Re: Scordatura question

[bill wolf]

Today, i believe it is standard to include both a fingered score and a sounding score.  i did, anyway, when i wrote my scordatura piece.  It had a complex tonality, and i thought it fair to give the performer a sounding score so they could more easily spot errors.  It might not be as necessary for a simpler language and approach.

H.I.F. von Biber, in the generation before Bach, wrote extensively in scordatura tunings.  His cycle called, The Rosary Sonatas, has a different tuning for nearly every piece, including one where the D and A strings are switched.  That one is called the Cross Sonata.  A friend of mine performed the cycle and switched between four violins to cut down on the constant retuning.  Anyway, Biber only had fingered scores, and it's wild to follow the score while listening.  You see parallel tritones on the page while listening to thirds float by.

Well, there you have it:  an open-ended answer.  Because scordatura has fallen out of practice for nearly all string players but guitarists, i'd include a fingered score with a sounding score no matter what--a bit like a courtesy accidental.

Take care!
bill

> Hello folks,
>
> String instruments sometimes use scordaturas: I?ve wondered how this is noted in modern scores, but couldn't find examples on the Internet.
>
> Can anyone give pointers to actual scores showing that?
>
> Thanks!
>
> JM