Klarinet Archive - Posting 000050.txt from 2010/03

From: "Christophe ASTIER" <christophe.astier@-----.fr>
Subj: Re: [kl] Coincidence???
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:42:02 -0400


Hi colleagues,

One good reason to pick the number twelve is that it is a "sublime number"
by the definition the mathematicians give to these (see here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublime_number ).

(Ok 12 is not he only "sublime number", but the next (and only other) one is
6086555670238378989670371734243169622657830773351885970528324860512791691264
even WA.Mozart would be at pain !)

Regards,

Christophe

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 6:02 PM
To: "Klarinet" <klarinet@-----.org>
Subject: [kl] Coincidence???

>
> David Whitwell, formerly of Cal State Northridge, brought some interesting
> information to my attention:
>
> 1] The most important wind ensemble in the court of Louis XIV (1638 -
> 1715) was the Les Grands Hautbois and it consisted of 12 players.
>
> [2] When this idea of an oboe band spread to Germany, beginning c. 1690,
> the ensembles were all 12 players
>
> [3] The original of the Handel Fireworks music was for 12 players, 11
> winds and timpani
>
> [4] Mozart's gran Partitta is scored for 12 winds and string bass
>
> Was Mozart following some tradition in picking the size of the gran
> Partitta and not just some larger Harmoniemusik?
>
> And is there any logic for the number 12? Perhaps. One of the German oboe
> bands called themselves, "the Apostles."
>
> Dan Leeson
> dnleeson@-----.net
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe: email klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org,
> klarinet-digest-unsubscribe@-----.
> For a list of commands: email klarinet-help@-----.org
> For help: email klarinet-owner@-----.org
>
>