THE LORD OF THE BASSES

Filmed during the recording session for the CD "The Lord of the Basses" featuring Bottesini's magnificent Testore instrument

[@brunomaiamusician]

It must have been quite an experience, that you shared with all of us. That is so inspiring. Maestro, everytime I watch this video, and the things you said about that instrument I get emotional, and there are tears my eyes. Thank you Maestro.

[@bassocat]

Thank you so much for your very kind words and for watching this!

[@noahses]

Amazing! Thank you so much!

[@nellind1]

Very interesting! It's quite amazing how the things I love are combined in one video: Japan, music, double bass...

[@ilbasso74]

There needs to be a recital done in Venice with this bass, the Dragonetti Gasparo and the Karr/Koussevitzky bass. Just to see the three of those together would be historic.

[@bassocat]

ilbasso74 would love that very much 😊

[@hernanpodesta1353]

Thanks very much and congratulations to everyone that has worked on it !,what an experience and performance!! Thanks catalin ! I'm sure you inspired beautifully to get the real botessini sound!

[@TheNinjashadow123]

Such a great video

[@angelchavez708]

Catalin this is a fantastic proyect finally bottesini music on his bass and thanks for playing Allegro alla chopin :) my favorite one. Hope see you soon friend.

[@sophelet]

BRAVO Catalin! I watched this a couple of times and remain amazed. (Kirin Nielsen)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Catalin Rotaru Bottesini was known for playing Melodies on the Bass even up an Octave using Harmonics found near the other end of the fingerboard. Bottesini was known as the Paganini of Double Bass & he used a French Bow which is held the same way as a Violin.

[@barronweir123]

the sound quality and video quality is great

[@VitoLiuzzi]

stellar!!!

[@cookscatapults]

That was Great....

[@VitoLiuzzi]

THIS IS THE CD of THE YEAR !!!

[@Ricardius-QC6]

When I can buy?

[@KaraCamilleDelonas]

Great video! Thank you for sharing!

[@bassocat]

glad you like it, thanks for watching :-)

[@veronixcabo5651]

You did a Great job! I can just imagin the feeling to play bottesini's doublebass !! The recording is also Amazing!

[@bassocat]

Thank you for your kind words! It was indeed, a truly magical experience!

[@bulziantica]

Grandissimo❤ Sauro.

[@prazersinfronteras7765]

What a great video, thanks for sharing it cat!!! Really exciting

[@bassocat]

thanks Leonardo! The other CD with you guys is coming soon ;-)

[@izziOnBass]

What a great video! The only thing I can say is if you could have shown the details and more visuals of the Bottesini's bass would have been fantastic! this is gold! thanks for the video

[@theodorewhite164]

I wish I could take a master class with you when you are in NY.

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

Catalin this is amazing, congratulations!! you are without saying, very deserving of this. I thought his bass had only three strings. Thank you for this gift, as i'd love to buy this cd!

[@bassocat]

Kevin Johnson glad you like it.... Well, it can be played with either 3 or 4 strings

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

intriguing..thanks for the answer..Very well done!!

[@marcoagnetti5723]

This is an amazing project!!!! Congratulations to Catalin Rotaru, Wan-ting Yu, Hiroyuki Tokutaka, Sigeki Okubo, Philip Suzuki, Carlo Antonio Testore and Giovanni Bottesini... Well done guys! :)

[@bassocat]

thanks a lot Marco 😀

[@bassocat]

Many thanks!!! :-)

[@nemo227]

Wish I could have been there.

[@lingling8047]

You again :D I see you everywhere

[@nemo227]

@@lingling8047 Not me; it must have been my evil twin. I've been in stealth mode since 1956 :-/

[@lingling8047]

@@nemo227 oh

[@nemo227]

@@lingling8047 Do you play bass and piano?

[@lingling8047]

@@nemo227 yes how did you know?

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Catalin Rotaru You play pretty good Bass, well I play the Bass too.

[@Chillnugget]

Hi Catalin! Cant wait to meet you this week at Bass Jam!

[@bassocat]

see you soon :-)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

6:55 Tuning up

[@danielmatthewes1346]

What a great video! Thank you Catalin! When you will publish the CD? I really want to hear this great Bottesini-Bass!

