Michael Montgomery: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: A Halloween Tale for Beginner Double Bass Quartet

About the Composition

Five Quartets for Beginner Double Bass Quartet

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow features five short, colourful and inventive pieces for the beginner bass quartet. Using only 1st position, alongside easy harmonics in 4th position to add height and clarity, alongside effective bass percussion, these pieces are an ideal opportunity to introduce chamber music from the earliest stages of study.

Repeats can be added if needed, alongside a narration between pieces, and these are useful for quartet or larger forces.

“Based on the personalities and dispositions of characters from Washington Irving’s 1820 short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, these five bass quartets were composed as part of a project initiated by Recital Music to establish a cache of chamber music for novice bassists who are all too often not afforded the opportunity perform in small chamber ensembles. Intended for beginning students, the quartets range extend up only as high as 1st position, with the exception of some percussive effects sounded on the body of the instrument and a three harmonics (notes played by lightly touching the string with the fingers of the left hand) found in fourth position and played with the 1st finger on the G, D, and A strings.

The movements themselves seek to interpret musically the traits and characteristics each of the actors seem to personify: Ichabod Crane is portrayed as a tall, lanky, and sometimes awkward fellow; Katrina, kind, sweet, and charming; the mythical Headless Horseman is of course quite portrayed in a quite frightening manner, while Katrina’s wealthy father Mr. Van Tassel is almost stodgy and pompous, and Abraham ‘Brom Bones’ Van Brunt is said to busy himself with pranks directed at Mr. Crane – students might wish to capture those sentiments musically when playing through these pieces.” [Michael Montgomery, Arkansas USA]

About the Composer

Double bassist Michael Montgomery, a student of Robert Rohe (Principal Bass, New Orleans Symphony) and Lucas Drew (Principal Bass, Miami Philharmonic), earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in double bass performance from the University of Miami, played full-time in the bass section of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for two decades.

He now lives in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, where he teaches double bass at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and privately in his home studio. Michael has composed numerous works for young double bassists (including over five dozen short bass quartets for young students) which are published by Recital Music and two American publishers.

His articles about bass performance, literature, and teaching have been published in American Suzuki Journal, Bass World, and Pastoral Music.