Sarah Clevely: COSMOS - a Four Piece Suite for double bass quartet

About the Suite

Cosmos is a colourful and inventive work which is ideal for the intermediate bass quartet. Primarily in bass clef, the music is wonderfully spatial and filmic, making effective use of slow moving chords contrasting effective pizzicato writing, creating wonderfully atmospheric and evocative sound worlds which offer music to players and audiences alike.

Table of Contents

1. Interstellar Medium
2. Celestial Sphere 
3. Black Hole 
4. Pillars of Creation

“Cosmos was inspired by a love and fascination of space and the amazing images and footage that we are lucky enough to observe. The four contrasting sections each focus on a particular feature of the Cosmos and are intended to transport the listener on a journey through space.

Interstellar Medium refers to the space between the stars in a galaxy and this piece reflects the dark space, made up of dust, gas and cosmic rays. The four bass parts interact with each other, alternating between question-and-answer phrases, soft and loud, pizzicato and legato, all representing movement and fluctuations in space.

The Celestial Sphere is an imaginary sphere around Earth that the stars and other celestial objects are projected onto. This section is very light in nature and mainly features pizzicato to reflect the thin, fragile layer around the planet. The repetitive ascending four-bar motif symbolises the spinning of the planet with a haunting melody over the top in Bass 1.

Black Hole, in contrast, is more dramatic. Bass 4 provides a driving beat on one note whilst the three remaining bass parts move slowly above it in parallel chromaticism giving an uncomfortable and unsettled feel to this section.

The final section in the suite is called Pillars of Creation. This profoundly moving and heavenly image sums up the beauty and mystery of space. Rich, deep chords that move slowly reflect the size and depth of these colourful clouds of gas and dust. After spending the majority of the time in A minor, the suite ends in a bright D major chord.

Cosmos is dedicated to Dr. Barbara Underwood, a close friend and fellow musician.” [Sarah Clevely]

Cosmos was commissioned by David Heyes for 40 @ 40, a project to commission forty new double bass pieces to celebrate Recital Music’s 40th birthday in 2026.

About the Composer

Sarah Clevely is a published composer of choral and instrumental music and her pieces have been performed in the UK and the USA. She particularly enjoys writing four-part harmony and also writing for different instrumental combinations. Sarah has sung in many choirs over the years, has recorded several solo tracks and also featured as a backing vocalist with jazz singer, Barbie Benson. She also plays the piano, organ, trumpet and ukulele.

Alongside a passion for music theory, Sarah has completed an MA in Music, and an MMus in Composition for Film and TV. In the past she has held roles at the ABRSM, ISM and Barnes Music Festival.