Halvorsen: Passacaglia, Sarabande con Variazioni After Handel Violin and Viola

String Duos and Trios

Score and Parts

Johan Halvorsen's virtuoso “Passacaglia” for violin and viola, freely adapted after Handel, is an indispensable encore in the concert halls. The Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist wrote this duo in 1893. In the Henle Urtext it appears together with its sibling work, the “Sarabande con Variazioni” from 1898, another bravura piece on a theme by Handel. The fingerings and bowings in the two performance scores of the Urtext edition come “from a single source”, from violin and viola virtuoso Henning Kraggerud. Halvorsen's original markings are available in the Henle Library app. A knowledgeable preface by Halvorsen expert Øyvin Dybsand rounds off the edition.