and narrfltor

alan ridoat
& duvid delve
Iittle sad soand
a melodrama
for -douhle bass
and narrfltor
Jtorke edition
A Sound came out in the dark. He crept
siowly . . . through the blackness . . . of
the wild wood. Then he jumped and ran
Ein Ton kam aus der Dunkelheit. Langsam Kroch er .
durch den schwarzen
. . . wilden Wald. Dann sprang er und
lief
. . . running or', an into the darkness . . .
of the unknown. The trees . . creaked
above him. Little Sound was lost. He
didn't know where or what he was.
Little Sound had lost his memory. And
he sat down. . . and cried.
schlug Purzelbàume in den
Bùschen . . . lief immer weiter, weiter tn
die Dunkelheit . . der Fremde. Bàume
. . . knaruten ùber ihm. Da hatte er sich
verirrt. Er wusste nicht wo und was er
war. Alles hatte der kleine Ton
vergessen. Da setzte er sich hin . . . und
weinte.
Far away in the Land of Music, several
Im fernen Land der Musik war es ein
. . . and somersaulted through the bushes
other sounds were very
hot-andbothered. Each time they tried to play
'Together', something was missing. "I
know what it is," said a High Sound.
"It's the Middle Sounds: they . . . are . . .
useless
!"
The Middle Sounds were very angry.
"It's not our fauIt. . It's nol our fault
...It'snot!"
And Single Bass Sound just mumbled
quietly to himseif, "We've lost Little
Sound ! Let's go and find him."
They came to a river which they had to
cross . . by hopping from a leaf to a
branch to a stone. Now they went in
single file through a field of high grass.
Suddenly . . strange noises came from
behind . . . getting nedrer andnearer.Tlne
Sounds began to run. As fast as the
speed of souncl they ran. Huny ! Or you
will be caught. Hurry ! Hurry !
They got to the end of the fie1d . . . dived
through a prickly bush
(Ouch!)
under a fence . . . round four giant trees
paar anderen Tónen recht ungemùtlich
geworden. Versuchten sie ihr 'Zusam-
menspiel', so fehlte immer etwas.
,,Ich weiss, was fehlt", sagte ein hoher
Ton. ,,Es sind die Mitteltóne: sie
geben . . . keinen Ton uon sich!"
Das àrgerte die Mitteltòne sehr.
,,Nicht u,ns're Schuld . nicht uns're
Schuld...garnicht!"
Und der einzelne Basston murmelte vor
sich hin. ,,IJns fehlt der kleine Ton. Los.
suchen wir ihn."
Sie kamen zum Fluss und
mussten
hinùber . so hùpften sie von Blatt zu
Zweig, und Zweig zu Stein. Jetzt gingen
sie im Gànsemarsch durch ein Feld mit
hohem Grass. Plótzlich
kam von
hinten ein seltsames Geràusch es
kam niiher und niiher. Die Tóne fingen
an zu laufen. So schnell wie die Schallgeschwindigkeit. Schneller ! Sonstwerdet ihr erwischt. Schneller ! Schneller !
Sie kamen zum Ende des Felds
schlùpften durch einen Dornbusch .
(Autscht!) und einen Zaun. . . rund um
. and tumbled into an emPtY tree
trunk. They hid - making as little noise
as possible. Then they heard something.
Something like crying.
vier Riesenbàume . . und purzelten in
versteckten
einen hohien Stamm
sich und waren so still wie mòglich.
Dann hórten sie was . . . das kiang wie
Weinen.
Little Sound was very sad. "This must
be the end of me !I'm so alone !"
Ganz traurig war der kleine Ton. ,,Mit
mir ist's aus ! Ich bin so einsam !"
"It
could be a Monster," squeaked High
Sound. The Middle Sounds huddled
together for protection.
,,Sicher ein Untier", quiekte der hohe
Ton. Die Mitteltóne dràngten sich aneinander aus Angst.
Sad Sound heard noises. Too tired to get
up and run away, he called out, "Come
on, come on and eat me up . . . I won't
taste very good but it'll end my misery !"
Der traurige Ton hórte Geràusche. Zu
mùde, um davonzulaufen, rief er, ,,Kommt, kommt d"och und fresst mich auf . . .
Gut schmecken werd' ich nicht, doch
mein Leid wird so ein Ende haben !"
,,Jemand braucht Hilfe", sagte vernùnftig der einzelne Basston.
