Continuing on his extensive and impressively thorough survey of the complete double bass works of Giovanni Bottesini, bassist
Thomas Martin's latest installment features fewer and fewer works that are performed with great frequency. On this disc, the most likely familiar titles (except to bassists, of course) include the Fantasia on "Lucia di Lammermoor" and the Elegie in D. The remainder, while not among Bottesini's greatest compositional achievements, are welcome additions to any library of the recorded bass literature.
Martin's greatest strength in performing these works is his enthusiastic interpretations, which bring as much vitality and interest to the program as possible. Right-arm technique is abundantly varied and usually pleasingly articulate and clean. His tone on the D string and in the lower positions on the G string is clear and warm. Lower registers of the instrument are sometimes muddy, especially during fast passage work, and the upper registers tend toward a nasal sound and less reliable intonation. The extensive harmonic passages -- particularly in the "Lucia di Lammermoor" Fantasia -- are noticeably out of tune. While this to be expected as harmonic become more out-of-tune the higher you get in the overtone series, some of these passages will be problematic to listeners. Pianist
Anthony Halstead does the best thing any accompanist can do while playing with a bassist: stays quiet and stay out of the way. The tone of his instrument, however, is rather lacking in depth.