Template:Did you know nominations/Missa brevis in C (Brixi)

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Z1720 (talk) 16:47, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

Missa brevis in C (Brixi)

Created by Gerda Arendt (talk). Self-nominated at 23:06, 10 June 2022 (UTC).

  • The article was nominated on time and a QPQ has been done. The article is also long enough and new enough and is free from close paraphrasing. As all the sources are in German I am assuming good faith here. The hook fact is interesting as it's unusual for an 18th-century composition to be officially published so late. However, I do have some concerns. Firstly, there is no mention of the composition being written in the 18th century in the article. While the article states that Brixi was choir director in the 1700s (or the 18th century), it doesn't explicitly state that the piece was composed at that time. Secondly, the article states that the piece was first published in 2004; however, it also states that the piece was already being widely distributed even before then. Those apparent contradictions will need to be rectified before the nomination can be approved. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 13:14, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
    Sadly, we don't know when he composed the work. I am sure that he composed it between birth and death, and both fall into the 18th century. The early copies were manuscripts. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:48, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
That would be synthesis and thus would be unsuitable for hook support purposes. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 14:02, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
Should we call another reviewer. How is it synthesis that he can't compose besides his lifetime? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:36, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
It would be synthesis to say that he composed the work for the Prague Cathedral in the 18th century. Given that it's a hook fact, it needs an explicit mention in the article and a reference to back it up. Saying that he could only compose when he was alive would not count as a proper reference. Theoretically (although unlikely), he could have composed the work when he wasn't affiliated with the Cathedral; this is why an explicit mention in the article (along with a relevant reference) is needed. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 14:50, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
You mean we have to make the hook more complicated, for example
ALT1: ... that František Xaver Brixi, responsible for church music at the Prague Cathedral, composed the Missa brevis in C with trumpets and strings in the 18th century, but it was first printed in 2004?
No other position is mentioned in his career, but as you like it. The cathedral is only mentioned to give the mostly unknown composer a position, - it makes a difference whether he worked at a notable large place or some village church. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:09, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
The hook is getting warmer, but it's still not totally accurate. Firstly, the article still says "published" rather than "printed". Secondly, the article doesn't explicitly mention that it was written in the 18th century, it is only implied by Brixi only living within the 18th century. Finally, I'm still not sure if "printed" is the right word here when referring to the 2004 release. It is mentioned in the article that, despite only being officially published in 2004, the piece had already circulated widely before then. There's no mention of how exactly this happened (it may or may not have been handwritten or printed), but in any case "printed" doesn't seem to be the proper term. Maybe "officially published" or "officially released" may be the more accurate term here? Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 16:27, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
I know of no rule that a wording (printed vs. published) has to be the same in article and hook, but here you go.
ALT1a: ... that František Xaver Brixi, responsible for church music at the Prague Cathedral in the 18th century, composed the Missa brevis in C with trumpets and strings, but it was first published in 2004? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:53, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
ALT1a: ... that František Xaver Brixi, responsible for church music at the Prague Cathedral from 1759 to 1771, composed the Missa brevis in C with trumpets and strings, but it was first published in 2004? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:59, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
Personally I'd rewrite it as something like "... that Prague Cathedral choir director František Xaver Brixi composed the Missa brevis in C for trumpet and strings in the 18th century, though it was not officially released until 2004?". It flows better in my opinion. As for the "rule", it's not actually a hard rule, but in practice reviewers want the hook to either match or at least be close enough to the article content. There have been cases in the past where hooks had to be pulled due to inconsistencies. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 00:11, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
He was also kapellmeister (which at the time meant leader of the chapel music, conducting and managing), not only choir director (I added that, sorry.) I am no friend of four words before the real thing comes, but that may be due to my little English. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:37, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
Gerda Arendt: I take it there's no way you'd accept a hook that didn't detail the composer's role at the cathedral at all? It seems a little too difficult to nail down for a 200-character hook that's not about the composer. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/they) 02:57, 17 June 2022 (UTC)
Mass in C major is about the most common thing to write, a short mass in the most common key, Mozart alone wrote a couple. If this was a composer people knew - if this was by Mozart - I'd do without, and the work compares as the article says. But Brixi who for his period was influential - at a major cathedral where he arrived young - is not known. That a piece is published late is nothing specific to this composition, - from the 1970, historically informed practice brought to light thousands of such works. I'd rather drop that part but can imagine the response ;) - If so little is known (such as the exact decade at least), why not educate a bit? It's a lovely work, come listen on Sunday, and there will be a concerto for two trumpets by Vivaldi, also a well-known composer of the period. Sadly, to put the loveliness in 200 chars is more difficult than the late discovery, or the position of the composer. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 05:29, 17 June 2022 (UTC)
  • How about ALT2 ... that the Missa brevis in C for trumpets and strings, composed by Prague Cathedral choir director František Xaver Brixi in the 18th century, was not officially published until 2004? I used "choir director" in the hook because it's the translation given for "Regens chori" in the article. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 01:26, 18 June 2022 (UTC)
