Hey, I agree that it's not technically necessary. I wouldn't write it myself. But I don't consider it incorrect, or even unnecessarily cluttered (and I'm a big proponent of removing unnecessary clutter). I do sympathize with the (apparent) attempt to induce the players to play the piece, not just their parts. I agree that "sub. mp" after a rest is a bit strange; but keep in mind that the brass do not necessarily know the WW are playing forte (as opposed to, say, mf), and it should not be automatically assumed that they know how much contrast their mp represents (yes, that's the conductor's job). My approach would be to make sure the brass had a cue for the WW, including their dynamic marking. But I think it's likely the conductor will have to tweak the balance bet. WW and brass via verbal instructions, no matter how the parts are marked.
-Lee > >> Working on a piece for large ensemble. The composer has a passage > >> for woodwinds at forte. Immediately after the WW finish, the > >> brass comes in at mezzo piano. The composer has marked "mp > >> subito" in the brass parts, but I think the inclusion of subito > >> is unnecessary since the brass haven't been playing before > >> this.What's your opinion? > >> _______________________________________________ > > > > I think the principle of "the clearer the better" is > appropriate here. The > > brass aren't playing, but they're sitting there listening to > the WW playing > > forte, and it certainly can't hurt to emphasize that their mp > does represent > > a sudden change. > > > > Anybody sitting listening to woodwinds playing forte and > seeing an MP in their parts who doesn't know it's a sudden > change isn't a very good musician, and if I were in that > group as a performer I wouldn't think much of a composer who > thought so little of my musicianship that he felt he had to > tell me that mezzo-piano is a sudden change from forte. > > I agree that "the clearer the better" in most situations, > but I also adhere to the principle "over explanation doesn't > make things clearer." > > I can envision the rehearsal where the brass stops the music > and asks the conductor "What does subito mp mean when we > haven't been playing?" > > Too little clarification in the notation is a bad thing, but > so is too much clarification. > > -- > David H. Bailey _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
