Sonata for Viola and Guitar

Ausgabe für Viola-An authoritative urtext edition of Schubert's Sonata In A Minor D 821 for the Arpeggione - also known as the Guitar-Violincello or 'Guitar D'Amour'. This version has been transcribed for Viola and Piano edited byWolf-Dieter Seiffert.

The 'Arpeggione' was a guitar-like instrument tuned in the same way as the guitar but held between the knees and played with a bow. The instrument possessed a warm quality and it was this attribute which Schubert exploited in the sonata which he wrote for it in 1824. Schubert's manuscript on which this edition is based contains an alternative violin part which dates from the same period. To avoid an excess of leger lines and clef changes Schubert wrote the arpeggioned part almost exclusively in the treble clef which the performer was expected to read an octave lower than written. The work was edited for the viola when it came into its own as a solo instrument around the turn ofthe century.

Paganini’s Sei Sonate op. 2 (M.S. 26), his Cantabile (M.S. 109) and his Sonata concertata (M.S. 2) bring out all of the timbral and sonic possibilities of both the viola and the guitar. In these pieces, the two voices blend together in a natural way, creating a compelling and well-balanced duo. These three transcriptions make up a perfect introduction to Paganini by way of his chamber compositions and give the violists the opportunity to enrich their concert repertoire by adding the works of an author who is still too rarely performed on the viola. / Partitions classique / Cordes / Alto / RICORDI