On 9/4/07, David W. Fenton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > And the number of parts in the Dresden set doesn't tell you anything - > - it is always the case that when sending a set of parts you copied > out a single part for each independent part, and left it up to the > recipient to create the doubling parts.
But why didn't those *other* copies of the parts survive in Dresden? Besides Parrott's monograph gives a detailed listing (pgs 177-187) of all surviving vocal parts from Bach's cantatas, and very few of them have multiple copies, just single S/A/T/B parts. Parrott quotes from Praetorius: "When a large company of musicians is on hand, one can thus also have such ripieno parts copied out two or three times, and distributed and divided ..." Parrott cites many other quotes / sources showing that if there were other singers, it was normative to copy out those parts. And what about performance materials in Darmstadt and Frankfurt and Hamburg, which have the same disposition, with one vocal part surviving, with very few mutliple ones? Parrott raised the question and it's a valid one, if there were multiple copies of vocal parts, if you add up Bach, Telemann and Graupner's cantata output, we have about 3700 cantatas, where there should be hundreds of copies of vocal parts. They just don't exist. Actually the onus is on providing proof that 12-20 member choirs were the norm in early 18th century Germany. Thanks Kim Patrick Clow _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
