchestra for the opera. Knowing both men to be virtuosi, Mozart gave them considerable musical gymnastics in their duo aria.
The solo part for the double bass is famously difficult, and it is made even more so by the fact that string basses today are tuned differently from the way that they were tuned in Mozart's Vienna. As a result, the notes do not lie in the same places on the instrument as they would have for Mozart's bass player, necessitating huge jumps and awkward positions for a modern player's left hand. Using an older Viennese tuning, something which a few modern players have done, can make the part feel somewhat more idiomatic and technically less awkward, although it is still by no means easy. It also makes the instrument resonate with a sound closer to what Mozart would have heard.
Boston Baroque Performances
Per questa bella mano, K. 612
May 1 & 2, 2009
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Kevin Deas, bass-baritone
Deborah Dunham, double bass