TRE BASSI

Tre Bassi – The ensemble

Alain Buet, Paul Willenbrock, Philippe Roche - Basses
Hille Perl - Viola da Gamba
Lee Santana - Chitarrone
Michel Godard - Serpent

Why would a composer want to write for three bass voices? In operas the bass is usually an evil character, an aged king, a priest, philosopher or simply an old bore, and he never seems to get to make love! So who would choose to hear three old bores all singing together?

However, in a polyphonic context the generous bass has the important role of providing a solid foundation on which the other singers can display their artistry. He is the very basis of Harmony. Wouldn’t a trio of basses therefore sound more harmonious than a trio of tenors or sopranos, even if the latter might be considerably more gratifying to the eye? These are the sorts of question we hoped to find answers to in concocting programmes of music specifically written for three bass voices.

To enrich the effect, the three bass voices are mirrored by three bass instruments - serpent, gamba and theorbo or chitarrone - played by three particularly exciting musicians, Michel Godard, Hille Perl and Lee Santana, all superb improvisers, and two of them composers. These three strong musical personalities are absolutely essential to all TRE BASSI programmes, even though the singers themselves may vary, depending on availability.
 
Although the repertoire for three basses is not enormous, it is certainly larger, and more varied than one might imagine. TRE BASSI aim to explore this repertoire, all the way from the 14th century to the present day, and to enlarge it by asking living composers to write for us.
Our first CD “DE PROFUNDIS AD STELLAM” sets a pattern we intend to follow in future projects, namely combining old music with new, and giving scope for improvisation by singers and instrumentalists alike.

Paul Willenbrock, Paris 2008