> >Snip >I am minded of the editions of Ogni Sorte, not only are they presented in >original notation and parts as well as score, but also the editions focus >on specific themes, eg, De tous biens plains, all 28 known versions by all >composers. (See _De tous Biens Plaine_, Cynthia J Cyrus, A-R Editions). Snip
Ogni Sorte are great editions, but they aren't facsimiles. Tandernacken is my fave. Venus Bant, Fortuna also great. >Snip > > So here is the question, should we "correct" the works of Josquin? > > Because some of those notes are longer in one part. Maybe add a rest > > at the beginning? > >I would first look to printed editions such as Odhecaton and see how it >was handled there; but recall that often an incipit maxima rest shows the >mood and may be better considered part of the time signature. Further, >never forget that printed editions relied heavily on the musical skills of >the compositor(s); persons whose skill was challenged with every piece of >backwards-facing type they placed in the rack. Snip I picked a piece, Mille Regretz, that doesn't start on a rest, but is emblematic of the thousands of imitative pieces that start on a long note and are imitated further on in the piece by a short note. Looking at Odhecaton won't help here, at least in any way that I can see, but maybe I'm missing your idea here. No editor would shorten that first note (Mille Regretz). The point is, there is no rule, stylistically, contrapuntally, or otherwise to "regularize" imitation on the first note, unless Josquin, Isaac and everyone else is writing bad counterpoint. Reconciling the different sources is a separate matter. Even the lute and vihuela versions of Mille Regretz start on a long note; it is a standard way of starting a piece. I'm basically saying, Francesco is like Josquin. And, like most things, the sources differ. dt To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
