Schubert, F :: Sonata in A minor, D. 821 'Arpeggione'

Sonata in A minor, D. 821 'Arpeggione'

Schubert, F

International Music Company presents Franz Schubert's Sonata in A minor, D. 821 'Arpeggione' edited for flute and guitar by Robert Stallman and Allen Krantz.

'The arpeggione would probably be completely forgotten today had not Franz Schubert written for it his famous Sonata in A minor, D. 821, in 1824. Invented by Johann Georg Staufer in 1823, the arpeggione can be described as a kind of hybrid cello-guitar. It had frets and six strings tuned like those of a guitar, but was held like a cello and played with a bow.

Since the range of the arpeggione was wider than that of today's standard string instruments, no single instrument can claim to be the rightful heir to modern performances of the piece. Nonetheless, the solo part has been successfully transcribed for a variety of instruments - including flute, clarinet, viola, and cello - each of which necessitates some octave displacements of the original registers.

Guitarists were active chamber musicians in the Vienna of Schubert's time. He composed some part songs with original guitar accompaniments, and a number of his other songs were published by Diabelli with guitar parts included as alternates to the piano. Because Schubert's harmonies and chord voicings often translate surprisingly well to the guitar, a transcription of the piano part of the 'arpeggione' has both historical precedent and musical validity. Since the piano part does not need to be transposed and the solo part can be played by various instruments, the piece is a particularly versatile and substantial addition to the chamber repertoire involving the guitar.'

- Allen Krantz, 1997