Betts: Two Duetts for Violin and Cello, Op. 5, No. 1 in C Major and No. 2 in E-flat Major
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Arthur Betts (1775-1846/7) was a violin maker, violin dealer and composer. His 3 Duos Concertante for 2 Cellos, Op. 12, were published by Grancino in 1982. These Duets of Opus 5 were published about 1810 in London.
Duet No. 1 in C Major has a slow introduction in C Minor to a sonata form first movement in C Major. A second movement in F Major is marked Adagio con Espressione and the Finale is marked Rondo, Allegretto; rhythmically it is a Polonaise.
Duet No. 2 in E-flat Major has a slow introduction to a sonata form first movement. The second movement is marked Rondo, Allegretto. There is no slow movement.
Rare 18th and 19th Century Chamber Music including the Cello
In the late 1970s I acquired two bound volumes of duos for violin and cello. As a cellist, I was attracted to them since they were “duos concertante”, with the cello part equal to the violin part. There were 58 duos, with all the violin parts bound in one volume, and all the cello parts in the other.
I am offering many (but not all) of these duos in both facsimiles of the original (no scores were printed) and new performing editions by myself with scores and parts done on Finale. These editions will attempt to correct errors, resolve inconsistencies in dynamics, articulations, bowings, etc. However I will not supply such markings where there is no reason to do so, leaving that to the whim of the performers.
Facsimilies
