IMSLP Forums

Is there a good viola arrangement of the 2nd solo violin part?
A free version from the web has a good slow movement but the outer movements don't use the treble clef and are virtually unreadable.
The indefatigable arranger Hermann published a v v p version in 1865, but no viola version, according to Hof XIX.

Well one could easily just play the part as it is on viola couldn't they? I can't imagine a Bach piece going too high.

There are two reasons one could suggest for not to reading the second solo vl part as is.

First it's very difficult, playing in 4th to 6th pos half the time, while the 1st vl cruises around in lower positions. For most amateurs this produces shaky intonation.

Second it sounds uninteresting. The viola's A string lacks the brilliance of the vl E string. Better to transpose a lot of the part down an octave. In that way it doesn't sound like the original, but is possibly more interesting - a nice contrast of brilliant violin and mellow viola as in the Mozart S Conc.

Regards WB

I have a related question that would mostly solve this issue:

When people post their own typesetting, why can they not also post the raw file from which they made the .pdf?

I frequently try to play cello pieces on my violin (Haydn concertos, etc.), and many of these pieces have a creative commons typesetting. If I had the raw file, I could just change the clef and move it up a couple of octaves. It would make my life much easier.

The same is true in this case for the Bach double. There are creative commons pdfs of full score and parts. In this case too, one could easily move it down an octave and change the clef.

You're welcome to attach the source file to the generated PDF output.

You could also ask the typesetter directly ... but then it may not have been written in a program you own or can convert.

Try PDFtoMusic Pro, this program was mentioned in another thread a little while ago and really works very well on PDF's compiled from typesetting programs (no use for optical scans).

seph702 wrote:
I frequently try to play cello pieces on my violin (Haydn concertos, etc.), and many of these pieces have a creative commons typesetting. If I had the raw file, I could just change the clef and move it up a couple of octaves. It would make my life much easier.

Yeah, there's been a number of ones where I've been "if only I could shove it into Finale and transpose it".....or hell, there's at least one typeset clarinet concerto that's score only, no solo part!

Melodia wrote:there's at least one typeset clarinet concerto that's score only, no solo part!

Apologies for the slightly off-topic, but which one are you referring to?

http://petruccimusiclibrary.org/wiki/Cl ... _Michel%29

(This link should work while the downtime is still in effect)

There is an edition of the 2nd violin part transcribed for viola by Lionel Tertis. I have been unable to find any reference to it on the internet and have to assume it is out of print. But it certainly exists. Not surprisingly, given that it was prepared by Tertis, it is eminently playable. I have a photocopy (although I have no idea where it came from). The photocopy does not include the title page or any indication as to the publisher or the date of publication.

Boosey & Hawkes, 1942, quite possibly - see Worldcat.