Teppo Hauta-aho: Erkon Elegia for unaccompanied double bass or double bass ensemble

About the Composition

Erkon Elegia is a beautiful and evocative work offering effective and accessible challenges to the intermediate bassist. Using just over a two-octave range and remaining primarily in bass clef, it demonstrates the wide range of colors and timbres available to the modern bassist.

Composed in 1994, Erkon Elegia can be played by unaccompanied double bass or ensemble and the edition includes both versions. The ensemble version divides into two and three parts to create a work of enormous breadth and beauty.

Reviews

"Erkon Elegia is accessible to advanced beginning bassists with the ability to perform with confidence into the lower thumb positions." [ISB]

"Erkon Elegia is a versatile little piece that can be played as a solo, duo, trio, or ensemble. In only 49 bars, and using elementary music, Hauta-aho manages to use many of his trademark compositional characteristics...it's friendly geography and varied colourscape should prove popular with beginning bassists." [Double Bassist]

About the Composer

Teppo Hauta-aho (1941-2021) was the most prolific composer in the history of the double bass and has composed for every ability level, from the beginner to the virtuoso. His music is evocative and atmospheric, shaped by jazz and contemporary styles, and the influence of the dramatic and bleak landscapes and vistas of his native Finland are captured throughout his engaging and accessible music.