Amy Beach: La Captive (for the G String) for double bass and piano (edited by Lucas Drew)

About the Composition La Captive, means “The Captive” in French. This is a fitting title as Beach indicates that the whole work is to be played sul G, meaning the violinist bassist is to be held captive by the G string. La Captive is in binary form. There are two measures of 69 introduction followed by eight measures of A, eight measures of B, and nine measures of the coda. The form is defined by the use of repeats, as each major section (A and B) is repeated once. Beach clearly strove for symmetrical division within the form, a feature that will occur in other Op. 40 works. Each section of this piece is also defined by the piano texture. Between the A and B sections, these textures can be differentiated by the right hand of the piano, as the textural accompaniment in the left-hand stays consistent. In the coda, the piano has the melody for the first time since the introduction, while the violin accompanies with either pedal tones or a G major arpeggio. Texturally, a surprise occurs a