Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

Little Sonatas and Chaconne op. 66

Thanks to a royal privilege, French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was able to publish and disseminate his works himself, which is why they quickly found their way into the teaching and performance repertoire in the eighteenth century. Duos for two equal bass instruments, such as the nine "Petites Sonates" op. 66 followed by a concluding chaconne, were as popular then as they are today: The short movements with dance-like character allow beginners to play together already early on and offer advanced players the opportunity for imaginative embellishment and stylistic presentation of the merely rudimentarily notated musical text.
In accordance with the original edition published in 1737, the Henle Urtext edition presents the duos in score form, whereby the spontaneous switching of parts in the repeats of the individual sections is possible. Included to assist beginner cellists is a second score with fingerings and bowings by the experienced pedagogue Thomas Klein – thus, nothing stands in the way of musical enjoyment!

Fingering by Thomas Klein (Violoncello)