Dorian

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Biber often missed out a flat in the key sig (Missa Sancti Henrici [?] speaking from memory here.) It was common in late renaissance early Baroque...and here I have to hand Grandi's O Porta Caeli andand Gabrieli's Omnes Gentes. A really early example is Pygott's Quid Petis O Fili, which I'm about to sing this w/e...so have to rush! More examples to follow when I fall over them.....

- thinking further about this last night, it struck me as an eminently sensible & practical practice, seeing how, in g minor (for example) the Eb is as often "naturalised", it requires more time (and ink) to keep changing the "accidentals" so many times - just pop in the flat signs when needed. (The Bach "score" for BWV 538 demonstrates this as well - just add the C#-s; no need to keep putting b-s or natural signs in front of the B-s as well.)

[Dave2002]

- thinking further about this last night, it struck me as an eminently sensible & practical practice, seeing how, in g minor (for example) the Eb is as often "naturalised", it requires more time (and ink) to keep changing the "accidentals" so many times - just pop in the flat signs when needed. (The Bach "score" for BWV 538 demonstrates this as well - just add the C#-s; no need to keep putting b-s or natural signs in front of the B-s as well.)

Very possibly. One wonders how far composers got with writing out their manuscripts. Perhaps there was an "oh ****" moment to change the signature to avoid further accidentals and extra work. If some extant manuscripts are originals, is there any evidence of changes to the key signature which might arise from this kind of action?

Maybe some composers knew before they started writing that this was going to happen. Alternatively they may have started without the full signature and put in an extra part if the piece developed that way - depending on what music emerged. Speculation, of course.