Chant d'Amour was first published by Bosworth & Co. in 1906 and is a charming solo written in the style of much music from the end of the 19th-century. It would be ideal for players who are able to display the lyrical, cantabile and sonorous qualities of the double bass and uses the entire range of the instrument. Cerny was obviously a fine player and successfully combines musical and technical challenges in equal measure, but particularly focusing on the singing quality of the instrument.

The edition includes accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tunings and Chant d'Amour has been recorded by Frantisek Posta and Stefan Schafer.

Frantisek Cerny was a Czech bassist, teacher and composer. He was born on 23 January 1860 in Pardubice and studied at the Prague Conservatoire (1876-82) and in Paris, where he later became a member of the Orchestre Colonne-Lamoureux from 1884-1890. He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1890, when he was appointed Principal Bass of the National Theatre Orchestra in Prague (1890-1900), and it was at this time that he discovered the wonderful Grancino double bass of 1693, later owned by Oldrichs Sorejs and Frantisek Posta.

Cerny was an outstanding teacher and taught at the Prague Conservatoire for 31 years (1900-31) and many of the leading Czech bassists at the beginning of the 20th-century were taught by him. He was not a prolific composer and most of his works were written for the double bass, including a Method (1906), 30 Etudes-Caprices (1923), Technical Studies in Thumb Position (1927), 4 Concertos and ten salon pieces for double bass and piano.

Cerny studied composition with Antonin Dvorak and much of his music reflects the salon style of the late 19th-century. All his works are melodic and appealing, combining the late-Romantic idiom of Dvorak and Brahms, with Czech lyricism and influences, and he makes full use of the solo capabilities of the double bass.

Frantisek Cerny died in Prague on 3 September 1940.

"2015 marked the 75th anniversary of the death of Frantisek Cerny, an important figure in the history of the Prague School of Double Bass. He combined a successful career as a performer, teacher and composer, and is also renowned for discovering the Grancino double bass of 1693 which was subsequently owned by his student Oldrich Sorejs (1891-1953), and in turn by Frantisek Posta (1919-1991), a former student of Professor Sorejs. Frantisek Cerny composed a wealth of music for double bass including nine characteristic works for double bass and piano, a Suite in 5 movements for double bass and orchestra or piano, alongside four concertos and educational music - 30 Etudes-Caprices, Technical Studies in Thumb Position and a Method in 3 volumes. Although his music has fallen out of favour a little, the works with piano are typical of the salon music from the late 19th-century, but are of the highest quality and worthy of rediscovery in the 21st-century.

Frantisek Cerny was born in Pardubitz, Bohemia (now Pardubice, Czech Republic) on 23 January 1861 and studied double bass at the Prague Conservatoire with Vendelin Sladek (1851-1901). He studied at the Paris conservatoire for two years with V.F. Verrimst, where he also worked with the French bow but opted for the Czech bow on his return to Prague. During his years in Paris he played with the Colonne-Lamoreux Orchestra from 1884-90, directed by Charles Lamoureux (1834 - 1899), and is reputed to have also spent six months in London. Cerny returned to Prague in 1890, and succeeded his teacher, Vendelin Sladek, as Principal Bass of the National Theatre Orchestra and achieved his lifelong ambition of teaching at Prague Conservatoire. Cerny taught at Prague Conservatoire from 1890 until his retirement in 1932 and his most notable students included Emilie Fialova-Kornerova, Rudolf Tulacek, Oldrich Sorejs, Frantisek Hertl, Karel Sejna, Bohuslav Oupic, Frantisek Hubicka and Josef Cisar.

Cerny's educational music for double bass dates from his Conservatoire years and obviously was written with his students in mind. His 'Modern Double Bass School' was published in Leipzig in 1906 and was probably intended to replace Simandl's Method, maintaining the same rigorous technical skills and training but with studies of a more lyrical and musical nature. Although long out of print, many of the studies offer useful and approachable didactic practice material in the 21st-century. Cerny's Method has been described by Miloslav Gajdos as "...remarkable for its methodical perfection and the high quality of its musical content..." Cerny's 30 Etudes-Caprices followed in 1923 and his book of Thumb Position Studies (Technicke studie v palcove poloze) in 1927, both as a result of his teaching experience at Prague Conservatoire. Frantisek Cerny died in Prague on 3 September 1940, leaving behind an important legacy as a teacher and composer." David Heyes [25 February 2015]

Performance Level: Advanced