Matthew Hindson's arrangements for string quartet

Australian composer Matthew Hindson has two volumes of music arranged for string quartet available for free download from his website. Click here to go to his website.

In volume one:

Halleluia Chorus - Handel
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba - Handel
Jesu Joy of Our Desiring - J.S. Bach
Ave Maria - Gounod
Humoresque - Dvorak
“Finale” from the Violin Sonatina - Dvorak
Nocturne in Eb Major - Chopin
“Largo” from Violin Sonata in D Major - Handel
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair - Debussy
Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner

In volume two:

“All We Like Sheep” from The Messiah - G. F. Handel
“Prelude” from English Suite No. 3 - J. S. Bach
Symphony No. 5, Mvt. 1 - L. van Beethoven
“Flower Duet” from Lakme - L. Delibes
Für Elise - L. van Beethoven
Gymnopedie No. 1 - E. Satie
Symphony No. 77, Mvt. 4 - J. Haydn
“Three Little Maids” from The Mikado - A. Sullivan

Twentieth Century Sonatas

In each case below, the violin part follows the piano part in the pdf file...

Carl Nielsen: Sonata for violin and piano no.1, op.9
Carl Nielsen: Sonata for violin and piano no.2, op.35

Max Reger: Sonata 1 for unaccompanied violin

Vivaldi Violin Concertos

Click here to go to page from which you can download several of Vivaldi's violin concertos. The score, solo and orchestral parts are available.

Goldmine of chamber music sheet music!

Click here to go to a site where you can downlaod scores and parts for string quartets by Schumann (no. 1 - a minor), Beethoven (looks like it has his entire string quartets available!), Franck, Mozart, Brahms (op.51 no.1 in c minor), Schubert (no.10 in Eb), Haydn (op. 1 no.1, op.74 no.s 1&2, all of Mozart's string quintets and clarinet quintet, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Mendelssohn's Octet for strings, Bruch's 8 Pieces for cl, vla & pno, Mozart's Kegelstatt Trio for cl, vla and pno...

It's available on the page linked to above, and the subsequent pages of the list shown.

Arrangements for solo string instrument with piano

Marais: Five Old French Dances: cello / piano

Ravel: Pavanne for a dead princess: violin / piano

Verdi: Il Trovatore: violin & piano (violin part follows the piano part in the pdf)

Verdi: Ernani (violin & piano)

Verdi: Nabucodonosor (violin & piano)

Sousa: Home Sweet Home (violin & piano)

Random string quartet arrangements

Debussy's The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, arranged for string quartet by Jakub Kowalewski, can be downloaded for free here. It is in score format but only three A4 pages in length.

Bach: Air in D from BWV 1068

The Wiering Software site has some fantastic arrangements available for string quartet to download for free, such as:

Handel: Water Music (selections): violin 1 / violin 2 / viola / cello
Handel: March in D: violin 1 / violin 2 / viola / cello
Moussorgsky: Gopak: violin 1 / violin 2 / viola / cello
Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus: violin 1 / violin 2 / viola / cello
Dvorak: Wind serenade op.44 1st mvt arr. for string quartet: violin 1 / violin 2 / viola / cello

Christmas music

Here's a multi-movement work called 'Noels en Trio' by Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726) which would work for two violins and cello: score / violin 1 / violin 2 / cello

Here's a link to where you can download an arrangement of Corelli's Christmas Concerto op.6 no.8 for string quartet (score and parts available). The files are zipped... Corelli: op.6 no.8

The First Noel arranged for piano trio: piano / violin / cello

The site music-scores.com has some Christams carols arranged for string quartet available for free. You are allowed to download 3 files per day if not a paying subscriber to their site.

Here's some Christmas Carols from various sources that could be played in a string quartet at Christmas-time gigs if your violist can read bass clef...

O Come, All Ye Faithful
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Silent Night
Away in a Manger / different version of Away in a Manger
Good King Wenceslas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Joy to the World
O Come, Little Children
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Christmas Tree
Coventry Carol - first page has trio version, pages 2 and 3 have quartet versions.
I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
The First Nowell
The Holly and the Ivy
We Three Kings of Orient Are

Baroque trio sonatas

From the Arcadia Early Music Archive:

Handel: Trio sonata Op.5 no.2

Handel: Trio sonata Op.5 no.5

Handel: Trio sonata Op.5 no.6

From the Werner Icking Archive:

Boismortier: Trio sonata in G major Opus 28, for 2 oboes (flutes,violins) and basso continuo:
Allegro: Score / violin 1 / violin 2 / cello
Courante: Score / violin 1 / violin 2 / cello
Sarabande: Score ( 1 page)
Gavotte: Score / violin 1 / violin 2 / cello

Baroque solo sonatas with basso continuo

From the Werner Icking Music Archive:

Albinoni: Sonate da chiesa for violin and cello/basso continuo Op.4: violin
/ cello

Corelli: Op.5 for violin and continuo: violin only, with embellishments.

