Old (or just odd?) notation

[mknoll]

In some of the stile antico movements of this little-known work, Bach has got some sort of proportio dupla thing going on where the full measure comprises a breve, but he also provides little half-size barlines at the semibreve level (see attachment). I thought that I might be able to finesse Finale's Mensurstrich capability to reproduce this, but it doesn't seem possible that way (at least from what I've been able to figure out).

Right now I've got the movement notated in 4/2, but showing an alla breve cut time signature, and I will add the half barlines as expressions by hand, and enter (and center!) all those breve rests as actual rests if necessary, but am hoping that there might be an easier way.

So, does anyone know of a way to:

1.) automate the half barlines?

2.) change the default whole-measure rest to a breve rest instead of a sembreve?

I realize that it would be plausible just to rebar the thing in 2/2 and forget about the half barlines (as Bach in fact does later in the Confiteor movement), but I'd like to follow the autograph as closely as possible here.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Mark

[Peter Thomsen]

1) I think that adding the half barlines as expressions is the easier way.
If you create an expression category especially for the half barlines, you can define positioning parameters for this new category so that the half barlines automatically position themselves (= less manual work).

2) The so called Default Measure Rest symbol is a document setting:

[BuonTempi]

Bach .. provides little half-size barlines at the semibreve level (see attachment).

Interestingly little detail. It seems that Bach was both ambiguous and inconsistent in his use of half-bars for the alla breve sections. Frequently, the score was in 4/2, but the parts would count in 2/2.

See page 24 of this book:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7KM ... &q&f=false

I realize that it would be plausible just to rebar the thing in 2/2 and forget about the half barlines (as Bach in fact does later in the Confiteor movement), but I'd like to follow the autograph as closely as possible here.

I'd be more tempted to leave it as 4/2 without the half-bars. There are legions of contemporary masses where Kyrie II is a contrapuntal section in 4/2, particularly in the Italo-German tradition of the Dresden court, whose style Bach was attempting to paraphrase.
The Dona nobis lacks the half-bars, though as you suggest, this might indicate it is to be slower than the same music in the Gratias.
Bach uses a "cut 2" in the 2nd section of the Credo, whose purpose seems mainly to differentiate Cut C from its use as 4/2.

[mknoll]

Thanks Peter and BuonTempi, this is very helpful.