"Someone needs help," said Single Bass
Sound, sensibly.
"Oh you know it all," said High Sound.
"Hic": High Sound had the hiccups.
" Ssssshhh hh" w entthe others.
"
Hic"
"Ssshhh"
"
Hic"
" Sshh"
"...Hic!""5h!"
They listened . . . and decided it must be
someone crying, so they went timidly
to investigate.
,,Du weisst alles besser", sagte der hohe
hatte
Schlucken.
"Sssssllúlú" machten die anderen.
Ton. ,,Hick": der hohe Ton
,,Hick"
,,Sssttt"
,,Híck"
,,Ssstt"
,,. . . Hick!" ,,St! "
Sie iauschten . . . und beschlossen, dass
es Weinen war. So gingen sie zaghaft,
um nachzusehen.
"Hello,
"Yes
are you Lost Sound?"
I am," said Little Sad Sound.
"Well . . that's wonderful," everyone
shoutecl, "Come along with us".
"This can't be happening," thought
Little Sound. "This is too wonderful".
,,Bist Du der verlorene Ton?"
,,Ja . . ja", sagte der traurige kleine
Ton.
,,Wirklich das ist aber schón",
riefen alle, ,,komm mit uns".
,,Das ist doch nicht móglich," dachte
der kleine Ton. ,,Es wàre zu schòn."
But it ruas happening, and all the Sounds
set offout of the wood.
Aber es ruor mógiich, und alle Tòne
When they reached the Land of Music,
they all sat down to play. Little Sound
sat by Single Bass Sound and joined in
Im Lande der Musik
when he díd.
"It works, it works !" shouted High
Sound. "That's what you needed: someone to help you."
"Yes," said Single Bass Sound, "and
now I am not so lonely down here. Hello,
Friend Bass. ''
"Hello, Friend Bass," said Little Sound.
"Partners !" they agreed. . .
With two Bass sounds
together they
could make a Double Bass!
machten sich auf, hinaus dem WaId.
angekommen,
setzten sie sich hin und spielten. Der
kleine Ton sass beim einzelnen Basston
und machte mit, wenn er estat.
,,Es stimmt, es stimmt!" rief der hohe
Ton. ,,Das hat dir gefehlt: jemand der
dir hilft. "
,,JA", sagte der einzeine Basston, ,,und
jetzt bin ich nicht mehr so einsam hier
unten. Grùss dich, mein Bassfreund".
,,Grùss dich, mein Bassfreund", sagte
der kleine Ton.
,,Mein Partner !" riefen beide . . .
Zwei Basse zusamnxen im Kontrapunktwúrde daraus nicht ein Kontrabass?
Deutsche Ùbersetzung Stefan de Haan.
Little Sad Sound was commissioned in
1974 with funds provided by the Arts
Council of Great Britain. It was first
performed by Rodney Slatford in Delhi
in January 1975. The work was revised
ín 1977 and performed in its present
version on 15 July 1978 at the Wigmore
Hall, London.
z
full
a melodrama
score
for speaker and double bass (or speaking double bass player)
little sud soand
duration 9' 30"
j
=
for Rodney
Slatford
music by Alan
Ridout words by David Delve
c.54
pp
A
cresc.
Sound came out in the dark.
I
He crept slowly. . .
throush the blackness. . .
of the r,r'ild wood.
Then he jumped and
€ l9T8byYorkeEdition
31
Thornhill Square, London N1 1BQ, England
YIr 0061
and somersaulted through the bushes, . ,
.
, , , runnmg
of the
unknown.
Ol'
ff
The trees..
tuist boa sloaly across A k D strings
to make a creak,ing sound.
mP
Littie
YE 00ó1
Sound was lost.
mf espress.
He didn't know where
or what he was;
Little
Sound had lost
his memorv.
.
Far away in the Land
of Music, several other
Sounds were very hot
and botheted.
sul pont.
Each time they tried to play
Together, something was
missinE.
YE 0061
'I know what it is.'
said a High
=J
Sound.
-:
8
o
ogo
oo
oooo
'It's the Middle
nat.
f
Sounds.
They.... are....
USELESS!
The Middle Sounds
were very angry.
tl
I
h
'It's not our fault.'
-1
tl
i
'It's not our fault.'
>>
It
*.
'it's not!'
YE 0061
'
A
ditn.
And Single Bass Sound just
mumbled quietlv to himself,..
