Thank you for remembering Leo Sowerby; he was one of my most memorable teachers.
Hi there
Assuming you’re correct about ‘broadening’ having both dynamic and tempo meanings (I don’t think it has a universally accepted dynamic meaning), there is still an ambiguity: did the composer intend both meanings at once?
It’s always better to write with a bit too much clarity, rather than not enough.
It’s been my experience that sometimes the placement and styling of a term can resolve ambiguity: if the word ‘breit’ appears in italics under a violin stave, it’s not a tempo marking. So the modern style (as practiced by Dorico) is helpful in keeping different classes of text styled and placed differently. I would always separate dim. and rit.
J
Oh, definitely, I agree on this point. I want an expressions popover that allows me to type whatever I want (it can generate a hidden dynamic object behind the scenes if it wants, with a “null dynamic”). But it’s extremely counterproductive for it to simply do nothing when I type, say, “dolce espressivo”. Same thing with the techniques popover, if what I type isn’t in the database, it should create it. (For those who don’t want this behavior, maybe there can be an option to disable it, but it should be the default.)
However, I stand by my argument that “rit. e cresc.” and similar “mixing” of expression and tempo are unnecessary in modern notation and needlessly confusing. It should be possible to write it using Dorico, I’m not against that, there are plenty of reasons to replicate old editions. But it’s still problematic, and in my mind, separate markings are objectively better from a notation standpoint.
Derrek: You’re welcome. An under-rated but great composer. The Organ Symphony in G is a masterpiece. Where did you know him? Chicago, DC, or where?
DC (and Put-in-Bay Ohio )