Bottesini: Tutto il Mondo Serra for soprano, double bass & string orchestra

About the Composition

Tutto il Mondo Serra is a transcription of Frederic Chopin's Étude in C sharp minor Op.25, No.7, originally for solo piano, which has also been transcribed by many others for different instrumental combinations. The words are by an unknown author but are unlikely to be by Bottesini.

Tutto il Mondo Serra is a work that tests both the technical and musical prowess of any bassist and uses the entire range of the double bass. Both soloists are equal partners, with a gently rhythmic accompaniment that creates a magical and evocative work, bringing two great 19th-century virtuosi together in one piece - Chopin and Bottesini.

About the Composer

Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) was the greatest double bass virtuoso of the 19th century, and many of his compositions for double bass are still at the heart of the solo repertoire today. He spent much of his life in the opera house as conductor and composer, and his music is inspired by the lyrical, cantabile, and virtuosic pyrotechnics of 19th-century Italian opera. He also transcribed a number of works for his own recitals and both arias are attributed to Bottesini but are in fact by other composers.

Tutto il Mondo Serra is also available in orchestral tuning and is successful as a stand-alone work or alongside Bottesini’s Une Bouche Aimée. The double bass part in the full score includes the original Bottesini bowings alongside an edited version by David Heyes.

"How he bewildered us by playing all sorts of melodies in flute-like harmonics, as though he had a hundred nightingales caged in his double bass... I never wearied of his consummate grace and finish, his fatal precision, his heavenly tone, his fine taste. One sometimes yearned for a touch of human imperfection, but he was like a dead shot; he never missed what