It was a chance visit to a second hand bookshop in Nottingham that set me on the trail of Rossini's now well-known Duetto for cello and double bass. But the story begins earlier than that. In the 1960s I was studying the double bass at the Royal College of Music with Adrian Beers who was at that time principal of the English Chamber Orchestra on the front desk of the Philharmonia Orchestra and a member of the Melos Ensemble of London (then one of the leading ensembles of the world). I was working on the 'Dragonetti Concerto' as most young players do and I wanted to find out a bit about it. My teacher said he thought the autograph manuscript might be in the British Library which was all the encouragement I needed to secure a pass to the Reading Room so I could go and see for myself. There sure enough I found a large collection of Dragonetti's autograph manuscripts together with other bound volumes relating to his life. The papers had been lovingly collated and annotated by Vincent Novello one of Dragonetti's closest friends then deposited in the library before his departure to Italy in 1848 two years after Dragonetti's death. One of the volumes included a lot of letters about various engagements and music festivals copies of orders for strings Dragonetti wanted from Italy details about paintings he wanted to buy and numerous invitations to private functions. The manuscript of the 'Dragonetti Concerto' of course wasn't among the papers we now know it to have been written by Edouard Nanny a century or so later. One name that came up regularly in the documents was that of Sir George Smart. Smart had been a violinist in Salomon's orchestra and had played for Haydn at his London concerts in the 1790s. As a child he had learnt much about music from his father who had in turn been present at many of Handel's rehearsals when he was preparing some of his major works for the first time. Smart was also a fine keyboard player becoming organist of the Chapel Royal in 1822. As a conductor

Par FRANCOEUR FRANCOIS. Compositeur et violoniste virtuose, François Franc?ur reste relativement méconnu, alors qu'il côtoya les plus grands, à Versailles et à l'Académie royale de Musique. Il composa nombre de pièces instrumentales et lyriques qui rencontrèrent un vif succès en leur temps. François Franc?ur signe ce deuxième livre de sonates pour violon et basse en 1730. La structure de ses sonates, très équilibrée, comprend 4 à 5 mouvements, où se succèdent mouvements italiens (adagio, allegro) et danses françaises (allemande, sarabande, courante, gavotte...). Franc?ur y développe un style composite et très personnel, où se mêlent influences françaises et italiennes, notamment par les mélismes, coloratures et fioritures, très inspirés de Corelli. Les bariolages, très italiens, côtoient les agréments et les notes inégales à la française. Ces sonates nous interpellent par leur raffinement, leur élégance, leur sobriété. Le style, gracieux et fluide, où se mêlent tendresse et poésie, nous offre des lignes mélodiques expressives et sensibles. La musique y est profonde, ne cédant jamais à un excès de virtuosité. La première partie du livre II (sonates 1 à 6) est déjà disponible. Le livre I (sonates 1à 6 et 7 à 12) sera disponible fin 2011. / Date parution : 2010-10-15/ Recueil / Violon seul et Basse Continue

Par FRANCOEUR FRANCOIS. Compositeur et violoniste virtuose, François Franc?ur reste relativement méconnu, alors qu'il côtoya les plus grands, à Versailles et à l'Académie royale de Musique. Il composa nombre de pièces instrumentales et lyriques qui rencontrèrent un vif succès en leur temps. François Franc?ur signe ce deuxième livre de sonates pour violon et basse en 1730. La structure de ses sonates, très équilibrée, comprend 4 à 5 mouvements, où se succèdent mouvements italiens (adagio, allegro) et danses françaises (allemande, sarabande, courante, gavotte...). Franc?ur y développe un style composite et très personnel, où se mêlent influences françaises et italiennes, notamment par les mélismes, coloratures et fioritures, très inspirés de Corelli. Les bariolages, très italiens, côtoient les agréments et les notes inégales à la française. Ces sonates nous interpellent par leur raffinement, leur élégance, leur sobriété. Le style, gracieux et fluide, où se mêlent tendresse et poésie, nous offre des lignes mélodiques expressives et sensibles. La musique y est profonde, ne cédant jamais à un excès de virtuosité. La première partie du livre II (sonates 1 à 6) est déjà disponible. Le livre I (sonates 1à 6 et 7 à 12) sera disponible fin 2011. / Date parution : 2016-09-13/ Répertoire / Violon et Basse Continue

