At 5:24 PM -0400 6/1/06, David W. Fenton wrote:
Well, why is it that sometime between 1770 and 1790, all composers started becoming substantially more specific in notating dynamics and articulations than they were before? [snip] All we know is that for some reason, it began to be specified. My guess is that it began to be specified precisely because there was widespread difference of opinion on the standard practice and because composers in the 1790s and on no longer wanted to leave those kinds of choices up to their performers. So, they started specifying exactly what they wanted.
There is an exact parallel in the operatic developments of this period. First Gluck, with his reform notions, attempted to take back the freedom--some might say license--that the superstar singers were used to in Handel's and Metastatio's day. Then Rossini, in particular, began to notate more exactly what he wanted including ornamentation. And while Beethoven had an enormous reputation as an improvisor, it seems that he did not extend the same privileges to those who performed his music.
John -- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
