Mendelssohn Song Without Words, Op. 109 for Double Bass & Piano

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his Song Without Words in D Major for Cello and Piano, Opus 109 in 1845, the same year his famous Violin Concerto in E Minor was given its first performance. Mendelssohn composed eight books of piano solos entitled “Song Without Words.”

When questioned regarding the “meaning” of his Song Without Words, Mendelssohn felt that words were vague and ambiguous when compared to genuine music, “which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words.”

Mendelssohn wrote no solo works for the double bass; however the bass is included in his Sextet in D Major, Opus 110(1824) for Piano and Strings.