Pausing in Debussy

[OCTO]

From Durand's edition of "Rondes de Printemps".
Interesting that omitting the quarter rest is very strict and forced.
ADD EDIT: I mean, omitting the quarter dot rest.

deb.jpg (77.78 KiB) Viewed 15275 times

[Christof Schardt]

From the short extract I deduce the following:
The measure is consisting of 5 dotted quarters grouped in 3+2. These are divided in 3 eighth each, which results in a 15/8 time.
If the engraver now would write a 1/2+1/4 rest instead of the dotted half, this would be against the division of the bar (by partially spanning two beats). So he must either notate two dotted quarter rests or - as seen - one dotted half rest.

I would perceive this music as a 5/4 time with a triplet-feeling on the beats.

[OCTO]

Sorry, I was typing incorrectly. I mean, the engraver, or Debussy, omitted (dotted quarter rest). But there is a dotted half rest.

[John Ruggero]

1/4 rest—1/8th rest was the style then, but it could have been worse, at least they used the dotted half rests.

In Fetes, Debussy (or the engraver) didn't:

Fetes.jpg (166.35 KiB) Viewed 15253 times

[OCTO]

Interestin example, John. That's very tiresome to read. We are definitely witnessing better notation standards today.
Is there any new edition of these pieces?

[RMK]

Durand made a new critical edition in 1999.

[John Ruggero]

If Durand did not use half rests in the 3/4 part of 5/4, they were inconsistent in using dotted half rests in the 9/8 part of a 15/8. Arnstein would have used dotted quarter rests only in the 9/8 parts of the measures.

The way whole measures of rest are shown in both scores is also interesting and apparently caused issues. It would be interesting to see what Debussy actually wrote here. Judging from the MS of Gigues, probably nothing at all in the these measures. He simply left rest measures blank.

http://hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usim ... ebussy.pdf

The parts have simple whole measure rests without dotted bar lines or multiple rests.

[MJCube]

I’m in favor of dotted rests when:
a. the value is the beat (e.g. in 6/8)
b. the value is a sensible division of a long bar (e.g. rest in 12/8)*
c. combined with one or more pickup notes they constitute a beat (e.g. in 4/4)

I haven’t thought this through quite thoroughly, so probably there will be exceptions.
As an editor I never allow a rest in 4/4, and I find even is misleading in 4/4.
(In 2/2 can make sense in the case of [c] above.)

* (Lacking symbols here for & larger rests, I used the note value.)
Curiously, Sibelius doesn’t do rests by default, even though it does (i.e. opposite to the OP’s example).

[John Ruggero]

I think that yours is a very sensible approach to dotted rests, MJCube.