Beat-bass
This is a short list showcasing some of the pieces we have played recently:
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Sluba's selected - March 2025
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Ruth Bakke – Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom is a challenging and demanding piece, but also incredibly rewarding, and if you spend some time and effort on the piece, you will get a lot in return. Through working on this piece, we developed a new understanding of our instruments, which we have taken with us to other pieces.
Harold Oliver – The Kraken
Oliver takes the sonnet The Kraken by the famous British poet Alfred Tennyson as his starting point to design the evocative soundscape that forms this piece. He uses common instruments such as wood blocks and tubular bells together with more unconventional instruments such as a gong made of wood, and this combination produces a rich spectrum of sounds. In addition, the composer uses extreme dynamic fluctuations to emphasize the scary, unpredictable monster. Oliver paints an exciting picture of an intensity that never lets go.
Brian Mueller – Becoming
Becoming is modern, groovy and far more melodic than many of the other pieces we have played. The tuba sounds very good together with the vibraphone and creates an exciting spectrum of overtones. Mueller has written a beautiful and atmospheric piece with both groovy parts with rhythmic drive and more quiet and mysterious parts. All these contrasts gives the piece an extra edge, keeping the audience engaged throughout.
Glenn Hackbarth – DUO for tuba and percussion
Through Hackbarths you can experience the contemporary music of the 70s. He experiments with dynamic variety and extended techniques and switches a lot between rhythmic drive and stillness, creating big contrasts. Wanting to explore as much as possible, all at once, Hackbarth has created an exciting work of contemporary fusion which fits perfectly on this list.
William Penn – Capriccio
Capriccio is a high-intensity, virtuosic work for both performers, and from experience it is precisely these elements that makes this piece an audience favorite. The main theme has a constant momentum that almost never lands anywhere, helped by the rhythmic drive of the accompaniment. The side themes are more lyrical and less forward, but still energetic and filled with a lot of tension that keeps the listener interested.
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