Ryan:
I am an organist, an on the basis of my experience, with respect to your
questions
I wonder if it's permissible to optimize out the pedal
staff if it helps fit music onto the page. Likewise, if there's a long
passage for pedal only, can I optimize out the manual staves?
Yes, you can, and others have done it in the past. I would suggest doing
this, though, only if you anticipate that the typical player of the work
will have a high level of skill. If on the other hand, you anticipate
that the typical player will be less accomplished, I would suggest not
optimizing systems.
Regarding page turns, if the hands are silent, but the feet are playing, is
a page turn permissible if it's the only choice? I'm trying to put page
turns over multi-measure rests, but being an organ concerto, there aren't a
lot of them once things get going.
If either one hand is idle, or both hands are, there is little need to
give thought to page turns. An organist will be much more appreciative
of thought given to page turns in passages when both hands are occupied,
but even in this instance, an organist skilled enough to be playing an
organ concerto will have a repertoire of methods to deal with awkward
page turns. Many of my scores contain photocopies of particular pages
which I use when I play the works contained on those pages, and where
there is just no good place to make a page turn.
Oh, if there are systems with nothing but rests, is it permissible to show
only one staff so that more systems can fit on a page?
Yes, although typically in the organ part of a concerto, there will be a
grand staff, not a single staff to fill this purpose, even though the
grand staff would take somewhat more pages.
ns
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