Carl Friedrich Abel was a composer between the Baroque era and the Classical period, trained in Leipzig, possibly by Johann Sebastian Bach. Abel was a friend and collaborator of Bach's son Johann Christian Bach, with whom he founded a subscription concert series. Abel was a renowned player of the viola da gamba, and produced significant compositions for the instrument. He had many of his works published during his lifetime.[1][2]
Over five years Günter von Zadow wrote an extended new list of Abel's compositions, for the occasion of the tercentenary of his birth in 2023.[5] They are catalogued by AbelWV numbers,[6] comparable to those of Bach (BWV) and Handel (HWV). The catalogue lists 420 works. It takes into account the newly discovered works, and additional sources for known compositions.[5]
It replaced the catalogue of Abel's works published in 1971 by Walter Knape [de], Abel-Werkverzeichnis, with 233 work numbers.[1][7]
Günter von Zadow introducing the AbelWV at the Abel 300 festival in Köthen
The Catalogue was introduced at the international festival around Abel's music, Abel 300, held by the city of Köthen in June 2023 on the occasion of the tercentenary of the composer's birth. During the festival, Leonore von Zadow-Reichling and Günter von Zadow of Edition Güntersberg received the new biennial Abel Prize, for their efforts to retrieve and publish Abel's works.[3][6][7]
Description
The catalogue is arranged in groups by the number of players intended for each piece, as Abel wrote predominantly chamber music:
Category A – One Instrument
Category B – Two Instruments
Category C – Three instruments
Category D – Four instruments
Category E – Symphonies
Category F – Concertos
Category G – Other works.
The numbering is open to the addition of more works, should they be found. Each category begins with an overview of the works, providing context. For each of the 420 compositions, a description with incipit, sources and concordances is provided.[1][5]
The catalogue features indexes by opus number, autographs and manuscripts. It lists publishers, printed editions in RISM, and concordances to older catalogues. An index of incipits for all movements in the catalogue facilitates finding a work when the title is not known. They are grouped by key, and within a key, by beginning intervals. In an appendix, a timeline of Abel's published works is provided, with approximate dates as most editions are undated, and their dates can only be deducted from secondary sources.[5]
One of two portraits of Abel by Thomas Gainsborough appears on the title page;[1] other illustrations include title pages of prints.[5]
.jpg)
