Alary-Servais - Le Lac de Côme: Barcarolle (Transcribed for Cello and Piano)

Giulio Alary’s song Specchio è il lago was composed for the celebrated Italian tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, with text by Carlo Pepoli. The song was later translated into French by Dieudonné Tagliafico under the title Au Lac de Côme.

The Belgian cellist-composer François Servais transcribed the song for cello and piano as Le Lac de Côme: Barcarolle. According to Servais scholar Peter François, the transcription was first printed on January 18, 1848, and proved highly popular: Schott printed more than 3,000 copies between 1848 and 1913, and the work was also issued by other publishers.

Although the piece is based on Alary’s song, the first pages of both the piano score and cello part identify Servais as the composer. The subtitle also appears there with the spelling Barcarole. There is no known record of Servais performing the transcription or of his having met Alary.

This edition presents Servais’s lyrical transcription for cello and piano, a graceful nineteenth-century salon piece well suited for study, recital use, or teaching.

ASTA level: 3