Klarinet Archive - Posting 000614.txt from 2001/01

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Gran Partitta
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 10:01:38 -0500

George, your point is not unreasonable but there are difficulties with
what you say.

First, the subtitle of "Gran Partita" is not so hallowed with use. It
was never used to describe the work until around 1908. The reason for
this is that the manuscript was unavailable (one could even argue "lost"
because the series of private owners from 1803 until 1903 never showed
it to anyone). Thus no one knew what it said on the title page and thus
the term was never used. You cannot find reference to this subtitle
anywhere in the entire 19th century. It is solely a 20th century
appelation (and now a 21st century one).

In 1903, Fritz Volbach published a paper on the piece and included a
photograph of the first page. Within 5 years after the release of that
paper (which has the title hand retouched on the photo) someone called
it "Gran Partita," only because the actual words of "Gran Partitta" were
obscured in the hand retouching.

Second, as I indicated, though "Partita" is the usual form, "Partitta"
can be found as an alternate spelling in Italian music dictionaries of
the period and thus one can argue from strength that Partitta may be
used even though obsolete.

Third, in the final analysis, the term is about as stupid as one can use
(and in any spelling) because K. 361 is NOT a Partita/Partitta. The
term implies a specific form and the serenade does not adhere to that
form. In fact, Mozart never wrote a Partita/Partitta in his life. Such
a term implies a precise quantity and order of movement types.
Therefore, any form of that word should not be used as a subtitle. But
if the work had "Music for a jass band" written on the top, that is what
I would have proposed, even though "jass" is an obsolete form of the
word "jazz" and the work is not a jass piece. See my point?

The issue is not spelling or even form. The issue is that the subtitle
should be presented in the orthogrophy in which it appears on the
manuscript even though nothing about it is correct. The alternative is
to use nothing which is exactly what I suggested doing as early as 1979.
It is not a reasonable alternative to change the subtitle to fit a more
conventional spelling. Haven't you seen signs that say, "Ye olde
shoppe"? Would you change them to read "The old shop" simply because it
is a matter of cultural difference?

The worst thing about "Gran Partitta" is that it looks funny. We shall
have to learn to live with it. In 100 years that is the way everyone
will spell it.

George Kidder wrote:
>
> I really quake at the thought of even hinting that an authority like Dan
> Leeson ( and I say that with deep respect) might be establishing a
> dangerous principle, but I think you are, Dan.
>
> Suppose I (knowing next to nothing about Mozart compared to you) were to
> have been the bloke who scribbled GRAN PARTITTA on the manuscript. Suppose
> I also put it in a file labeled Mossart. Both of these are wrong! The
> former has become hallowed by use, while the latter never got off the
> ground. But suppose it had? Would that make the spelling Mossart correct,
> or even correct only for this piece.
>
> Spelling is an iffy thing, and attitudes (even scholarly ones) have changed
> since Mozart's time, and maybe even since 1803. Going somewhat earlier,
> Shakespeare wrote his name in a number of different ways, it appears, and
> didn't seem to worry about it. We NOW consider the spelling I just used
> "correct", but that is us, not him. Who knows what Mozart would have
> thought about GRAND PARTITA, or GRAN PARTITTA, or any other variant.
>
> I would rather modify your statement to read "but 'Gran Partitta' is the
> accepted spelling and every single ....." That avoids giving the bloke
> with the crayon an absolute authority he does not disserve. I would rather
> accept the suggestions of my spell checker - and you know what that's like!
>
> At 14:11 1/17/01 -0800, Daniel Leeson wrote:
> >I got an off-list note from a nice and well-meaning person who corrected
> >my spelling of "Gran Partitta." I hate to be the one standing up while
> >everyone is sitting down, but "Gran Partitta" is correct and every
> >single recording, reference, use, etc. of the term "Gran Partita" is in
> >error.
> >
> >The use of the title is derived from the fact that it appears on the
> >autograph manuscript now in the Library of Congress. It is written in
> >red crayon (though absolutely not in Mozart's hand) in the upper center
> >of the first page.
> >
> >The title was added by an unknown person ca. 1803 and has nothing to do
> >with Mozart, but if it is to be used because of its presence on the
> >manuscript, then it should be spelled the way it appears on the
> >manuscript, and that is, absolutely and unambiguously 'GRAN PARTITTA."
> >
> >For further detail see, Mozart Jahrbuch, 1997, "A Revisit: Mozart's
> >Serenade for Thirteen Instruments, K. 361 (370a), the 'Gran Partitta'",
> >pp. 181-223 with particular emphasis on p. 222, "The 'Gran Partitta'
> >Subtitle."
> >--
> >***************************
> >** Dan Leeson **
> >** leeson0@-----.net **
> >***************************
> >
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>
> George Kidder
> Bar Harbor, ME
>
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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