A tribute to the birth, life, and death of Hermeto Pascoal

an idiomatic arrangement of “22 de junho” [“June 22”] for double bass

Abstract

This article presents the process of arranging “22 de junho” [June 22] for double bass (in both solo and duet versions), one of the 366 pieces Hermeto Pascoal wrote for his instrumental songbook “Calendário do Som” [Calendar of sound]. An analysis of the manuscript (Pascoal, 2000) reveals that this most renowned composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist of Brazilian crossover music wrote the piece for his own birthday using just three motifs: M1 (an ascending leap), M2 (a long scalar descent in quarter notes), and M3 (a neighbor tone). Based on occasional gestures found in the original, three additional motifs were derived for the arrangements: M4 (a sixteenth-note appoggiatura), M5 (a triplet rhythm), and M6 (a short descending chromatic line). This arrangement for the lowest-pitched orchestral string instrument considers the crossover nature of its arco and pizzicato performance practices. The idiomatic writing spans the instrument's sub-bass, low, middle, high, and super-high registers; it also explores various instrumental effects (glissando, pull off, hammer on, harmonics, left-hand mute, arpeggiated chords, strummed chords,  double stops, and double stops of harmonics) and seeks to evoke the character of the seresta (the Brazilian serenade). The arrangements’ full music scores with solo lines (in arco and pizzicato) and accompanying lines (in pizzicato) are discussed and presented.