Capuzzi: double bass concerto (1st mov.) - Božo Paradžik (double bass), SWDKO/Sebastian Tewinkel

Giuseppe Antonio Capuzzi (1755-1818)
Concerto for double bass and Orchestra in D major
- original composers version -
1st movement: Allegro moderato

About the piece:
Although Capuzzi was well-known composer of his age, this lovely concerto is probably the only piece still performed. His other pieces are forgotten nowadays, unfortunatelly. This is the original version of this concerto, this recording present its urtext in its original tonality and octave. This piece is composed for three-strings-bass tuned in fourths and the manuscripts (based in British Museum) present solo bass staff in the real sound octave. Performing it one octave lower doesn't only sound really bad, many of the tones would simply not have been playable on the three-strings bass, the standard instruments in Italy during Capuzzi's lifetime.

The most of double bass players know rather F major version of this piece, which is in fact recomposed version by Francis Baines, the editor of the first printing of this piece. It was one of the very first printed scores for double bass. Francis Baines's version contains many harmonical changes of the orchestral material. Also very many single tones of the solo part have been changed throughout whole the piece. Its rapid recomposing of the second movement, printing obviously strongly romatized articulations and some decions which were out of any stylistic habits of the classical age (like placing the cadenza in the middle of the first movement) are decisions which are clearly unacceptable for today's understanding of the old music and trying to perform it in its historically correct form.

This original version can be performed very well in any of modern tunings in fourths: G-D-A1-E1, A-E-B1-F#1, but also as well in higher scordatura c-G-D-A1 and d-A-E-B1. The scordatura used during this performance was A-E-B1-F#1 which is probably the least comfortable one of all of them, but it was choosen just for practical reasons: Dittersdorf's concerto was performed in the same concert (that recording was already uploaded on YouTube few years ago).

This orchestral material can be hired by the Yorke Edition (GB)

Special thanks to Duckkyu Yoon and Jinwon Yoon for providing me the tape of their amateur video recording of this live performance as it is probably the only existing video. It made possible to create and upload this recording- and to share it with YouTube viewers.

The professional 32bit/96kHz multitrack sound recording (in pure natural sound, without digital hall processing) has been recorded using Schoeps microphones MK2s, MK2H, MK21, MOTU firewire interface and Samsung notebook / Windows XP.

Artists:
Božo Paradžik (solo double bass)
Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim (SWDKO)
Sebastian Tewinkel (conductor)

Thanks for watching, Božo Paradžik

I am since July 2019 on Instagram, it is frequently updated, get more insight and follow my projects from early stages: #bozoparadzik

Видео Capuzzi: double bass concerto (1st mov.) - Božo Paradžik (double bass), SWDKO/Sebastian Tewinkel канала bozoparadzikcom