44 Duets for two Guitars

Bela Bartok composed the series of forty-four violin duos in 1931, prompted by the German violin teacher Erich Doflein. With the exception of numbers 35 and 36, all the pieces are based on original folk melodies, and the majority were collected by the composer himself during his numerous field trips in the Carpathian Basin. The melody for no. 42 was collected by Bartok in Algeria. Universal Edition (Vienna) published the violin duos in 1933 in four volumes, arranged in order of difficulty. The present transcription faithfully follows the original; fingerings are by the editor. CONTENTS: Matchmaking song; Maypole Dance; Menuetto; Midsummer Night Song; Slovak Song (1); Hungarian Song (1); Walachian Song; Slovak Song (2); Play Song; Ruthenian Song; Cradle Song; Hay-gathering Song; Wedding Song; Pillow Dance; Soldiers' Song; Burlesque; Hungarian March (1); Hungarian March (2); A Fairy Tale; Alternating Song; New Year's Greeting (1); Mosquito Dance; Farewell to the Bride; Jeering Song; Hungarian Song (2); Teasing Song; Limping Dance; Sorrow; New Year's Greeting (2); New Year's Greeting (3); New Year's Greeting (4); Dance from Maramaros; Harvest Song; Enumerating Song; Ruthenian Kolomeika; Bagpipes, Variation of no. 36; Prelude and Canon; Rumanian Whirling Dance (Invartita batranilor); Serbian Dance (Zaplet); Walachian Dance; Scherzo; Arabian Song; Pizzicato; Transylvanian Dance (Ardeleana).