Tony Osborne: Bassos Paraguayos for double bass quartet

About the Composition

Bassos Paraguayos is a lively and colourful work which is ideal for the intermediate bass quartet. Abounding in rhythmic energy and spirit, this is exciting and vibrant from beginning to end and suitable for any audience or occasion. Tony Osborne was a master at creating innovative and engaging pieces which demonstrate the many possibilities and great potential of the double bass quartet medium.

“Bassos Paraguayos is simply a reflection of the wonderful sounds and an array of exciting rhythms of the traditional music of Paraguay and neighbouring countries, as made popular by the group Los Paraguayos, with their colourful ponchos, hats, guitars, pipes and harp. The piece starts at a fairly gentle pace and goes through a number of interesting rhythmic developments.” [Tony Osborne, 2005]

Bassos Paraguayos was premiered on 27 August 2005 at the Saint Claud Music Festival in France by David Heyes, Pauline Vos, Ben Groenevelt and James Adolpho. It has subsequently been played in Poland, America and the UK.

About the Composer

Born in 1947 into a musical family, Tony Osborne studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with John Walton (double bass) and Richard Stoker (composition), and divided a busy career between composing, teaching, and performing. A prolific composer and arranger, Tony's original compositions include works in almost every genre, notably Chaconne Syncopations and Wainwright's Ways for brass

quintet, Celebration Fanfare for brass ensemble, the musical A Fine Time for Wine, a beautiful and dramatic Requiem, and many works for string orchestra. Tony’s music for young bassists is very much at the heart of the teaching repertoire, particularly his jazzy and enjoyable bass trios and quartets, and he had the rare ability to create wonderful music which is always player and audience-friendly.

In 2001 Tony Osborne was elected an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for his pioneering and important work for double bass and was a featured com- poser at Bass-Fest for over ten years. He was a very successful BIBF Composer-in-residence in 2002-3, was a judge for the British Composer Awards and a judge for the BIBF Composition Competition from 1999 until 2015.

Tony Osborne died on 30 March 2019 at the age of 71.