A viola method for children-For more than three decades the Sassmannshaus Tradition has been the household name for excellence in beginner string methods in German-speaking countries. More than half a million students have successfully learned to play string instruments using this publication.The publication of the four Violin books in 2008 in a fully adapted English version has been a big success. On the back of this success story Bärenreiter published the four books for Cello in 2009 and now presents the four books for Viola in a newly adapted version for today's English speaking children.What makes this Viola method so unique?Large print notes and texts as wellas many colourful illustrations are ideal for pre-school as well as school children.Note reading is emphasised from the first lesson encouraging ensemble playing from the very beginning.Songs and scales in different positions are easily mastered within the first year of playing to ensure that children are not confined to first position playing.Advanced viola techniques such as varied bow strokes and shifting are introduced in a basic form.

Playing duets is a great way to learn how to play in a chamber-music setting and this unique collection gives students the opportunity to do it with anyone else who plays a string instrument making the combinations of instruments that can be used almost limitless. Packed with 31 duets in a variety of styles Compatible Duets for Strings is perfect for use in a school setting with students who are especially eager to play music with their friends. Their flexibility makes these duets a must-have for any string player.

Are you looking for a duet book full of surprises? Then Klezmatic Duets is just the right book for you! It is available for violin viola and cello and each book can be combined with each other making these truly flexible duets. The book contains a selection of well-known traditional melodies which are very different in character.

Béla Bartók composed his 44 Violin Duos in 1931, at the urging of the German violin pedagogue Erich Doflein. With two exceptions, all the pieces are based on original folk music themes, most of which the composer himself collected in the course of his numerous collecting trips to the Carpathian Basin and in Algeria. Although conceived as parts of a pedagogically motivated set, these little pieces are highly effective in concert performance as well. The viola transcriptions follow Bartóks original faithfully. / 2 Altos

Harmonische Fantasie über ein Thema von Tallis. Par KNOX GARTH. Thomas Tallis (1505–1585) was one of the great figures of English Renaissance music and the Third mode melody is probably his best known work, largely thanks to Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis. In the manner of an illuminated manuscript, I wanted to illuminate this fascinating theme in three ways: from behind with medieval techniques like the ‘hoquetus’ passage of the opening or the dance at letter B, from in front with more contemporary sounds (letter A and similar), and from above with the extensive use of high harmonics. Almost all the notes of the theme fall very neatly on the ‘natural’ harmonics of the viola strings, and my ambition was to combine the ‘normal’ notes of the viola with its soaring harmonics, creating a rich luminous soundscape which reflects the spirituality of the theme. Tallis’s melody returns repeatedly to the note B, and I interpreted this as a gentle invitation to simply be, in the sense of quiet moments of mediation. I decided to include a series of still points in the piece: the first one is in silence, the second reveals a note (B) that oscillates in a harmonic heartbeat, the third is a vibrating chord of B with harmonics, and on the last one the second viola tunes down the C string to B, then explores all the natural harmonics of this new world. The term still point is of course a reference to the words of T.S. Eliot in his Four Quartets: 'At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is.' (Garth Knox) / Date parution : 2024-01-06/ Répertoire / 2 Altos

Garth Knox is one of the most prominent violists of his generation, and as former long-time member of the Arditti Quartet he has developed and maintained a fondness of contemporary music. In the meantime, he gives concerts and teaches courses all over the world.With 'Viola Spaces' he wants to make contemporary playing techniques accessible to advanced players. The pieces, or 'playing spaces', are true concert studies, each of them dealing with specific techniques such as harmonics, pizzicato (with 9 fingers!) or tremolos which are explained in great detail.Another volume with modern playing techniques for two violas and a volume with variations on a piece by the French viola da gamba master Marin Marais for four violas are planned. / 2 Altos

30 petites pièces mélodiques et rythmiques pour alto/ 30 Short Melodic and Rhythmic Pieces For Viola-Written for 2nd and 3rd year instrumental students My First Studies To Play Together for Viola presents itself as the little brother of the collection for Violin available under reference number AL30683. Valerie Bime-Apparailly once again deploys her usual teaching talent by transforming this genre often seen as boring and austere into a progressive introduction to the mysteries of technique captivating students with its clear clean design and focus on fun. In My First Studies To Play Together for Viola each unit begins with the melody that the young musician is to learn. The technical challenge to master is indicatedin boxed text. Explanations may follow (on the notation of Da Capo for example) after which comes the complete score and the accompaniment to be played by the teacher. Mozart Spohr and Beethoven but also great teachers like Charles de B?riot Jean-Delphin Alard and Maurice Hauchard help students absorb fundamental musical concepts like slurs syncopation appogiatura and bow indications without losing sight of the most important part: the pleasure of playing music.