For Violone-Very little is known about the two sonatas which appear here in their original keys. They were placed in the library of the Music School in Oxford at the end of the seventeenth century in a form convenient for playing (i.e. unbound). The library was catalogued by Hake between 1850 and 1855 and the sonatas were eventually bound in 1855 with other instrumental and vocal manuscripts of the same period some of which are dated 1698.The sonatas are both inscribed on the title page Sonata Violone Solo. Col Basso per l'Organo o Cembalo. A third sonata bears the words Sonata Violino e Violoncino … di Giovannino del Violone. Giovannino (=Little or Young John) musthave been a performer and although the third sonata has been copied by a different hand it is conceivable that Giovannino is a connecting link between the three. He cannot however be assumed to be their author.The Violone was a six-stringed instrument with frets and there is evidence to suggest that the Contrabasso of the same period was similar but probably a little larger; the Violoncino (=Little Violone or Violoncello) must have been smaller. The word 'Violone' was also used as a collective term embracing all members of the Viol family which means that the sonatas might well have been written for a tenor or a bass Viol and not necessarily a Violone as such. Indeed when they are played on a Violone or Double Bass the continuo bass line must be played at a lower pitch than the solo instrument to prevent inversion of the intended harmony. (The use of a Violone/Double Bass continuo or 16' organ tone would overcome this problem.)The editor has added no ornaments or embellishments to the solo part as it appears in the original manuscript. It is open to debate whether a Violone player owing to the very nature of his instrument would have used any but the simplest melodic decorations. Nevertheless the performer should acquaint himself thoroughly with those seventeenth century traditions that are known today (see Dart

Par RAVEL MAURICE. In 1922 Maurice Ravel heard the young Hungarian violin virtuoso and niece of Joseph Joachim, Jelly D'Aranyi, in concert in London. Following the performance, Ravel spent the remainder of the evening requesting D'Aranyi to play numerous gypsy tunes on her violin, probing her on the technical limits of the instrument. The result of this encounter is Ravel's virtuoso classic 'Tzigane”. Written originally for violin and piano or luthéal (a mechanism invented in 1919 that attaches to a piano, producing a sound similar to the rich overtones of the Cimbalon), the premiere took place in London in April 1924. The composer had finished the work only days beforehand. Ravel later orchestrated 'Tzigane” and both versions remain a 'must” for music-lovers and aspiring violinists today. Jelly D'Aranyi performed both versions regularly throughout her long career. This Urtext edition presents the first scholarly-critical edition of Ravel's masterpiece. It is published both in the orchestral version, complete with full score and performance material, as well as in the composer's earlier version for violin and piano. All known sources, including letters, have been drawn on for the new edition - one of the available sources, consulted for the first time, was a copy of 'Tzigane” from the estate of Jelly D'Aranyi, which is today part of a private collection. The version for piano and violin contains, besides the Urtext part, a second violin part as a facsimile with performance instructions by Jelly D'Aranyi. D'Aranyi's alterations and fingering reflect how Ravel must have heard the work in rehearsals and performance and as such are a document of early 20th century performance practice. The cooperation between Ravel and D'Aranyi is comparable to that of Brahms and Joachim working on the Brahms violin concerto. - First scholarly-critical Urtext edition of the work - Presented are both versions: for violin and orchestra and for violin and piano - Includes Jelly D'Aranyi's fingering/ Répertoire / Contrebasse