Rutger Hofman <address@hidden> writes:
(sorry for not including the conversation, but this from my Android phone.)
OK, a slur it must be.
But, although the notation a8( a8) may be uncommon nowadays, it is
quite common in baroque music. Most recently, I met it in BWV 146 mvt
2, all over the place. It also occurs elsewhere with 3 or 4 notes. My
baroque violin player friend says: "oh yes, that is bow vibrato." Not
vibrato in the modern sense, but 2 (3, 4) notes under one bowing.
In modern notation, you'd do this as
c8--( c-- c-- c--)
That the baroque manuscripts are less explicit is not much of a
surprise. They tend to be less cluttered, being intended for mature
readership rather than "music for dummies and sightreaders".