For some reason I have never been able to remember English terminology for
musical notes. But that's my problem, not yours, Stewart.
You asked about an undated, anonymous Premier Divertissement--sic
(Divertissement is masculine,
but maybe the publisher misspelled it), most likely the work by Kummer***:
In the 18th century a crotchet [quarter-note, hereafter Q] rest
looked like a mirror image [hereafter mE=Q] of a
quaver [eighth-note, hereafter E] rest. We don't write them
like that way any more. When is it the
modern crotchet rest replaced the old one?
I don't think the shape of Q and E rests could be used as a reliable
indicator of the date of a given piece of music. The mE=Q rest originates
in
the earliest mensural notation. Yet, in the Clavier Übung
(1739) engraved by JSB
himself the modern Q rest is clearly used. Also in the 18th (and earlier?)
century
the
Q rest was sometimes shaped like a lowercase Z. When I played
professionally, often from ancient orchestral parts at
outdoor ballet and opera concerts in San Francisco's Stern Grove, I
encountered printed parts, invariably from France as late as the
1940s which used the mE=Q rest (e.g., Les Sylphides [1940] and
Carmen) . You would expect that while in such long use someone would have
taken a
pencil
and marked the mE=Q rests as Q rests. But the parts I read from were
always clean. It's
surprisingly very easy to sight read music that uses E and mE=Q rests.
Literally sight read. Those afternoon concerts had 2 hours of music
prepared
in a single one-hour morning rehearsal.
***It's probably Kaspar Kummer, [Trois] Divertissement[s], Op. 92, first
publ. in
Offenbach aM, by André ca. 1872; plate no. 6268. There's a copy in the
ISMLP.
The first divertissement is in C major, Allegretto scherzando. But you
probably have another edition.
AJN
==
This is the message I received:
Hope I'm not being a nuisance but thought you might have a quick answer
on a rather abstruse point about the dating of crotchet rests. Someone
here has just given me the printed parts for a 'Premiere Divertissement
pour flute, violon et guitarre'. There's no title page and no
composer's name. The donor is the wife of a flute playing retired GP
who has had to give up his music because of failing mental capacity. He
remembers the German colleague who gave him the music but he has no
further recollection of the music or idea who its composer might be.
The music is, I think, early 19th century but I have failed to identify
it. (If I sent you a photocopy do you think you (or Philip) could look
at it to see if you had any ideas ?). The music is not, I further
suspect, of any great significance but it is pleasant enough. The parts
are engraved and printed on laid (i.e.hand-made) rag paper - which is
something of a pointer to an early(ish) date. I have, though, not been
able to spot any identifying water marks. The crotchet rests are like
reversed quaver rests (i.e. not the kind that have two curved lines one
above the other). How far would this be a clue to the date ? When did
the more modern type of crotchet rest come into normal use ? Please
don't waste time on this but I wondered whether you knew when the
change in the normal form of the rest happened and could give a quick
answer.
Can anyone offer any thoughts?
Stewart McCoy.
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