'We've lost Little Sound!
I-et's go and find him.'
pozz.
?
I_l
i
They
came
toa
* i L;,
ll{
.i,
riv -er which they
rl
had
c rÒqs
to
at.
,^
sul G
arco
ll, L i
hop-ping from a
I
I
I
'E
toa
leaf
branch
9^.
T
mr)
n
toa
mp-
lr
vta
stone.
pt,zz.
-.-]
f
YE 00ó1
(.f)
hrz
,-t
v
v\ vv
Now
they
|
went
I
I
in
sing -
i
1e
r[l
file
+
through a
i_]
fieid of
l.
high
*
grass.
piìr allegro
ntolto
-pp
Suddenly
stranfJe noises came from behind,
getting nearer and nearer"
'fhe Sounds began to run. As fast as the speed of sound
they ran. Hurryl or you rvill be caught. Hurry! Hurry!
They got to the end of the
YE 0061
field,
...
.
...
dived through
aprickly bush... Iouch!]
î
. . . and tumbled into
an empty tree trunk.
sul pont.
They
hid-
rnaking as
little noise as possible.
Tempo I
Then they heard something;
Something
nat.
p
like crying.
) = c.54
p
"This must be the end of me!
I'm so alone!'
espvess.
Little Sound was very sad.
YE 0061
'It
could be a monster!'
squeaked High Sound.
J.= c.88
sul bont.
The Middle Sounds f
huddled together for protection.
sfpp
Sad Sound heard noises.
Too tired to get up and run away,
he called out, 'Come on. Come
and eat me up.'
)
=c.54
'I won't taste very good,
but it'11 end my misery.'
9o9o
9o9
'Oh, you knovr it ali.'
said High Sound.
'Someone needs help.' said
Sllgl" Bass Sound, sensibly.
stroke belly
aitll nails of I It
o
pp-
ff
'HIC'. High Sound
had the hiccups.
f.f w
went the others. 'HIC
SSSSHHHHH
SSSHHH
--
)
mp
A
p-'HIC!' SH!
'HIC' SSSHHH
-
YE 00ó1
They listened. .. and decided it must be
someone crying, so they went timidly
to investigate.
10
sul
9o
G_
D
_A
G
3,----.
o
'Hello. Are you
Lost Sound?'
'Yes...Iam.'said
Little Sad Sound.
'We11,
... that's
wonderful!'
everyone shouted
'Come along with us.'
... ff
mp
I
v
'This can't be mf
happening, thought Little Sound.
This is too
wonderful.
But it was happening, and ali the
Sounds set off out of the ....
(arco)
wood.
When they reached the Land of Music,
they all sat down to play. Liftle Sound
sat by Single Bass Sound and joined in
when he did.
arco
YE 0061
ll
ì--'
8-----r
It works, it works!' shouted
High Sound. 'That's what you
needed, . . . someone to help you.
Single Bass Sound, 'and now I am not
so lonely down here.
Hello, Friend Bass.'
ó
e'
f
ff
'Hello, Friend Bass,'
'Partners !' they agreed.
said Little Sound.
8--9ooo
:_-.;-'1T----=--
arco
pizz.
---l
pizz.
with Two Bass Sounds together
they could make a
Double Bass.
YE 0061
Printed in England by
Panda Press. Haverhill. Suffolk
z
a melodrama for speaker and double bass (or speaking double bass player)
fuìl score
Iittle sud sound
duration 9'30"
for Rodney
Slatford
music by Alan
Ridout words by David Delve
Jl- = C.54
pp
CTESC.
Un su*no uscì nel buio.
strisciò lert*.;r:enre
afra-,/erso I' c scurità
del bcsco selvatico.
Poi corse e saltÒ
G)
31
Edition
Thornhill Square, London Nl lllQ, Eneland
I978 try Yorke
YFi 0061
E fece capriole attraverso le siepi
Correndo, correndo
:
:-==Dell'ignoto.
îf
Gli alberi
\
taist boa sLouly across A &
to mak,e a creaking sound.
I) strings
,np
Piccolo suono si era perso.
YE 00ól
m1f espress.
\---/t
nw
Non sapeva dove
o che cosa fosse:
Piccolo Suono aveva
perso la memoria.
e si sedette
e pianse.
>
|r
>
\
V
V
Lontano nella Terra della
Musica, molti altri Suoni
erano molto accaldati e annoiati.
