Xavier Foley
(American; b. 1994)

Soul Bass
     I. Prelude
     II. Chorus
     III. Fugue

Composed 2022; Duration 17 minutes

Xavier Foley, an Avery Fisher Career Grant Recipient and Curtis Institute graduate, is a visionary artist achieving the heights of virtuosity as a double bassist while building a new repertoire for the instrument as a gifted composer. His quasi-autobiographical Soul Bass concerto (commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra) is teeming with technique and personality.

The opening Prelude offers a syncopated orchestral backing to a lyrical melody, brimming with soulful embellishment. At the heart of the movement is an extensive cadenza that delights with twists and turns. The central movement opens on an introductory wind segment, echoed by strings, then joined by the soloist, who sounds a hymn-like melody. As the movement gains a head of steam, bluesy manipulations create an unmistakable contrast between Black idioms and the stoic European church chorale, all the while overlaying them harmoniously. The same dichotomy is heard in the finale in which the bass opens on a virtuosic subject for the fugue – a rigorous process of layering melodies from the days of Bach – then launches into further sliding and soul-influenced embellishments that only grow in complexity and excitement.

Chaz Stuart, 2026