[@bassocat]

Daniel Matthewes thanks, I'm glad you like it. I will post on Facebook the link to the CD in a few days

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Catalin Rotaru That Bass belonged to the Bassist Bottesini who was the Paganini of Double Bass.

[@gregoryf4186]

Nah, Paganini was the bottesini of violin

[@alanlewine2]

Such an incredible story and recording. I visited Cienfuegos in Cuba in January 2020 for a couple concerts. Bottesini lived and worked there for a time, but I could could find no one there who remembered his story today, except the city librarian, who knew of him but not much about him. Wonderful video and recording. Took me too long to know of this. Makes me wonder about the story of the instrument...What hands has it passed through? When was it converted to a four string? Catalin, did you consider gut strings in the style of the 19th century for this project (was that even an option with the instrument's owner?)? Again - magnificent. Wonderful timbre. Thank you!

[@bassocat]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! No gut strings though.... I was grateful to the owner for the invitation and for giving me this fantastic opportunity. Happy holidays!

[@alanlewine2]

@@bassocat Thanks to you. I live in Phoenix now and look forward to getting better acquainted, maestro.

[@brunomaiamusician]

Hiroyuki sensei , hajime mashite, Dozo yorishiku. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to hear this legendary instrument. I would like to learn more about this bass. I imagine that this bass got unconverted back to 4 strings, right? I read that it was originally a 4 string. Maestro Bottesini must have removed one peg, replaced or readjusted the bridge and top nut, but that was about it, right? It was a 4 string before Bottesini found it at the back of a theater backstage, right? So the legend tells us. How about the bass bar? Did it get replaced to support modern higher tension strings? Many instruments of the gut string period had to be adapted to nowadays strings. I tried to guess which strings were being used by looking the tailpiece silk color codes of the strings. Are those Pirastro Flexocor high A and E, and the low B and F# are Spirocores? Those solo steel strings would be too much tension for an original bassbar, one would imagine. Have you tried the Eudoxa or Olive sets, as well? I am curious to hear the sound of guts, and those Bottesini concertos played on gut strings. That would take this experience to another level, don't you think? Given that the room temperature would be more controlled, anyway. Domo arigato gozai masu, ne!

[@bassocat]

Testore made this bass originally with 4 strings. The bass bar is the original one, in fact, everything is original except the bridge. And yes, you are right about the types of strings are used. I haven't tried other types of strings and it would have been difficult to do that since the recording took place at the owner's house. It is a very big instrument!!! and it would be pretty uncomfortable to play for many bass players, unless they are very tall and have long arms. Best wishes!

[@albeyonbass655]

when was Bottesini's bass turned into a 4 string?

[@asadawson3568]

What was the piece played during the credits called?

[@bassocat]

if you're talking about the last piece, that is "Allegretto Capriccio - A La Chopin" and of course, it is on the actual CD :-)

[@gregoryf4186]

@@bassocat I love that piece, I think dr morton has a version of it with a string quartet

[@thepandemicfiles9331]

Very cool! Now where can I get the CD? -C. P. Kaestner Author and Artist

[@bassocat]

Thank you so much for watching! Just Google it online because I'm sure many people uploaded it already..... If not, for sure it will be here: www.soundset.com/album/SR1094

[@alessiocampanozzi8402]

Thank you for this amazing document! Can't wait to listen to the recording. I was wondering, did you have the chance to mount the bass in Bottesini's manner (gut B E A)? It would be really memorable to hear that as well!

[@bassocat]

I'm happy you like it!!! It was an amazing experience. I used Bottesini's solo tuning but the bass already had 4 strings and I only had a couple of days to get used to the instrument before the recording. So A E B F#. Another interesting fact, was that everything except the bridge, was original.... Made by Testore in 1716 😊

[@alessiocampanozzi8402]

Yes I know, my teacher went to Japan last year and had the chance to play it, he told me about it, but unfortunately no filming or recording though. Thank you again for this document!

[@johnjacobs1625]

Leland Sklar pointed my in this direction, and I am so thankful. Great music Catalin!! And such a beautiful bass. Question for you. What do you think of 2 cellos, the group? Thanks. JJ

[@bassocat]

They are great musicians!!!

[@johnjacobs1625]

@@bassocat BINGO! We saw them in Hershey last year. Great show. Both classic and rock. JJ

[@santicruz4012]

Beautiful indeed! One question, Mr. Rotaru. Are you going to record using only 3 strings as well?

