Göttweig Suite 16

  • Suite 16
    Nov. 27, 2016

    This suite, pages 50 - 63 of vol. 3 of the complete Göttweig edition, is similar to Suite 20 in Vol. 4.

    Like Suite 15, this work is in d minor with no accidentals in the manuscript key signature.

    Prelude:

    Bar 12, basso: in the manuscript the last quarter note has no flat, but I suggest adding it parallel to the vda part.

    Bar 15 vda part. in the manuscript the last note of the bar is a dotted half note, or, if you prefer, it is tied over to a f quarter note on the downbeat of bar 16.

    Bar 17 vda part. in the manuscript the vda has a whole note f, followed on beat 3 by a half note triple stop chord f’ a’ d’’. Bar 17 beat 1 note b natural followed on beat 2 by g dotted half. This makes a smoother transition for bar 17 to 18 than is in the edition.

    Bar 21 in the manuscript b’s are natural in both parts.

    Bar 24 is tricky. in the manuscript the only accidental is a natural on the b on the 3rd beat of the viola d’amore part. This suggests to me that the chord at the beginning of the bar is a Bb chord. I suggest adding b flats for the first two beats and b natural to the third beat.

    Allegro

    Bar 6 viola d’amore, fourth beat, in the manuscript the last three notes are written a 3rh lower. This does not affect the
    concert pitch but is a useful suggestion about looking for fingerings that help the player avoid string crossings. The same
    thing can be said for bar 21, 8th and 9th notes and bar 33, last note.

    Bar 11 basso, beat 1. in the manuscript the four 16th notes are fdge. There is a curious insertion of 2 eighths in the middle of the bar: I suggest that that this bar would work better if the insertion was omitted, and the f d g e were eighth notes. The a with the # over it would then be beat 3, as it is in the parallel cadences bars 28 and 34.

    Bar 16 basso In the manuscript b natural on beat 3.

    Bar 29 vda. I suggest adding a flat to the second note of the bar, although it is not in the manuscript.

    Bar 31 basso. In the manuscript the 2nd A half noted is tied to the next bar.

    Bar 35 vda In the manuscript the last four eighth notes are F d E c#.

    Saraband

    Bar 7 I suggest adding # to the c on beat 3. What about b? It is supposed to be natural, yes?

    Bar 25 basso I suggest harmony should be e minor.

    Bar 30 vda part. This phrase is tricky. The copyist seems to be struggling: I suggest the down beat of 31 should be dotted quarter a, followed by there eighths c g a, then bar 2 dotted quarter g, followed by three eighths bb f g, then as it is in the edition.

    Gavatta/basso, Gavott. vda

  • Bar 2 basso in the manuscript the third beat is a d quarter, followed by another d quarter which is tied to the d quarter on the downbeat of bar 3.

    Bar 4 vda the way I read the manuscript, the vda part is e quarter on the third beat, f d eighths on the fourth beat. It doesn’t harmonize in the score, but sounds convincing to me in performance.

    Bar 7 vda In the manuscript the final note is written a 3rd higher.

    Bar 11 vda. Once again we see a curious mistake in the manuscript, as if the copyist is thinking in the F tuning, so he notates the unison f/f incorrectly. The lower note is a low second finger on the 4th string.

    Bar 13 basso in the manuscript there is a # over the first note.
    Bar 14 vda I suggest changing the fourth eighth note to g’.

    Menuet.

    Bar 4, 6, 10 14 and 20, vda. in the manuscript the eighths are all beamed together. In bar 15, however, the eighths are
    beamed 4 and 2.

    Bar 11 vda part. In the manuscript the b is natural

    Bar 14 vda part. In the manusctip the second beat is d f. I suggest tying the first beat to the second.

    Bar 17 vda part. In the manuscript the second and third notes are slurred.

    Bar 21 basso the original notes are quarters f d g

    Rondeaux. In this movement as in many other places, the slurs are carelessly written. I find varying the number of notes slurred can be a source of good fun.

    Bar 1 vda. I suggest adding the unison double stop d’’/d’’ to the downbeat is it is in all parallel places.