Concerto #18 Arranged For Guitar And Strings (VIOTTI GIOVANNI BATTISTA)

The tenth concerto in B minor in L'Estro Armonico (best translated as The Harmonious Inspiration) which is edited here in A minor - for four solo guitars - is one of the most famous in the entire collection -- indeed inVivaldi's entire output. Scored for four solo violins two solo violas solo violoncello and an strings orchestra. Johann Sebastian Bach not only admired Vivaldi's Opus 3; he copied it openly. In a general sense the Vivaldipieces gave impetus to much that is in the German master's Brandenburg Concertos. More particulary six concertos of Vivaldi's Opus 3 were copied by Bach as the basis for six of his concertos: two for 0rgan (BWV 593 and 596 basedon Opus 3 nos. 8 and 11 respectively) three for solo harpsichord ) BWV 978 972 and 976 based on Opus 3 nos. 3 9 and 12 respectively) and one for four harpsichords and orchestra in A minor (BWV 1065 based on Opus 3 no. 10).Bach frequently rewrote concertos scored for one kind of instrument substituting another. It is evident that Bach thought not so much in terms of the violinistic nature of the originals but in their harmonic and rhythmicpotential which could be realized on any instrument. Since Bach has already justified an arrangement of Opus 3 number 10 by the great aesthetic success of his four-harpsichord version it serves to reason that an arrangementfor four guitars is equally valid. Just as Bach preserved everything of the original Vivaldi and added only a few doubling to accomodate the left hands of the harpsichordists so in this version the substitution of guitars is donewith little or no change of original-notes. The arpeggios especially prominent in the second movement lend themselves ideally to guitar playing and the ability of the guitar to play both lyrical lines as well as passage worksuits the violinistic lines and passages of the original.

With Guitar Accompaniment-Duet arrangements of three well-known Vivaldi Concertos arranged for mandolin and guitar: Concerto in A (RV82) Concerto in C (RV425) and Concerto in D (RV93). Each arrangement in this collection has been reduced from soloistwith string orchestra to a duet for mandolin and guitar. The mandolin performs the solo part and the guitar part is a reduction of the strings. In the guitar part chords have been added above the staff to allow forembellishment-a common practice of the Baroque era. Another C instrument such as flute violin or another guitar can be easily substituted for the mandolin. Musicians will find these accessible arrangements excellent forperformance in any setting from the recital hall to the local café. The score (guitar/mandolin) and mandolin solo part are available in hard copy while the guitar accompaniment part is available as a free internet download.The mandolin and guitar parts are presented in notation.

Vivaldi's Concerto in D Major for Guitar and Strings RV 93 was written after the Sonata for Lute 2 Violins and Continuo. This edition has been edited and arranged by Siegfried Behrend.This is the Full Score.