On Feb 27, 2006, at 8:28 PM, Darcy James Argue wrote:
A question:
What is the standard indication, in works for SATB chorus, that a
passage is to be sung by everyone except the soloist (when, e.g., the
soprano soloist shares a staff with the rest of the sopranos)?
Assuming the soloist came from the section, and would presumably join
them again once the solo was over, "the rest" is perfectly clear. If
the composer wants something else, let him choose it. You have made
your suggestion for best communication; now it is up to him. It is not
fair for him to keep vetoing your suggestions without putting forth a
better idea. (I used to have a girlfriend like that; she would never
choose the movie, but kept making faces and saying, "Mm, not really..."
until I suggested the movie she was thinking of from the start. We
didn't last long.)
I have also used "Solo" and "Sop." in a similar situation, where the
solo part sings at the same time as the section part. In published
parts, I have also seen "Soprano solo" and "Soprano section" marked,
though I find those to be a little long. I agree that "gli altri" is
only likely to be recognised by string players, and so should be
avoided.
In my situation, both parts were very simple, with very little text. At
the smallest sign of complication, the soloist should get its own
staff. Setting two different texts on two different parts on the same
staff can get very messy. If you are worried about two 7-staff systems
per page (5 parts and piano) having to be reduced too far to be
legible, remember that choruses hold their music much closer than say,
string players do, so the staff reduction can be much smaller than
orchestral parts.
Christopher
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