Tarantelle

Cellist and composer Daniël van Goens was born in Leiden, Holland, on 3.9.1858; he died in Fontainebleau, France, on 10.5.1904. When he was fourteen years old his family left their home because some of his younger siblings had died of tuberculosis. After this van Goens spent most of his life in France and Switzerland. Having started cello lessons in Leiden, he had further tuition in Montpellier, Lausanne and later on in Paris with Léon Jacquard (cello) and Albert Lavignac (composition), achieving outstanding examination results in 1883. A brief career as a soloist brought him a measure of fame, particularly in France. Deteriorating health however frequently obliged him to cancel concert engagements until he was eventually no longer able to play the cello and thus increasingly turned his attention to composition. The majority of his works were composed for cello and piano, including numerous short character pieces and two sonatas. His compositions also featured a few orchestral works, two cello concertos and some chamber music. This Tarantelle op. 44 is a valuable addition to the cello repertoire, particularly as few works by van Goens – apart from his famous Scherzo op. 12/2 – are now played. The Tarantelle was published in 1904 as plate no. 27517.