[snip] > Some > passages are simply insoluble, such as the lone 6/8 bar immediately > before rehearsal G in the first mvt. of Hindemith's _Symphonische > Metamorphosen_. The prevailing meter is 2/4; is the beat to be held > constant through the 6/8 measure (compound meter), or the note values > (simple meter)? Both solutions are represented in recordings. Unless a > composer wants to tack down the meaning with what can be a profusion of > E = E indications, there is always a risk of the intended musical > meaning being misinterpreted, because the traditional notation is > inherently unclear. > > Andrew Stiller
I agree that there is a potential metrical ambiguity in the passage you cite, though musically I think it's clear that the eighth note stays the same. It's valuable to look at it inductively, i.e., how would Hindemith have notated that measure if he wanted E = E, vs. how he would have notated it if he had wanted the beat to remain constant? In the latter case, it's likely he would have written eighth note triplets in 2/4, while in the former case he would have written just what he did write: 6/8 (or two measures of 3/8, though I think 6/8 is more descriptive of the larger metrical accent he had in mind). It would certainly have helped to reinforce his intention with E = E, though. Lee Actor Composer-in-Residence and Assistant Conductor, Palo Alto Philharmonic http://www.leeactor.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
