Klarinet Archive - Posting 000540.txt from 2004/08

From: joseph.wakeling@-----.net
Subj: Re: [kl] Internal evidence
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:54:50 -0400

dnleeson wrote:

> The worst case of internal evidence usage is when it is employed to
establish authenticity, and where the more formal term "style criticism" is
used. A style critic will say, "This piece must be by Mozart because the style
is so much like his."

I recall the off-list discussion that you and I had about the Mozart Requiem.

The introduction to the Eulenberg score (written in about 1937 and unchanged
since) refers to "modern stylistic criticism" being used to judge authorship
of the different parts.

As I think I wrote to you, my impression was that this criticism came down to,
"If it's good, it was by Mozart. If it wasn't, it was Sussmayer." Which
seems to me to be pretty dodgy ground on which to make an authorship decision!

-- Joe

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