VIOTTI, Giovanni Battista 1755-1824

[W. IId, 1-6]. Quatuors d'Airs connus Dialogués & Variés [Parts]

Pour Deux Violons, Taille & Violoncelle ... Livre I [-II]

Berlin: J.J. Hummel [PNs 945, 948], [1796].

Folio. Disbound. Violino primo: 21 pp.; Violino secondo: 13 pp.; Viola: 13 pp.; Violoncello: 13 pp. Engraved.
Titles printed from small decorative plates. Quartets numbered continuously. The melodies on which the respective movement is based are identified in engraved caption titles.

Measure numbers added in pencil in a modern hand throughout.

Outer margin uncut. A very good copy overall.

An early edition. White IId:1-6. Giazotto 115-117. RISM V 1888; VV 1892a. Scarce.

The music of this edition is mostly spurious. The British Library holds a copy of André's edition of the same music with autograph notes by Viotti—to vol. 1: "I have never composed these quartets;" to vol. 2: "These are not by me either except the two polonaises." See RISM V1886/V1891 and BUC p. 1045. The "polonaises" are the final movements of the present "Quartetto I" in B-flat major and "Quartetto III" in A major. According to the caption titles, the former is on the "Aria delle nozze di Dorina," the latter on the "Aria in cosa rara." It is not known who composed (or rather, arranged) the remaining music.

Item #26050

Price: $325.00  other currencies