Tyler Abbott, principal bassist with Orchestra Next, performs his arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s Milonga del Ángel, for six basses – followed by a conversation with Seth Kimmel, the Eugene-based luthier who made Tyler’s bass. To see the full video of Tyler’s arrangement, go to https://youtu.be/4qP4xL-7ys4 and to get more information about Seth’s workshop, go to www.sethkimmel.com
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John Reynolds
Jan 19, 2021 -
This lovely piece, arranged for six bass viols, was performed by bassist Tyler Abbott who recorded all six tracks. The performance is about 4 and a half minutes. It begins in a lush and flowing manner, gets excitedly into the high ranges, and then fades away.
Brian interviews the maker of this bass, Seth Kimmel, who was surprised and delighted to hear his newly made instrument put to such a test. Much discussion follows, of its sound in different ranges, of how he began making this bass as the full COVID lockdown began, and Seth’s other careers that led up to becoming a lutier. Seth praises the local woods for his works, taken from unusual sources. There is a link to Seth’s workshop.
At 23:30 Brian interviews Tyler, who has liked this Astor Piazzola piece for years. As an example to his bass students of possibilities for this large instrument, he decided to rearrange Milonga del Ángel so that its six voices could be played on the bass. And then he recorded them, one by one, until the mix was complete. It is in this manner that ensembles can perform individually to obtain a finished product, despite COVID. More about this in later Podcasts. There is a link to a video of Tyler doing his six voices.s