Lourdes C. Montgomery: Five Musical Miniatures for the Young Bassist for double bass and piano

 About the Compositions

Five Musical Miniatures for the Young Bassist is a suite is fun and engaging pieces by Lourdes C. Montgomery. Each piece features a number of musical or technical skills appropriate to the beginner bassist in music which is lively and instantly appealing. 

The accompaniments are simple and supportive, aimed at the double bass teacher with some pianistic skills, and these are ideal study of concert repertoire which are both player and audience friendly. 

1. A Wooden Soldier patiently waits, hidden away in his dark toy box, ready to march about the playroom at a moment's notice. The "col legno" variation conjures an image of the fellow growing tired of his pageantry as his legs and arms begin to bang together with a knock, knock, knock.

2. Daydreaming is perhaps one of the favourite pastimes of many a schoolboy who, in the warmth of a lazy afternoon, finds himself with some free time when his studies and chores are all done, reflecting on ideas that come and go like so many boats drifting by on the slow moving channel of a nearby river.

3. The Storm first presents itself with low rumblings of a distant thunder, soon followed by flashes of lightning and the strong winds which usher in dark rolling clouds that release torrents of rain upon anyone unlucky enough to be caught outdoors with no nearby shelter. As the storm passes the rumblings of thunder can once again be heard in the distance.

4. As night falls on the islands of the Caribbean the natives begin a festive carnival with A Tropical Dance. Percussive elements of this little piece, as well as the subtle syncopations of the pizzicato section, may remind us perhaps of the African roots still pervasive in the music of the region.

5. A celebration of my own relocation to the northwest corner of Arkansas, Ozark Mountain Fun commemorates the many Scottish and Irish pioneers who long ago settled the hills of this area and brought to it the instruments and dance-like music of their homeland, newly reinvented to reflect their new surroundings. [Programme notes by Lourdes C. Montgomery] 

About the Composer

Born in Havana, Cuba, Lourdes C. Montgomery moved to the United States at age five. She studied jazz piano at Miami-Dade Community College with Sanford Gold and, at the University of Miami, music composition with Dr. Dennis Kam as well as classical piano with Dr. Rosalina Sackstein. Many of Lourdes' sacred and liturgical compositions are published by Oregon Catholic Press, which also produced her CD entitled "De La Cruz a la Gloria", and World Library Publications. 

In 2008, Lourdes was honored to have her song Bienaventurados ("The Beatitudes") was performed at the mass of Pope Benedict XVI that was held at the National Stadium in Washington, D.C., and televised nationally. In 2005 Lourdes became music director at St. Vincent de Paul Church in the Ozark Mountains of NW Arkansas, where she now lives with her double bassist husband, Michael Montgomery.