Re: PPP
Posted: 26 Aug 2023, 19:08
From https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/donbyrd/CMNExtremes.htm
But as stated above by @Fred G. Unn , it is not completely valid source.Rastall (1982) contains a fairly extensive discussion of early uses of dynamic markings. In the items below, no distinction is made between words and their abbreviations, e.g., between f and forte.
- Earliest use of any dynamic marking: Vincenzo Capirola's lutebook (ca. 1517) (Fig. 120 in the article "Notation" in Sadie, 2001).
- Earliest use of pian[o] and forte: Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata pian e forte, from Sacrae Symphoniae (1597).
- Earliest use of mf: Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (1762), Act II Scene 1. Runners-up: Haydn: Piano Sonata no. 9 in D (1767; Peters-Martienssen ed.), II; F. X. Richter: String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 5 no. 2 (1768). NB: Rastall (1982) says C.P.E. Bach used mf, but gives no details.
- Earliest use of mp: Schütz: Saul, was vergolst du mich (ca. 1650) from Symphoniae sacrae III (Barenreiter; reprinted in Burkholder, 2006) (contributed by Cuthbert). Runners-up: Haydn: Quartet Op. 77 no. 2 (1799; pub. 1803), I (contributed by Solow); Liszt: Transcendental Etude no. 4 ("Mazeppa") (1827, rev. 1837). Rastall (1982) says mp appears later than mf, but gives no details. Badura-Skoda (1962) says Mozart knew of mp as well as mf, writing "pf" for the former, but gives no further details.
- Earliest use of fp: Johann Stamitz: Sinfonia in E-flat ("La Melodia Germanica" no. 3) (1755), I. Runner-up: Mozart: Piano Sonata in F, K.280 (1774), III.
- Earliest use of pp: Schütz: Saul, was vergolst du mich (ca. 1650) from Symphoniae sacrae III (Barenreiter; reprinted in Burkholder, 2006) (contributed by Cuthbert). Runners-up: Handel: The Messiah (1742), Nos. 17 ("Glory to God"), 18 ("Rejoice greatly", final version), etc. Johann Stamitz: Sinfonia in E-flat ("La Melodia Germanica" no. 3) (1755), I; Haydn: Symphony no. 7 ("Midi") (1761), I. NB: Rastall (1982) says pianissimo "appeared early in the 17th century".
- Earliest use of ff: J.-J. Rousseau: Le Devin Du Village (1752), Scene 1, air "J'ai perdu tout mon bonheur". Runners-up: Johann Stamitz: Sinfonia in E-flat ("La Melodia Germanica" no. 3) (1755), I; Haydn: Symphony no. 7 ("Midi") (1761), I.
- Earliest use of ppp: Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 5 in Eb ("Emperor"), Op. 73 (1809), I. Runner-up: Schubert: Erlkoenig, D. 328 (1815). NB: Warner (1977) says J. G. Tromlitz's Flute Treatise of 1791 mentions ppp.
- Earliest use of fff: Haydn: Sieben letzten Worte (1787; Artaria), string quartet version and *orch. version (contributed by Hosar). Runners-up: Beethoven: Leonore Overture no. 3, Op. 72a (1806; Eulenberg ed.), m. 610; Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 5 in Eb ("Emperor"), Op. 73 (1809), I. NB: Warner (1977) says J. G. Tromlitz's Flute Treatise of 1791 mentions fff.
- Earliest use of pppp: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 (1830; Breitkopf & Hartel ed.), V, m. 345, double bass. Runners-up: Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette (1839; Breitkopf & Hartel ed.), no. 4, "La reine Mab, reine des songes", in the celli four bars before rehearsal no. 54 (contributed by Bala); Wolf: In der fruehe (1888; Peters ed.).
- Earliest use of ffff: Unknown. Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (1880) uses it, but his The Tempest, Op. 18 (1873) already used fffff (5 f's).
- Earliest use of forte possibile: Dussek: Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 44 (publ. 1800), I. An interesting runner-up is Chopin: Etudes, Op. 25 (1832-36; Paderewski ed.), nos. 10 in b and 12 in c, but there were almost certainly other uses between 1800 and this.
- Earliest use of hairpins: According to Rastall (1982), hairpins are first used in the violin sonatas of Piani (1712). Distant runners-up: Haydn: Piano Sonatas no. 9 in D (1767), I; no. 2 in e (1778), I; and no. 5 in C (1780), I (all Peters-Martienssen ed.); Mozart: Piano Sonata in D, K. 576 (1789), II (Presser/Broder ed.). But surely there were many uses between 1712 and 1767!