At 6:15 PM +0200 9/6/07, Johannes Gebauer wrote:
I am sure the least Bach would have told us is where he actually wanted the full choir and where the soloists, had that thought ever crossed his mind.
I understand what you're saying, but I wonder whether the outlook is wrong. Perhaps you are thinking about published music, but none of this was published and (with the exception of the B minor) was always performed with the composer in charge. If he had the extra singers we're arguing about, it would have taken 10 seconds to tell them where to start and stop. And I suspect that he knew perfectly well that once he sent a manuscript off, if it were performed at all the local director or Kantor would have made those decisions for himself.
Bach wasn't intending to "tell us" anything!! In fact he would probably be dumbfounded that his work is still known and revered.
John -- John R. 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
