Gracious Muse for Double Bass by Armand Russell

This short one-movement work is aimed at the good intermediate bassist and can also be performed with string orchestra (or quintet) accompaniment. It remains in bass clef throughout and is in a lyrical idiom but witha modern touch, which is still accessible and enjoyable. Evocative and expressive, there are simple musical and technical challenges for the intermediate bassist and this can be performed as the first movement of a four-movement string suite - each with a different string instrument - or independently. Armand Russell has composed many works for double bass over a 50 year career and the works continue to flow. Performance Level: 8. Armand Russell was born in Seattle, Washington in 1932. He received the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Washington, with a major in music composition, and a Doctorate in music composition from the Eastman School of Music. He studied double bass with Leslie Martin, who played in the Seattle Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestras, and at the Eastman School of Music with Oscar Zimmerman. His composition studies were with John Verrall and George McKay at the University of Washington, and with Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson at theEastman School. Professionally, Armand Russell played double bass in m any orchestras including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Tour Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic and Civic Orchestras, and Honolulu Symphony. For five years he taught as a visiting Professor at the EastmanSchool of Music. From 1961 to 1994 he taught at the University of Hawai i Music Department and retired as Professor emeritus in 1994. While at the University of Hawaii he taught music theory, composition and double bass and also served as Chair of the Music Department for seven years. Armand Russell has composed many works for double bass and also percussion, including solos, chamber music and concertos. Some of his most frequently performed works include Chaconne (Db/Pno), Buffo Set (Db/Pno), Harlequin Concerto (Db/Orch), Pas de Deux (Cl/Perc), Percussion Suite, Theme& Fantasia (Concert Band) and Suite Concertante (Tuba/Wind Quintet). He has also composed several works for choirs in recent years and has cont inued to write for the double bass alongside a growing body of chamber music and transcriptions. Armand Russell's compositional style is confident and direct with a clarity of line and texture always to the fore. A modern, yet lyrical and accessible style, has created works which communicate equally to performers and audiences alike and he has made, and continues to make, a unique and valuable contribution to the double bass litereature throughout a long and successful career. Recital Music is planning a celebration of Armand Russell's music at Bass-Fest in 2012 to celebrate the composers 80th birthday. The Gracious Muse Composer: Armand Russell Publisher: Recital Music Instrument: Double Bass