On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 10:53 AM, J. Claudio Di Veroli <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>
> According to Lindley (1982) the passage of the thumb for fast scales and
> passages, coexisting with the traditional fingerings for slow passages, is
> first suggested by Alessandro Scarlatti in the 1730's.
>

​The 1730s?  Alessandro Scarlatti died in 1725.

The use of the thumb in past "passages" and diminutions was common among at
least some players earlier than the 1730s. And Lindley makes the
all-important distinction between slow scales and fast ones.

Monsieur de Saint Lambert said in 1702 (Les Principes du Clavecin) that all
good players in Paris used all ten fingers, including the thumb. He is
talking about the use of fingers for the *tremblement* ornament, but makes
it clear that this applies also to "*diminutions*" -- which, I take it,
include the faster scales in 16th notes (semiquavers), the kind of
ornaments that Chambonnières didn't like very much... These fast scales are
entirely different from the slower scales in 8th notes (quavers) that are
given in most fingering examples. At the faster speed, in diminutions,
somewhat different practices may apply. Saint Lambert insists that "one
uses the fingers as one deems appropriate", and that "convenience of the
player" and good "gracefulness" are the primary guiding principles. He then
describes the latter as the way of holding the hands, fingers, and elbows
in a good position at all times.

His most specific remarks about fingering are placed in the supplement at
the back of his book, the *Remarques*, which are not intended for beginners
but are for more advanced players: "Masters of the harpsichord have
established the practice of only playing the *tremblements* with the
fingers indicated in this chapter, but when they made this rule they
assuredly did not give it enough thought. They should have considered that
it is impossible to accustom the fingers to too much agility and that
nothing makes them more supple than the *tremblement*. Thus they should
have established the practice of doing *tremblements* with all the fingers
of each hand, even with the little finger and the thumb; at least, this is
the advice I will give to those who do me the honor of referring to me on
the subject, and I am persuaded that they will find it to their advantage.
For if one examines all the capable masters in Paris, one will discover
that those who distinguish themselves the most by the beauty of touch and
sureness of execution are those who make use of all their fingers equally
well, by having accustomed themselves early to exercising them all
equally." (Translation by Rebecca Harris-Warwick, 1984.)

For me, one critical question is this: How do we distinguish between the
ways early fingerings are indicated in the surviving sources, which are
mostly addressed to less sophisticated players in slower passages, from
what the best players in Paris were doing in about 1700 in faster passages?

Avoidance of the thumb is a very useful "rule of thumb" (!) for helping a
beginner keep a good hand position. But more advanced players, who had
learned how to keep that good hand position, also clearly did use the thumb
-- and obviously not just when playing octaves because in that case Saint
Lambert's comment would make little sense.

Good fingerings were considered to be the result of good hand positions,
not the other way round. This is an important distinction. Thinking of the
"fingering" question the other way round puts the cart before the horse --
or rather the horse behind the cart...
​
Best wishes,
Davitt Moroney

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