Scholarly Performing Editions: A CodaAuthor(s): Bernard RoseSource: Acta Musicologica, Vol. 38, Fasc. 2/4 (Apr. - Dec., 1966), pp. 202-203Published by: International Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/932529 .

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202 A. D. Fokker: On the Expansion of the Musician's Realm of Harmony

In vocal music this is readily done. Here no special provision for an equal temperament is necessary. But in order to support vocal music with the aid of instruments and especially with keyboard instruments tuned according to an equal temperament it is important to adapt the temperament to the new needs. Here it is good to know that an equal temperament of 31 diises in the octave promises well. For the reproduction of the primary tetrad 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 it is conspicuously the most suitable. For the nearest future it seems to be the best policy to switch over from twelve to thirty-one. Music to-day seems ready for that.

In times to come the eleventh too is liable to rise to the status of a recognised and desir- able concord. In that future situation the equal temperament with 41 supracommas might show some advantages. Until those distant days the 31 dieses will offer a fair approximation to the eleventh. The error here is -9,4 cent only. That error compares favourably with the +13,7 cent error of the major third in the usual duodecimal temperament of semitones. Many people are prepared to accept the latter error without grudging, as daily experience shows.

The use of the thirteenth as a concord is still farther off in a more remote future. We saw that the 31 ditses and the 41 supracommas offered equal advantages for balancing the interests of the eleventh and the thirteenth.

Hence for many reasons a recommendation of the choice of thirty-one dieses for an equal temperament seems sound and safe.

Scholarly performing editions: A coda BERNARD ROSE (OXFORD)

In the event of your readers being convinced by Jan La Rue's "solution" for scholarly performing editions (Acta musicologica, Vol. XXXVIII, 1966, pp. 69-70) I feel I must write and point out further facts. His "solution", although perfectly practicable in the case of some music (and several publishers have been doing for many years what he suggests), does not work with choral music written before say 1700, the main reason being that this music has to be transposed before it can be sung. It is remarkable that some firms are still publishing such music- at vast expense-in untransposed versions and calling them perform- ing editions. This is alright providing say an alto is capable of reading from a tenor G clef and transposing up or down (according to the situation), and providing the poor director can read from say an 8-part vocal score with comfort while he is taking a rehearsal. But this is not conducive to good performance, and furthermore it is an unjustified imposition on the performers. It is said that most scholars cannot tolerate looking at a piece of music in five flats the original of which had one flat (e. g. a Dorian transposition). But surely a scholar should be able to adapt himself to this situation (if indeed he is a scholar), whereas the ordinary singer should not be expected to indulge in mental contortions when presented with a piece of music for performance.

There appear to be three types of edition of such music to-day, (1) in which the music is at original pitch, with original note-values and clefs, but in score with bar-lines, (2) in which the music is at original pitch with original or reduced note-values, modern clefs and bar-lines either through the staves or between them, (3) in which the music is transposed (according to accepted contemporary practice), with reduced note-values, modern clefs, bar-lines through the staves, a minimum amount of editorial dynamic marking, all accidentals (both original and editorial) in bold type, a keyboard reduction where applicable, and containing a very complete Critical Commentary which gives every possible detail of variants and editorial additions to the satisfaction of the scholar. Of these three types of edition (1) is utterly

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B. Rose: Scholarly performing editions: A coda 203

useless as a performing edition and is of academic interest only, (2) is frustrating, for it sets out to be a performing edition and is not, whereas (3) completely satisfies all needs. For once England seems to be in the vanguard of commonsense, for several reputable publishers are adopting this method. Let us have an end to bar-lines between the staves with its accompany- ing longae which stretch from one page to another, to minute editorial accidentals which cannot be seen when the music is on a keyboard music-rest, to editions which cannot possibly be used without transposition, and to the re-designation of voices.

CODETTA (Jan La Rue/New York): Dr Rose's alarm is indeed justified, if my brief technical note in any way encourages the obsolete practices in printing vocal music that he so rightly deplores. My remarks apply mainly to instrumental music of the period 1600-1800. For this music the dual potentiality of the offset process deserves to be more widely known and used.

INDEX NOMINUM

Compilavit Theodora Holm

Aaron 154 Abert, H. 101 Achoys, J. 156 Adler, A. F. 111 Adler, G. 22, 23 Adorno, Th. W. 72, 77, 81, 86 ff.,

91ff., 103, 106ff., 111, 113, 115, 117

d'Ailly, P. 159, 167, 168 Albrecht, H. 12, 165 Algarotti, N. 14 Alkuin 139 Allport, G. W. 111 Altmann, W. 15, 164 Anderson, L. F. 99, 101 Andr6 17 Andreas de Mauro 156 Anglade, J. 42, 44 Angles, H. 20, 28, 39, 101 Anna Amalia von PreuBen 9 Anthon, C. 99, 102 Anton von Lothringen 164 Antonii, B. 156 Antonius Angelus de Pereneto

162 Apel, W. 46, 169, 185 Appel, C. 27, 30, 33, 34 Apresjan, J. 95 Archimedes 198 Aribo von Mainz 135 Aristoteles 8 5 Artaria 17 Aschbach, J. 163, 165 Assafjew, B. W. 95 Aubry, P. 28 Avalle, A. S. 42, 43

Bach, C. Ph. E. 9, 12 Bach, J. S. 9, 10, 12, 13, 100,

102, 104, 187 Bagenal, H. 104, 106 Baini, G. 12 Baldell6, P. 164 Balet, L. 116, 117 Barbara, K6nigin 164 Barclay-Squire, W. 20 Barnett, J. H. 90 Barre, A. 179, 181 f., 184 Bart6k, B. 201 Bartsch, K. 29, 42 Barzun, J. 109 Basili 9 Battiferri 9 Bauer, R. 113, 115 Beauchamp, R. 165 Becherini, B. 171 Beck 28, 32 Becker, C. F. 12, 16, 17 Becker, H. S. 102 Beckerath, E. v. 72, 82 Beethoven, L. van 11, 12, 24,

113 Beissel, S. 139 Bekker, P. 107, 113, 115 Bellaguet, M. L. 158 Bellaigue, C. 93 Bellermann, H. 18 Belviane, M. 90 Bencini 9 Benda 12 Benedikt XIII. 150 Berger, K. 95 Bernard, Y. 115

Bernart von Ventadorn 27, 28 ff., 31, 33, 46

Berner, H. 94 Bernhard I. von Baden 165 Bernhard, B. 98, 101 Bernhardt, R. 10 Bernouilli, E. 172 Bernsdorf, W. 72, 78, 81, 82, 115 Berten, W. M. 109, 111 Bertschi, N. 133 Bessel, G. v. 8 Besseler, H. 10, 103, 105, 106,

159, 161, 168, 169 Beyerle, K. 143, 152, 153 Biehl, L. 161 Binchois, G. 63, 174 Blankenburg, W. 88 Blaukopf, K. 72, 76, 78, 81, 104,

106 Blechschmidt, R. 9 Blum, K. 113, 115 Blume, F. 23, 24, 27, 51 Boettcher, H. 77, 86 Bohn, E. 18, 19 Bockemeyer, H. 9, 25 Bonne de Savoie 68 Bonnot, R. 76 Borra, M. 164 Borren, Ch. van den 1 f., 161,

162 Borris, S. 85 f. Bortnjanski, D. 194, 195 Bosch(e), J. 153 Bott&e de Toulmon, A. 12, 98,

101 Boughton, R. 117

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