MAHLER | Adagietto from 5th Symphony (originally for strings and harp) | instrumentation for viola, double bass and piano
FILE FORMAT: PDF | 600 dpi (27 pages)
RELEASE: final
INCLUDED PARTS: Piano (score), viola, double bass (also violoncello as an experimental part)
TUNING OF DOUBLE BASS: cGDA (this release includes also untested, experimental parts for GDAE, AEBF# and dAEA)
SOURCE: Composer's autograph, handwritten score from 1903 was used as a source and reference for this chamber music instrumentation. The score is kept today in the archives of The Morgan Library & Museum, New York (Record ID: 115214, accession number: Cary 509) and now it can be browsed online. This instrumentation adheres meticulously to the notation from the autograph, which is why some details that were later changed in the revised orchestral scores are not reflected here. A much more delicate, intimate dynamic portrayal of the Adagietto from the autograph was the preferred basis for this chamber music instrumentation. The "New Edition", which is today usually performed by the symphony orchestras, contains final revisions made by Mahler in 1911.
EXPERIMENTAL PARTS: Since the beginning of the work on this instrumentation, besides viola and piano, the only sound in my mind was that of a double bass in high C tuning, and I think that the specific sound of this natural baritone string instrument crept into the tonal concept and influenced the course of the instrumentation. All other added parts are purely experimental and neither tested nor thought through.
Although instinctively I think that, depending on the specific instrument, the violoncello might sound a little too sharp in combination with the viola and too thin in the lower registers, perhaps sensitive musicians could achieve good sonic results in this combination.
When it comes to other double bass tunings (GDAE, AEBF#, dAEA), it might be worth trying in high D tuning rather than with the popular low tunings, as these might sound a bit too muddy and the whole passages of the Adagietto might have to play an octave lower, as otherwise out of reach. Double bass in the lower octave in such passages did not sound convincing in the notation software, but I would like to emphasise once again that I have not yet heard these tunings in the realistic situation with viola and piano.
Listen now on YouTube how this instrumentation sounds:
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