Baffled by Haydn score

• Apr 24, 2021 - 22:16

I'm using Musescore to create music for playback. This score by Haydn has me stumped. If you look at the picture, at the fourth measure all instruments have Vcl placed above them. The only thing that I can find for that abbreviation is violoncello. A few measures later, all instruments are labeled Bassi. I am uncertain how to interpret this. Are all these instruments supposed to change to cellos and then basses??? Can someone tell me what it means, and how to notate it in Musescore so it will play back correctly? Thank you!

Hayden.jpg

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Just search in the "Text" palette and select "Change Instrument". Then open the "Bowed Strings" Palette, and select violoncello. Repeat with the other instruments needed.
Hope this was help :D

In reply to by crispy_crisp

I appreciate your prompt response. It's easy enough to do that. But the cello plays in the bass clef, while the flute is in the treble clef. When I change the instrument, it changes the clef. But the score doesn't indicate any changes in clef or key for any instrument. Changing the instrument all the way down will change clef and key on many. The whole thing doesn't make sense to me. If Haydn wanted all the other instruments to remain silent, and only hear the celli, why notate it this way? Why not just put rests for all but the celli, and add extra notes to the cello staff or even add an extra cello staff? Can this really be what Haydn intended? I've never encountered anything like this in other scores.

It's impossible to replace all instruments (especially the horns that held the note, and the Timpani, a percussion instrument) with Celli.

Which musical-work is this?

In reply to by BroWCarey

The Contrabass and Violoncello is sometimes written on one staff.
Sometimes such a text of information is included to show that some notes belong only to Celli or Bass.
This text was mistakenly distributed to all parts.
Look at the bottom staff, it belongs there.
There should be a rest on the Vlc/bass part at the bottom.
If there is no rest in one of the next measures (eg: "Bassi."), it means both.

In reply to by BroWCarey

Looking at some other editions, some have the D.B. and cello on separate lines. And some combine them. In any event, in 206 only the cello plays. And is marked Vcl to show that. At that point in the music, the trumpet is doing some fancy stuff so the texture needs to be thinner.
So it is a mystery why it is marked in all the parts. I suspect that someone didn't know what Vcl meant.

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