In the previous chapter, we saw Johann Sebastian Bachmoving away from [¢|], using [c|] instead of [¢|] inhis later revisions of the Leipzig Chorale trios.The reason for this particular modification can betraced to a change in metric theory (later explainedby Johann Philipp Kirnberger et al.), in whichsixteenth notes as a predominating note value in thesmall allabreve wereforbidden—ostensibly as an attempt to restore theinternal “Praetorian” balance between the slow c andthe fast ¢.

The subject matter of this current chapter is also theallabreve meter, buthere we turn to the large allabreve [¢༛|], as well as a furtherinvestigation into the “Kirnbergian” small allabreve (i.e., the smallallabreve with noteval-ues that were generally eighths and slower—[¢|])begun in chapter 10. The repertoire consulted forthis chapter will primarily be sourced from themusic of J. S. Bach, but a number of other composers(such as Dieterich Buxtehude and Johann HeinrichButtstett) will be layered into the discussion aswell. The following items will be addressed:

• 1. THE IDENTIFICATION OF LARGE ALLABREVE WORKS. Since inthe late seventeenth and eighteenth centuriesworks in the large allabreve meter were so rare, it will behelpful for the ensuing discussion to firstiden-tify them. While instances of this meter inBach's music will be prioritized, its use by othercomposers will also be noted.

• 2. THE SIGNS OF THE LARGE ALLABREVE: THEORY TREATISES VS.PRACTICAL USAGE. While, in the treatises, manysigns were given for the large allabreve (e.g., , Z1, ᶲ,⊙ etc.), in the scores of many composers—includingJ. S. Bach—the sign used was almost exclusively ¢.Kirnberger's reasons for this usage in musicalscores will be contrasted with its historicalprecedent in the late Renaissance and earlyBaroque. There are a few rare exceptions to thegeneral use of the ¢ sign. These will beidentified and explained later in the chapter,after a number of Bach's own allabreve notation practices have beendescribed and clarified, as they provide the basicframework in which these notational anomalies canbe deciphered.