Breval-Alexanian - Cello Sonata in G major, Op. 12, No. 5 (Arranged for Cello and Piano)

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought renewed interest in Baroque and Classical cello and viola da gamba repertoire. Editors and performers such as Friedrich Grützmacher and Alfredo Piatti helped bring earlier works back into circulation, often adapting them for contemporary audiences with new accompaniments and performance materials. In this atmosphere of rediscovery, Jean-Baptiste Bréval became one of the earlier composers whose music entered the standard cello repertoire.

Bréval’s Sonata in G major, Op. 12 No. 5, is best known today through Alfred Moffat’s piano version, published by Simrock in 1904. Moffat’s version has remained widely performed and recorded, and its treatment of the harmony and cello part is relatively conservative.

This edition presents Diran Alexanian’s piano version of the same sonata, first published by Ricordi in 1918. Alexanian’s version borrows some ideas familiar from Moffat, including cadenzas, harmonies, and piano figurations, but gives the piano a more equal and active role in the texture. The most notable change to the cello part is the removal of the transition leading to the final rondo statement in the last movement. Alexanian included some bowings in the cello part but no fingerings.

Although Alexanian’s version did not achieve the lasting popularity of Moffat’s, it found notable advocates in Maurice Eisenberg and Raya Garbousova. This edition offers a new engraving of Alexanian’s version, with corrections of obvious errors and inconsistencies between the cello part and piano score. Editorial changes are marked in brackets or described in the critical notes at the end of the volume.

We gratefully acknowledge the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections for providing a copy of the Alexanian source.

ASTA level: 3