David Heyes: Slavonic Dance No. 2: Dumka for double bass quartet

About the Quartet

Slavonic Dance No.2: Dumka remains in bass clef and is aimed at the progressing young bass quartet, also playable by larger forces.

The music is generally slow moving and elegant, emphasising the lyrical and sonorous qualities of the double bass. Each part remaining in its own register, with bass 4 only playing in 1st position, and the melodic material is shared between the four players.

The word Dumka, a term taken from the Ukrainian language and also found in many Slavic languages, means ‘thought’ and is a type of Slavic folk-ballad, alternately elegiac and more effervescent, and was a form frequently used by Antonín Dvořák.

Slavonic Dance No.2: Dumka was completed on 17 November 2023 and is also available in a version for more advanced bassists. Slavonic Dance No.2: Dumka is dedicated to Joanna Krempeć-Kaczor in Poland.

About the Composer

David Heyes studied double bass with Laurence Gray and Bronwen Naish, later at the Royal College of Music in London, and completed his post-graduate studies in Prague with František Pošta (Principal Bass, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra).

He has given recitals and masterclasses in 20 countries over the past few years and has been a juror at a number of international competitions, three times as chairman. David's collaborative work gained him a prestigious award from the David Walter Charitable Trust of New York for his pioneering activities as a soloist, teacher, publisher, and commissioner of new music for double bass and he works with composers throughout the world to expand the double bass repertoire by commissioning new music and by rediscovering forgotten ones. Since 1983 more than 750 works have been written for him, music from one to twenty basses and from beginner to virtuoso, and he has premiered ten contemporary concertos with orchestra.

David began to compose in 2013 and has had music performed and recorded in 32 countries across five continents. He is a D'Addario Performing Artist and has recently commissioned a solo double bass from British master-luthier Martin Penning.