Uccellini: Sonate over canzoni, Op. 5:
Sonata Terza: Score / violin / cello
Sonata Quarta: Score / violin / cello
Sonata Quinta: Score / violin / cello

Telemann: "Musical Essays":
Solo 1: Score / violin / cello
Solo 7: Score / violin / cello

From Johan Tufvesson (separate violin and cello parts available here):

Biber: Mystery Sonatas No.1: The Annunciation for violin and continuo / transposed one tone down / Passacaglia (solo violin)

Biber: Sonata Representiva

Solo unaccompanied works by Bach

J.S. Bach: 6 Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin / transcribed for viola / transcribed for cello

J.S. Bach: 6 Suites for solo cello / transcribed for viola / transcribed for violin

Etudes

Here's some studies that are free to download:

Sitt: 100 Etudes op.32 (1st position)

Paganini: 24 Caprices for solo violin No. 1 / No.2 / The whole 24 are availble free to download here, but they're zipped files (unzip them with WinZip or similar program to open)

Kreutzer: 42 Studies or Caprices are available free to download here, except that they're zipped files.

Rode: 24 Caprices: no.1-5 / no.6-10 / no.11-15 / no.16-20 / no.21-24

Mozart and Haydn String Quartets

Here's a page from which you can download Haydn's complete op.76 for free and ten of Mozart's quartets. You will, however, have to unzip the files if you download them, so will nedd WinZip or something similar to do that...

Haydn: Op.76
Mozart: KV 387, 421, 428, 458, 464, 465 ("Dissonance")

Baroque duos

Wasn't Telemann clever? He wrote so much music for so many instrumental combinations. Here's his Canonic Duos in:

Treble clef
Alto clef
Bass clef

Note that you can play the above with instruments reading the same clef or a different clef; they are written in the same key! (therefore violin & viola, viola & cello, or violin & cello work). These were typeset by Johan Tufvesson.


Here's the first of Telemann's Sonatas for two violins/flutes from Mutopia:

Sontata 1

Here's two Hotteterre sonatas for two flutes without continuo (but I'm sure they would sound delicious on violin too!)
Sonata 1 - score
Sonata 2 - score

La Follia

Here's the Corelli La Follia (Op.5 no.12) for:

Violin and continuo (cello)
Viola and continuo (cello) - in g minor


and here's a Follia by Vivaldi for string trio:

Score
Violin 1
Violin 2/viola
Cello

Mozart duos

Do you know those beautiful violin/viola duos by Mozart? Well Werner Icking himself (of the Werner Icking Archive) has arranged them for a viola/cello combination. Yay!

Score: Mozart Violin/viola duos
Parts: Mozart Violin/viola duos

Parts: Mozart duos arranged for viola/cello

Here's something fun, maybe to share with your students? These "Mirror" duos are played with each person seated across from the other, so that one person is reading and playing the music upside-down!

Der Spiegel (The Mirror) for two violin, violas or cellos

Some chaconnes to rival Pachelbel's Canon for bridal entrances!?

I don't know about any other parts of the world, but here in Perth, Western Australia, all couples seem to want as they walk down the aisle is Pachelbel's Canon in D. The other day I said to some string-playing friends that I'd like to find another canon that is similarly handy in that you can stop whenever you need to...and I found some beautiful chaconnes by Lullyand Purcell!

LULLY CHACONNES sourced from the Werner Icking Archive

Here's the score and parts for two in G:

If playing this first one in a string quartet perhaps let the violist play the second part, and the second violin the "taille" part (so no-one would be playing the "quinte" part)
Score
Violin 1
Violin 2
Viola
Cello

For this second one, if played in a string quartet, the "quinte" part is given in alto clef, so the "taille" part would be omitted...
Score
Parts

Here's one for a string trio in C:
Score
Violin 1
Violin 2/viola
Cello

PURCELL CHACONNES sourced from the Werner Icking Archive

This is from "King Arthur":
Score
Violins 1 & 2
Viola
Cello

This is from "The Fairy Queen":
Score
Violins 1 & 2
Viola
Cello


But...if you really need Pachelbel's Canon in D, or haven't got the Gigue that follows it, check these out:

Violin 1
Violin 2
Violin 3 / viola
I know you don't really need the cello part for the Canon, but it has the Gigue part as well: Cello

Transcribed for four violas, in G (Canon only):
Viola 1
Viola 2
Viola 3
Viola 4