Klarinet Archive - Posting 000317.txt from 2005/04

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Precisely what is a "partita"?
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 21:28:00 -0400

Excerpt from Groves 2nd Edition (Online):

--- Begin Quote ---
=91Partita=92 as a term for variation died out in the early 18th century,=
but=20
it retained its meaning of suite, though often restricted in its number of=
=20
movements. The orchestral partita in particular was popular in western=20
Austria (a large collection survives at Stift Lambach) and in Salzburg,=20
where partitas were widely composed between about 1720 and 1750. Thereafter=
=20
the genre apparently gave way to the symphony (the last known example of a=
=20
Salzburg orchestral partita, by Michael Haydn, dates from 1770; its three=20
movements are now better known as parts of the symphony Perger 12).=20
Ferdinand Seidl=92s sole extant Parthia (A-LA, 239), possibly composed in=
the=20
1740s, is typical: each of its four movements (Intrada, Menuet, Intermezzo,=
=20
Finale) is moderate or fast in tempo and largely based on dances; like most=
=20
partitas of the time it is scored for two violins, two trumpets, timpani=20
and basso (lacking violas, which are also missing from Eberlin=92s lost=20
partita in G major and Leopold Mozart=92s only extant work of the type; see=
=20
Eisen, 1994). Some partitas, however, including a considerable number of=20
works from the Viennese orbit, were conceived one-to-a-part; by and large=20
these represent a subset of the divertimento, which at the time was a=20
catch-all term for soloistic ensemble music (Webster, 1974). The term=20
largely disappeared well before the end of the century, except in the case=
=20
of outdoor wind music, where Feldpartita or Feldpartye continued to be=20
used. Schilling=92s Encyclop=E4die (1840) says that Parthie, Parthia and=20
Partita all have the same meaning, that of the successor to the suite, in=20
which prestos, allegros and the like are interpolated among the dances.
--- End Quote ---

-Adam

At 04:52 PM 4/20/2005 +0000, Tony Pay wrote that Dan Leeson wrote:
>"...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."

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