Mendelssohn's Canzonetta is one of 11 Classical arrangements for intermediate string ensemble included in Richard Young's Comprehensive String Pedagogy & Curriculum. A portion of the proceeds of sales for all CSPC music goes to support free music education at The People's Music School.

Canzonetta is an Italian word for a "little song" that was sometimes used in madrigals which became popular around 1520 during the Italian Renaissance. This Canzonetta by Mendelssohn (from his Op. 12 string quartet) thus provides a convenient link to the "Italian symphony" that is included in the Advanced repertoire of CSPC.
 The most challenging aspect of this piece is the Trio section of this ABA (rounded binary) movement. It is one of Mendelssohn's magical fantasy-pieces that is filled with drama yet is always soft, scurrying, and leggierissimo. Other examples are the scherzo movements of his string octet and his two piano trios, as well as his famous overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn's instruction to the players in the octet should apply to all these pieces: "si deve suonare, questo scherzo sempre pianissimo e staccato” – "this scherzo must be played always pianissimo and staccato." And herein lies the challenge for all instrumentalists, young and old. Though the notes are not especially difficult, they become treacherous when they must be played lightly and softly.
 -Richard Young

Full program notes are included with the score. There are fingerings and bowings in all the string parts of every one of CSPC's pieces. These "cooked-in" technical solutions target the particular levels of the students. They are not just pragmatic but "musical."

Please note that due to a loss of source files, the PDF files of the music have been generated from scanned copies of printed parts. While every effort has been made to produce high quality parts, the limitations of scanning will result in some degradation of print quality.