Par FRANCOEUR FRANCOIS. Compositeur et violoniste virtuose, François Francœur reste relativement méconnu, alors qu'il côtoya les plus grands, à Versailles et à l'Académie royale de Musique. Il composa nombre de pièces instrumentales et lyriques qui rencontrèrent un vif succès en leur temps. François Francœur signe ce premier livre de sonates pour violon et basse en 1720. La structure de ses sonates, très équilibrée, comprend 4 à 5,5 mouvements, où se succèdent mouvements italiens (adagio, allegro) et danses françaises (allemande, sarabande, courante, gavotte...). Francœur y développe un style composite et très personnel, où se mêlent influences françaises et italiennes, notamment par les mélismes, coloratures et fioritures, très inspirés de Corelli. Les bariolages, très italiens, côtoient les agréments et les notes inégales à la française. Ces sonates nous interpellent par leur raffinement, leur élégance, leur sobriété. Le style, gracieux et fluide, où se mêlent tendresse et poésie, nous offre des lignes mélodiques expressives et sensibles. La musique y est profonde, ne cédant jamais à un excès de virtuosité. La première et la seconde partie du livre II (12 sonates) sont aussi disponibles. / Date parution : 2016-01-22/ Répertoire / Violon et Basse Continue

Performance Score and Parts. Par VIVALDI ANTONIO. This scholarly-critical edition is based on all the known sources, whether printed or handwritten, that have come down to us for these frequently played pieces. By closely scrutinizing the source material, the editor has arrived at interesting findings that considerably differ from earlier editions of these works. Rather than taking as her principal source Le Clerc’s 1740 print of Sonatas I to VI – an edition probably made without the composer’s consent – the editor has examined the Naples and Wiesentheid manuscripts prepared under Vivaldi’s direct supervision. The editor has also managed to identify a previously unknown source for Sonata RV 44. All departures from the sources in the printed text and all editorial additions are listed in the critical report. Cellists are thus given ready access to every alternative reading, including deleted bars and the many inevitable variants in articulation. A detailed preface provides essential information on sources and their assessment, with a section on performance practice offering valuable suggestions on interpretation. This scholarly-critical edition is based on all the known sources, whether printed or handwritten, that have come down to us for these frequently played pieces. By closely scrutinizing the source material, the editor has arrived at interesting findings that considerably differ from earlier editions of these works. Rather than taking as her principal source Le Clerc's 1740 print of Sonatas I to VI & an edition probably made without the composer's consent & the editor has examined the Naples and Wiesentheid manuscripts prepared under Vivaldi's direct supervision. The editor has also managed to identify a previously unknown source forSonata RV 44. All departures from the sources in the printed text and all editorial additions are listed in the critical report. Cellists are thus given ready access to every alternative reading, including deleted bars and the many inevitable variants in articulation. A detailed preface provides essential information on sources and their assessment, with a section on performance practice offering valuable suggestions on interpretation. All of Antonio Vivaldi's works for violoncello and continuo in a single edition Scholarly-critical edition for performance purposes Detailed preface on sources and performance practice (German/English) With new findings that considerably differ from earlier editions 'This edition is invaluable for all performers of the Sonatas . ' (Ensemble January 2004) 'This is certainly the definitive edition of these works. '(Strings August/September 2003) / Répertoire d'Examen / Répertoire / Violoncelle et Basse Continue

Opere incomplete Ed. critica e ricostruzione di M. Talbot-Critical edition by Michael Talbot. The vast majority of violin sonatas from Vivaldi?s time including those of Vivaldi himself have come down to us in the form of a score employing two staves: one for violin and one for bass. This guarantees that although portions of the work may be missing what survives is textually complete. Exceptionally five of Vivaldi?s violin sonatas are preserved solely in a partbook for violin held by the Diözesanarchiv Graz the complementary part for cello having disappeared. The sonatas appear to date from the period between the Dresden group (1716-1717) and the Manchester set (c. 1726). Three of the sonatas which all have four movements possess partial concordances in other sources with which they share two or three movements but two of them ? RV 11 and RV 37 ? have so far been found only in Graz (with the exception of an incipit for RV 11 found in a contemporary thematic catalogue). This critical edition makes these two works available for study and performance. The bass part is an editorial reconstruction and there is in addition a realization of the continuo by the editor.

’Gallant’ and ‘sensitive’ by no means implies boring and old-fashioned. Proof of this is given by Franz (František) Benda the Bohemian Paganini of the 18th Century. Not only was his life extremely colourful andsuccessful but so were his musical compositions that were primarily for the Violin. They are great examples of his compositional ability and mastery of the Violin. Our highly praised Urtext edition with six selected sonatas fromthe master’s different creative periods including four first publications will provide a rich experience for all those violinists who are prepared to step off the usual beaten track. Your efforts will be rewarded!

Kirchhoff est né à Mühlbeck (près de Bitterfeld) en 1685 et mort à Halle en 1746. Il était (comme Haendel), l'élève de Zachov et devient, en 1714, successeur de Zachov comme organiste et ' Directeur Musices ' à la Marienkirche à Halle. Ses sonates pour violon, qui ont salué par Leopold Mozart, sont très bien adaptés pour utilisation dans l'enseignement du violon, car ils sont habilement structurés autour des capacités de l'instrument. Particulièrement recommandé pour les amis de la musique de violon baroque. / Violon Et Basse Continue