CALL FOR PAPERS
BASS2018 Lucca, Italy / The 6th European Biannual Double Bass Congress & Festival – July 30 – August 5, 2018.
“Just a moment… Hold on… – Now! Do you hear it? There! Now! Are you listening? It will come back in a moment, the same passage, just one moment.
Now! You can hear it now! The basses, I mean. The double basses…”
(Patrick Süskind, Der Kontrabass)
Much of the world’s music, now and in the past, is supported by a deep voice, a low and booming sound that firmly grounds the music’s upper voices, fixating and liberating them at the same time. Essential to the music, yet often overlooked, this bass part can take many forms and guises: the basso profondo in Russian Orthodox choral music, the tambura’s drone in Indian Carnatic music, the synthesized bass lines of electronic dance music, the walking bass in jazz, the basso continuo of Baroque music. In Western music of the past few centuries, the chosen instrument to fulfil this vital role was the double bass or its predecessors and relatives, such as the violone. Although more recently joined by the electric bass guitar, the double bass continues to be a mainstay in many a musical genre, including but not limited to Western classical music, Jazz, Country and Folk. Despite its prevalence and its worldwide community of millions of bassists, little research has been dedicated to the instrument.
BASSEUROPE invites paper submissions dedicated to the double bass in all its facets. At BASS2018, the 6th biannual Double Bass Congress hosted by BASSEUROPE, scholars will be given the opportunity to present their most recent work on the double bass. All aspects of “bass-related” research are welcomed, and the call is open for studies in every musical genre, including non-Western music. Although the focal point is the double bass, also proposals on the electric bass and other stringed bass instruments will be considered. Possible research areas are:
- historical research
- performance studies
- biographical studies (of performers, composers, luthiers)
- musicological analysis
- pedagogy
- organology
- sociological or cultural studies (on reception, media, representation, identity,…)
Paper presentations will be 40 minutes with a 10-minute Q&A. Presenters are encouraged to include live demonstration (lecture performance) and/or media (audio, video, illustrations). Please note that a presentation must be academic by nature. For purely artistic presentations, BASS2018 Lucca offers various other channels (recital, masterclass, etc.).
Submit a 300-word abstract with title and a description through https://form.jotformeu.com/72754958871373 <https://form.jotformeu.com/72754958871373> (or via the Apply button under the Join webpage: https://2018.basscongress.eu/join.html <https://2018.basscongress.eu/join.html>). The deadline is February 28th, 2018; you will be notified during the month of March 2018. For any questions relating the paper presentations, please contact Massimo Pinca ([log in to unmask]) <mailto:[log in to unmask])>. For all other questions, see https://2018.basscongress.eu/contact.html#next <https://2018.basscongress.eu/contact.html#next>.
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