Composers vs Engravers: Stems and Slurs part 1

[tisimst]

@Wess, did I just imagine it or do you showcase the italic font (Vortragsbezchnung) anywhere on the forum that John is using in this example?

[jrethorst]

... the famous Ruggero G clef ...

Justifiably famous, I'd say. I wondered if it was Cadence, and it didn't look too far from Sonata (my favorite).

[OCTO]

Actually, it's Maestro with Engraver accents, the famous Ruggero G clef, italic expressions are Vortragsbezchnung by our own Wess, tempo markings are TNR, done in Finale with line settings as suggested by various members of this forum and seen on the thread on this subject. The slur settings in the first example are from a Notat.io thread on slur shape that had substantial input by Knut.

...so to say "from our own kitchen".

@Wess, did I just imagine it or do you showcase the italic font (Vortragsbezchnung) anywhere on the forum that John is using in this example?

I think here somewhere: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=82

[John Ruggero]

Justifiably famous, I'd say. I wondered if it was Cadence, and it didn't look too far from Sonata (my favorite).

Wow! That made my day!

...so to say "from our own kitchen".

Maybe I should call this "font" "Notat.io Goulash."

[MJCube]

Etude op. 10 no. 1

I love this MS example, which I first saw (recopied) in a column by Douglas Hofstadter. Notice how the whole notes in the LH are all centered in the bars! Of course no editor would copy it that way because it is non-standard and a bit harder to read, but I think it’s a very informative detail about the concept of the piece.

Also a minor point I just noticed: The MS is in while all the editions are in !

[John Ruggero]

I love this MS example, which I first saw (recopied) in a column by Douglas Hofstadter. Notice how the whole notes in the LH are all centered in the bars! Of course no editor would copy it that way because it is non-standard and a bit harder to read, but I think it’s a very informative detail about the concept of the piece.

Also a minor point I just noticed: The MS is in while all the editions are in !

I think it is pretty unique too. The extreme compression is different from any other Chopin MS. It says: play this so fast that the two measures sound like a slightly broken solid chord that encompasses the entire keyboard (of Chopin's time). It is too bad that one can't really engrave it like that for practical reasons. The original says the same thing, but then Chopin decided to place the strong accents on every beat and the better shows that. Chopin used new and unusual notation to convey his new and unusual effects. For example, the use of small notes to show ethereal as well as non-metric effects, as in the op 25 no 1, the use of extensive pedal marks and fingering.

The centered whole notes are coincidental, since it was a standard practice up until Chopin's time and even beyond. Our present centered whole rests are a vestige of this. One sees centered half and even quarter notes in 18th century MS. Players of that time read by concept and didn't need the notes to stack up to understand what notes played with what. But, as you say, the centered whole notes add to the effect of a single solid mass of sound in each measure.

[John Ruggero]

Here are the ways that four editors of the past handled the pickup notes of the Chopin Etude op. 10 no. 4. It is clear that all were disturbed by the notation of the original edition and felt that it needed modification. Two opt for downward stems on the pickup notes, possibly without knowledge of the MS. And all changed the starting point of the slur in measure 1:

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[jrethorst]

the famous Ruggero G clef

Sorry if I missed something, but why is it famous?

[John Ruggero]

The "famous" was tongue-in-cheek. It is known only to the members of this forum. An account of creating this clef is at: viewtopic.php?t=84

[OCTO]

the famous Ruggero G clef

Sorry if I missed something, but why is it famous?

Famous - on our forum! Yes, that is John's first symbol he ever created, and also, to be honest, very well done. Just to stress this out: is the most difficult to create. It is simply to complex in many aspects. I tried numerous times and lost my patience.......