Divertimento Sextet
In 2000, I took part in a project performing all of W.A. Mozart’s (1756-1791) Salzburg divertimentos for strings and winds in the quaint town of Delft in the Netherlands. In attempting to keep true to authentic performance practices we played on period instruments with one player to a part and most significantly the bass line was to be performed solely on the double bass; thus, no cello and no cello/double bass doubling of the bass line.1 Some of my colleagues involved in this project found this to be quite a ‘radical’ idea, for in chamber music settings many musicians are accustomed to the cello as the bass instrument of choice, and depending on the repertoire, a double bass might double the line, but double bass alone…impossible! Indeed most recordings I have heard of these pieces have been performed by a chamber orchestra or as chamber music with the bass line performed by a cello and double bass.
