Scores

Abstract

Music publishing influenced the dissemination and performance of chamber music. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, new rotational formats for parts allowed musicians to gather around a table to sing or play. Early music stands were propped on instruments or tables, but eventually came to stand alone, encouraging musicians to move away from domestic to specialized spaces and furniture. Music publishing allowed composers to establish their reputations beyond their immediate circle and their lifetimes. As full scores as well as parts were published, musicians were able to learn complex pieces more quickly. Complete-works editions began to assert a historical canon that excluded as much as it included.