Amando Blanquer and the double bass: A performance-analytical study of L’ós Hispànic in twentieth-century Spanish chamber music
Abstract
Amando Blanquer Ponsoda composed L’ós Hispànic: Minisuite per a Contrabaix i Piano in 1976 for double bass and piano. Despite its musical and technical interest, the work remains little known both in the literature and in performance, rarely appearing in the usual chamber repertoire. This study examines its historical documentation, formal and modal organization and the technical and interpretative demands made on the double-bass part. The analysis is based on the 1990 Piles edition, and is complemented by concert programs from 1983 and 2023, an interview with Gregorio Casasempere Gisbert, and Vicente López’s recording of Blanquer’s version for tuba and piano. The four movements are considered in terms of form, modal organization, imitation, register, instrumental interaction, articulation, intonation, fingering, balance, and coordination with the piano. The analysis shows contrasting approaches across the cycle. “Joy” combines a march rhythm with Lydian and Dorian writing and imitative exchanges. “Passion” develops a cantilena over a piano ostinato and extends the double bass into its upper register. “Waiting” uses brief responses, fermatas, and changing sonorities, while “Somersault” develops recurring material through variation, modal shifts, and contrapuntal redistribution. These features create specific technical and interpretative challenges, especially in intonation, articulation, fingering, register, and ensemble coordination. The study concludes that L’ós Hispànic is a substantial chamber work, suitable for advanced double-bass study and concert performance. Its formal clarity, modal writing, technical demands, and active dialogue between the instruments make a case for its inclusion in the twentieth-century Spanish chamber repertoire and in advanced double-bass pedagogy, while also expanding our knowledge of Blanquer’s less familiar instrumental output.
Keywords: Amando Blanquer Ponsoda, L’ós Hispànic, double bass, double bass and piano, contemporary Spanish music, chamber music, musical heritage, performance analysis, pedagogical potential
Acknowledgments: We thank Gregorio Casasempere Gisbert for the interview and for the advice he offered during the preparation of this article. We are also grateful to the rights holders who allowed us to consult the concert programs and editions used in the study.
For citation: Arutyunyán Zhabsky, A., & Azorín Delegido, J. M. (2026). Amando Blanquer and the Double Bass: A Performance-Analytical Study of L’ós Hispànic in Twentieth-Century Spanish Chamber Music. Contemporary Musicology, 10(3), 242–285. https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-3-242-285
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2026-3-242-285
Copyright (c) 2026 Antuán Arutyunyán Zhabsky; José Manuel Azorín Delegido
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