Swan + Swan by Bach

Free Sheet Music, Intermediate Cellists, Romantic Period
First published on Mar 14, 2024 by Seb
Last updated on Apr 8, 2024 by Seb

From the arranger, on how this double solos came about:

I previously rearranged The Swan by Saint-Saëns in the style of Bach’s unaccompanied cello suites. I jokingly titled it “Bach Wrote The Swan”. Many people told me that there was almost nothing from Saint-Saëns left in my work. So here I lay a slightly mutated version of the original melody alongside my work, to prove that the issue lies with my poor playing, and hopefully not with the music itself.

– the arranger

You be the judge.

This “double solos” is not really meant for actual performance. “Bach Wrote The Swan” stands by itself without needing additional reinforcement. But the juxtaposition allows one to more clearly appreciate that the Bach-style solo retains all key elements of the original by Saint-Saëns. To wit, visually follow the two left hands, to confirm that the Bach solo always hits the same melodic notes as the original, despite flights of its fingers to provide for additional voices and harmonies. Check out the unaccompanied solo cello version: Bach Wrote The Swan.

Here is an mp3 synthesized by MuseScore. The above video and the mp3 will be replaced as soon as a capable musician steps forward to give us a good rendition.

Mp3 rendered by MuseScore

Find below sheet music with notes and suggested slurs. Feel free to re-slur notes for your own favorite phrasing. Or further revise this rearrangement. Both PNG and PDF versions are available.

Swan + Swan by Bach (p1/3)
Swan + Swan by Bach (p2/3)
Swan + Swan by Bach (p3/3)

The PDF may also be downloaded from the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) from the Arrangements tab on this page.

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