# unaccompanied intermediate violin pieces



## Rachel Lois

Hello all, this is my first post. I play violin and play different genres of music. However classical or religious music would be my first choices if I could only do 2 kinds.

I am wondering if you could recommend some intermediate pieces that can be played with no accompaniment? I don`t care for discoordinate sounds too much. I know some Bach pieces, but would like to learn more, preferably some I can play in a church service.

Or a book with this type of music?

I`d appreciate any recommendations you can give.


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## Josquin13

Apart from the Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin by J.S. Bach, I'd suggest that you look into the Passacaglia for solo violin from Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Mystery Sonatas, also known as The Rosary Sonatas, or Rosenkranz-Sonaten. It's a beautiful violin work, and it would be an appropriate piece of music to play in church. But I don't know whether you'll find it too difficult or not.

My favorite performances of this work are all on Baroque violins, but I'm sure you can find an excellent recording on a modern violin, too, if you wish. (I just can't think of one at the moment.)

Andrew Manze: 



Reinhard Goebel:



Monica Huggett: 



Rachel Podger: 




In addition, I'd also recommend that you look into Georg Philipp Telemann's 12 Fantasias for solo violin:

Rachel Podger, on a Baroque violin:













Ferderico Guglielmo, on a Baroque violin:





Andrew Manze also recorded them on a period violin.

Violinist Iona Brown played the Fantasias extremely well on a modern violin, as did Arthur Grumiaux, but I can't find any listening samples from their recordings on You Tube, unfortunately.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...-fantasias-for-solo-violin-5-violin-concertos

There's also Eugene Ysaÿe's 6 Sonatas for solo violin, Op. 27, but these solo works aren't easy, as Ysaÿe was a great violinist: 



.

Have you thought about transcribing a piece of music that you like to the violin?

With that in mind, I wonder if it would be possible to turn one of the 16th century lute settings of the sacred music of Josquin Desprez into a violin piece? Such as one of the settings on the following CD,






Maybe Josquin's Benedicta es coelorum Regina?: 




or perhaps some other deeply spiritual early Renaissance music...

Such as Guillaume Dufay's motet Flos florum?:


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## Enthalpy

Since Josquin13 cited Ysaÿe's sonatas as "intermediate level", I should like to propose Roman Kim's and JSB's pieces
Ballade Dies irae
Chaconne​
Less difficult for the violinist, perhaps less easy for the audience: Gabriela Lena Frank's sonata, Bartók's sonata, Reza Vali's Calligraphies
Suite Mestiza
Sonata
Calligraphy No. 5​They should sound very nicely in a church.

So could you give examples of "intermediate level" and suggest how open-minded the nice people in your church service are?

Maybe something like Greensleeves fits the audience better. Many transcriptions exist for solo violin
*Greensleeves*​You need to find a suitable version. I'm not enthusiastic about the linked one, but most others are worse. Write your own one. Same for Amazing Grace
*Amazing Grace*​I've found no good version, but there are many, so you need to search. Or write you own one.


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## Enthalpy

Decent violin versions of Greensleeves and Scarborough fair, by Caroline Adomeit




​



They are not very difficult (Mrs. Adomeit would have 40dB more capability, hear her in Bartok's violin solo sonata), and sheet music is available there for very few bucks
https://www.carolineadomeit.com/sheet-music​One more excellent violinist who is too little known, and supposedly can't live from the music she would prefer.


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