[@bassocat]

no, the owner had the bass already setup with 4 strings, normal solo tuning :-) anyway, I was honored and happy to do it in any conditions!

[@petersams5054]

I have a student double bass in repair right now thats from 1820-1850's, unknown maker. Part of me wants to make it a 3 string. I probably won't but for a real solo instrument a 3 string will sound different. Not as choked with the weight of the E string on the top.

[@Joeh1154]

Fascinating! I spent much time playing the music of Bottesini when I was studying in College. It is so lyrical and technically challenging. I also have a copy of the B minor Concerto with markings/fingering from the former Principal Bassist of the NY Philharmonic in the 1980's. I just saw another video and the Accompanist Wan Ting Yu, is also a Bassist!! Bravo to her. So, is this recording available in America for purchase? I didn't see any links. Any information would be appreciated.

[@bassocat]

Thank you so much for taking time to watch! The CD is available actually on most audio streaming platforms. And it's also available to purchase in several online stores, if I remember correctly. Happy holidays!

[@Joeh1154]

@@bassocat I do have interest to purchase. Does the recording have a name or is it "The Lord of the Basses" (which, in America seems like a baseball reference!). Thank you.

[@bassocat]

@@Joeh1154 no other name, the one you mentioned. As for baseball similarity, there is a clear difference in spelling....

[@iankim7665]

What is the name of the piece they play at 11:10, sounds stellar.

[@bassocat]

It's called "Passione Amorosa", for 2 double basses

[@iankim7665]

@@bassocat Thank You very much.

[@bassocat]

@@iankim7665 you can try the first from the 3 Gran Duetti, but even that is a little difficult

[@iankim7665]

@@bassocat Thank You for the Information. I thought that the first gran duetto would be the easiest.

[@jeremiahsalyer7784]

I can't find the CD! Where is the CD available???

[@bassocat]

Jeremiah, I will post a download link on my Facebook in a couple of days. I hope you like it 😀

[@jeremiahsalyer7784]

Thank you for all the nice emails you replied to in the past. I saw you playing as you picked up your bass at Andrew's Fine Violins. I was halfway to the show you canceled where your pianist got hurt on the way.

[@bassocat]

oh my gosh... I'm so sorry; and I remember the emails we exchanged. I will post the download link soon, but if you can wait, you can pick up a physical CD when I get them :-)

[@jeremiahsalyer7784]

Whatever benefits you the most as an artist financially I will commit to buying. No one else has even looked at my arraignment. I guess I keep daydreaming a better player than myself will record my John Cage Dream arraigment someday. But this your channel. Sorry...Anyways I moved and started a new job in upstate New York. I just decided to go back through Simandl's etudes to freshen up so-to-speak.

[@Ricardius-QC6]

Aonde eu posso comprar esse cd, qual é o nome dele?

[@bassocat]

Oi Ricardo, The title is exactly like the documentary: The Lord of the Basses. If you just do a search online you will find it and it's also available on almost all music streaming applications.

[@Ricardius-QC6]

@@bassocat muito obrigado.

[@Kpk89746]

m

[@ethanvera8623]

M

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@UC1l30YP6nyJdnlQXFavFaWA If I had this type of Upright Bass I'd tune it in Fifths by using Thomastik Infield Spirocore 4/4 Scale Light Tension Fifths Tuned Double Bass Strings (C, G, D, A) because I find it very playful. The fun advantages of 5ths Tuning are Increased resonance, volume and quality of sound (the strings have more common overtones, causing the strings to vibrate sympathetically). Superior intonation with the rest of the string section due to the uniform tuning (for classical playing). Best method of obtaining a low C, without an extension or a 5th string (Note: 5 String Double Bass be tuned in Fifths too adding on a High E Solo String as a Pirastro Obbligato or Passione). In a Jazz setting the major tenth which can be played easily w/o a position shift. Bonus: Solo Cello Music can be covered down an Octave as well as Solo Violin & Violas Music down 2 Octaves (in a Solo Setting).

[@Anonymous-rp4hn]

do you even play the double bass?

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@Anonymous-rp4hn Yes I do. I'm learning to play it from watching tutorial videos for it.

[@umovilac]

Baradini??? que carajo pronuncia la voz en off??? B-O-T-T-E-S-I-N-I

[@Joeh1154]

I was hearing BotteZini.