Tricentenary edition of three fugues for solo violin by J. S. Bach published

3 March 2021

The unique series of sheet music, complete with an analysis, published by violinist Márta Ábrahám, professor of the Liszt Academy and composer Barnabás Dukay, former lecturer of the institution, is bound to turn a new page in both interpretation and scientific works.

The publication entitled J. S. Bach Three Sonatas for Solo Violin – Tricentenary Edition 1720–2020, published by BioBach-Music (biobach.com), offers a thorough analysis of the sheet music for Bach’s three sonatas for three solo violin (‘Christmas’ Sonata in G minor [BWV 1001], ‘Holy Week’ Sonata in F minor [BWV 1003], ‘Pentecost’ Sonata in C major [BWV 1005]) by the pair of authors known for their research of Bach’s oeuvre. The sonatas containing the works were completed by the composer exactly three hundred years ago.

The analysis features unique, coloured notes in the sheet music layered by parts, which is complemented by a list of topics, figures, and explanations. The sheet music graphics were created by Eveline Meier, a Swiss violinist living in Budapest, who graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2020 from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as a student of Márta Ábrahám.

The colourful sheet music offers string and guitar teachers and students an opportunity for intellectual work prior to the development of a fastidious performance concept, thus helping them to interpret the works. The work may also be of professional interest to music theory teachers and composers, in addition to opening up new perspectives for Bach researchers.

 

Márta Ábrahám, Barnabás Dukay and Eveline Meier

 

German music historian and Bach researcher Christoph Wolff, former director of the Bach Archives in Leipzig, praised the book entitled Excerpts from Eternity, authored by Márta Ábrahám and Barnabás Dukay and published in 2017. The book contains a comprehensive analysis of the famous Ciaccona movement of the Violin Partita No. 2 (BWV 1004). “Musicians with enough patience and the right background stand to profit a lot from the book entitled Excerpts from Eternity. I found the poster sheet music of the Ciaccona particularly informative. I have never looked at this piece in this way before. It is a unique experience to see the complete work broken down into four-beat variations! The book sheds light on the richness of Bach’s compositional technique and the unparalleled elegance of his musical language,” said the renowned expert about the book.