CARL FRIEDRICH ABEL was born in Cöthen in 1723. At the age of 20, he was employed as a chamber musician and gambist at the Dresden court. During this time he wrote many compositions, including 13 flute concertos. In 1759 he went to London, where he had a brilliant career as a composer, musical director and concert organiser. Together with Johann Christian Bach, he established the Bach-Abel concerts. He died in London in 1787. Numerous works of chamber music and orchestral music published in print made him well-known throughout Europe, but today he is best known for his works for viola da gamba.
In 1971 Walter Knape published his catalogue of Abel’s works, which lists 233 work numbers. In the last decades, however, numerous other works have been discovered, as well as additional sources of known works. Therefore, for the Abel anniversary in 2023 (300th birthday on 22 December), this new, contemporary and up-to-date work catalogue is published. It describes 420 works, ranging from a single minuet for viola da gamba to the Sinfonia Concertante. Each work is presented with incipits and associated sources and concordances. Each category of works begins with an overview chapter placing the works in an overall context. Eight directories facilitate orientation, and a chronological table contains all known data on the creation and publication of the works. In the appendix, 34 title pages of historical prints and 19 portraits are reproduced full-page.