L
sul pont.
*
"*-*
1_"
Ogni l.olta che cercavano di giocare
assieme. qualccsa mancava.
YE 00ól
"So che cos'è,"
disse il Suono Altc.
=J ---
f
o
"Sono i Suoni diMezzo.
Sono
inutili!"
I Suoni di Mezzo
erano molto arrabbiati.
I
I
tl
"Non è colpa nostîa.
"Non è colpa nostra.
YE 0061
dint.
E il Suono Basso Singolo mormorò
Tranquillamente a se stesso.
"Abbiamo perso piccolo Suono!
Andiamo a cercarlo.,'
pizz.
P
tf
*L I
Arrivarono
l
*
1
che dovevano
t-,
uy,
SUI G
l
arco
n
f-l
Saltando da una
foglia
B-
mP<
a un ramo a una pietra.
hc t>
yLLL.
mp
YE
0{-)ó
r
nnt
7\
Ora andarono in fila indiana
aftraverso un campo di erba alta.
piir allegro
Improw-isamente
..
. Awicinandosi sempre di piu.
I Suoni iniziarono a correre. Veloci come la velocità
del suono essi corsero. svelti! o verrete presi. Sveltil
Sveltil
____À_
Arrivarono in fondo al campo,
YE0061
si tuffarono attraverso un cespuglio spinoso (ouch!),
sotto uno steccato,
attorno a quattro alberi giganteschi,
rotolarono in un
tronco d'albero vuoto.
e
sul pont.
Si nascosero
-
facendo meno rumore possibile.
Tempo I
nat.
Quindi udirono qualcosa,
P
rfY .
1)
nw
qualcosa come un pianto.
\
J =c.54
P
espvess.
"Questa dev'essere la mia fine!
Sono così solol"
Piccolo Suono era molto triste.
YE 00ó i
Ti t.
À.
!2- -t
à.
"Potrebbe essere un mostro!"
sibilo Suono Aito.
J. = c.88
sul
/t' bont.
9z--'.
s.fpp
I Suoni diMezzo si strinsero
assieme per proîeggersi.
Suono Triste udì dei rumori.
Troppo stanco per alzarsi
e scappare, chiamò. "Vieni.
Vieni e mangiami.
.f
-ó
\---------1+-'--/'i
*Í
Non sarò molto buono, ma questo
porrà fine alla mia infelicità."
"quul"uno ha bisogno di aiuto," disse ,,Oh,
tu
Suono Basso Singolo,
assennatamente.
stroke belly
sai tutto,,, disse Suono
Alto.
aitll nails of l.h.
J
ÍQ-."Hic." Suono Alto
aveva il sinshiozzo.
mp p
-
Fiic, ssshhh
-
"Ssshhh""
dissero gli altri.
Hic! Shl"
"Hic,
ssshhh
Ascoltarono e decisero che ci doveva
Essere qualcuno che piangeva,
perciò timidamente andarono a investigare.
YE 0061
10
8-
sul G_ D _A
Z I o 9 o o
D
-l
G
: I 3--.
"Ciao. Sei un Suono perso?"
"Si, lo sono," disse
Piccolo Suono Triste.
Bene,
"E' meraviglioso !" tutti
gridarono. Vieni con noi."
m?
"Non può succedere querto.fl/
'"pensò Piccolo Suono.
"Questo è troppo
meraviglioso."
Ma star,a accadendo, e tutti i Suoni si misero
in marcia per uscire dal bosco.
(arco)
Quando raggiunsero la Terra della Musica,
si sedettero a giocare. Piccolo Suono sedette
vicino a Suono Basso Singolo e si univa
quando anch'egli lo faceva.
ATCO
YE 0061
1t
"Funziona, funziona!" grido Suono Alto.
"Ecco di che cosa avevate bisogno,
di qualcuno che vi aiutasse."
CTESC,
"Si," disse Suono Basso Singolo' "e ora io non sono così solo quaggiù.,, ,,Ciao,
Amico Basso.',
î
"Ciao, Amico Basso,,'
disse Piccolo Suono.
B-
ff
"Soci!" convennero.
B- -
n ffrÈ.+ T
V^
'Y o
--l
o
o
òoo
ATCO
Con due Suono Basso assieme
potevano fare un contrabbasso
YE 00ól
Prinled irì England by
Panda Press Haverhill. Suflolk