Dragonetti Allegretto (from the Solo in E Minor), Double Bass & Piano

Domenico Dragonetti, well-known Italian double bass virtuoso, was bom in Venice in 1763. In 1794 he went to London where he played at The King's Theater. His famous instrument made by Gasparo di Salo is now encased at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice where Dragonetti played before leaving for England.

The Solo in E Minor was a favorite composition of Dragonetti and it is typical of his manuscripts “in toto” which are divertimento type pieces - unpretentious in character and dimension, but quite considerable in the technical demands of their bravura style. The doctoral dissertation of Dr. Anthony Scelba on Dragonetti's Solo in E Minor should be consulted by those who wish to read an authoritative and interesting biography of Dragonetti as well as study the complete Solo in E Minor. This edition presents an abridged version ofthe "Allegretto," the second movement of the Solo in E Minor. Some repetitive (or "more of the same") passages have been deleted.

The Double Bass Solos of Domenico Dragonetti, a master's thesis by Dr. Neal O'Neal was the source of the Solo in E Minor for this editor in 1966 when he performed the “Allegretto” with chamber orchestra at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.