CPE Bach: Two Duets for 2 Double Basses (arranged by Michael Kurth)

About the Duets

These 2 duets by one of those Sons of a Bach,  Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, are a delightful addition to the bass duo repertoire. Early classical in style, great for teaching and demonstrating phrasing while playing along with a student. Or use them to help yourself figure out how to make one of those split-screen videos on the Tik Tok thingie that the kids are into.

Player 1 goes up to E above the first G octave and uses a lot of treble clef. Player 2's range tops out at B above the G octave, with minimal treble clef. 

The difficulty levels for both parts are comparable to Eccles or Dragonetti.

About the Arranger

Kurth has been a member of the Atlanta Symphony bass section since 1994. 

The ASO has commissioned and premiered many of his orchestral and choral works. A recording on the ASO Media label is scheduled for commercial release on CD and digital platforms in February 2019, including Everything Lasts Forever, A Thousand Words, May Cause Dizziness, and Miserere featuring Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor.

He frequently collaborates with Atlanta poet Jesse Breite on vocal works, including Miserere, Tenebrae, and Magnificat. He was named “Best New Composer” by Atlanta Magazine in 2017. He has been awarded Artist-in-Residence fellowships from the Hermitage and Serenbe.

Many Atlanta-area artists have commissioned and performed his works, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus, the Atlanta Chamber Players, the Atlanta Young Singers, the Gwinnett Young Singers, the Morehouse College Glee Club, the Peachtree String Quartet, the Franklin Pond String Quartet, the Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble, Concert Artist Guild Award-winning violist Jennifer Stumm, the Georgia Sinfonia, the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra, the DeKalb Symphony, the Georgia State University Wind Ensemble, and movement artists gloATL.

He teaches bass at Emory University.