    Thank you for the offer. It's not wrong. You know that I usually say first what's the topic at the beginning, - I just find in this case Missa brevis in C, trumpets and strings all too unspecific. There are many throughout the centuries. Kapellmeister (music director) is the more important position to mention, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:16, 18 June 2022 (UTC)
    • Narutolovehinata5, Gerda Arendt, theleekycauldron, where does this stand? There hasn't been a post to this page in over five weeks. If a suitable hook hasn't been identified within the next seven days, perhaps this should be closed. (I do agree with Gerda Arendt in that "kapellmeister" is vastly superior to "choir director" as it more accurately conveys his importance.) Thanks for whatever you can do to get this moving again. BlueMoonset (talk) 22:33, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
I'd be willing to change ALT2 to say "kapellmeister" instead but I don't think we should go with ALT1's variations for flow reasons. They flow awkwardly, while ALT2 IMO has a better flow in presenting the facts. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 00:16, 26 July 2022 (UTC)
  • For the benefit of discussion, here's ALT2a:
ALT2a ... that the Missa brevis in C for trumpets and strings, composed by Prague Cathedral kapellmeister František Xaver Brixi in the 18th century, was not officially published until 2004?
My concern here is the sea of blue due to the need to link kappelmeister. I don't think it should be unlinked since it's an unfamiliar term to most audiences. I've been trying to find a way to rewrite this while eliminating the sea of blue but I haven't been able to think of something adequate that flows well. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 02:48, 26 July 2022 (UTC)
  • Trying another stab at a different wording. I truly tried to find a way to incorporate kapellmeister without leading to a sea of blue, but my attempts to write such a hook that flowed well proved fruitless. Perhaps we need a different and snappier hook here instead? The main hook fact here is that the subject took centuries to be published, so maybe that should be the main focus instead:
ALT3 ... that the 18th-century Missa brevis in C by František Xaver Brixi was not officially published until 2004?
@BlueMoonset: Would this be a suitable alternative? Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 03:06, 26 July 2022 (UTC)
Or, if there's a possibility that kapellmeister can be unlinked (as long as it's linked in either Brixi or the subject's article), we can possibly go with:
ALT3a ... that the 18th-century Missa brevis in C by Prague Cathedral kapellmeister František Xaver Brixi was not officially published until 2004?
ALT3b ... that the 18th-century Missa brevis in C by Prague Cathedral choir director c was not officially published until 2004?
Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 03:25, 26 July 2022 (UTC)
@Gerda Arendt: Can we get your comments on the hooks above? Z1720 (talk) 23:29, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
Thanks for the offers. The shortening - vs. saying "responsible for the music at the Prague Cathedral" as in ALT1ab - leads to "kapellmeister" which people may not know, and a link would lead to an awful sea of blue, or "choir director" which is too little, - yes it was in the original, but we learned since. The published score has no middle name for the composer. The cathedral needs to be piped - no redirects on the Main page. Not the slightest bit how the music sounds (trumpets and strings). What should "officially" add? It's not in the article. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 23:45, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
  • I used "officially" in the hook because, while it appears the composition circulated unofficially early on, it wasn't published officially until 2004. I felt that omitting a qualifier would have made the hook inaccurate, because it would have suggested that the piece was totally unknown publicly until 2004 when in fact it had already been in circulation beforehand. If you have a different suggestion apart from "officially", I'm open to other wording. In the meantime, would these work for you?
ALT3c ... that the 18th-century Missa brevis in C by Prague Cathedral kapellmeister František Brixi was not officially published until 2004?
ALT3d ... that the 18th-century Missa brevis in C by Prague Cathedral kapellmeister František Brixi was not published until 2004?
I omitted "for trumpet and strings" because I felt it was not necessary to the main hook fact (meaning the fact that an 18th-century piece was only first published in 2004) and also because it made the hook more complex than necessary. If readers want to learn that the piece was for trumpet and strings, they can always read the bolded article to learn more. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 13:54, 2 August 2022 (UTC)
I was asked, and I said what I feel. The trumpet concerto, played in the same service, was on the Main page today, short and quirky. You hear "two trumpets" and know what it sounds like (YT in the article). - Many of Bach's works were published from 1850, and no article says "officially published in 1856", but "first published", - although the works circulated before. "officially" sounded unprofessional to me, sorry. You don't have to listen to me, of course. ALT3d works for me, but how many of our readers will known kapellmeister without link? I fixed the spelling. Why say "18th-century" at the beginning which may drive readers away before even reading about the mass and the composer? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:08, 2 August 2022 (UTC)
ps: the Trumpet concerto was also not published before 1950. This is soooo common for 18th-century music, really. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:10, 2 August 2022 (UTC)
Personally I thought having "18th-century" at the start would have attracted readers instead of driving them away. Readers tend to be interested in the old so that sort of serves as a hook for them. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 01:20, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
Interesting. You seem to know better what readers want. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:11, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
Are you okay with ALT3d? Because if your are, I will be approving the nomination. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 12:55, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
I wrote above "ALT3d works for me, but how many of our readers will known kapellmeister without link?" Is that unclear? I understand ALT3d, but I doubt readers will understand kapellmeister without a link. You, who won't accept Thomanerchor with a link, aren't you afraid we ask them too much?
ALT4e: ... that the Missa brevis in C by František Brixi, who was kapellmeister at the Prague Cathedral in the 18th century, was not published until 2004?
ALT4f: ... that the Missa brevis in C by František Brixi, who was in charge of the music at the Prague Cathedral in the 18th century, was not published until 2004?
I took "in charge" from the article on kapellmeister. - I fixed the composer link in ALT3D. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:34, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
ALT4g: ... that the Missa brevis in C by František Brixi, an 18th-century kapellmeister at the Prague Cathedral, was not published until 2004? —BlueMoonset (talk) 21:44, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
fine by me, thank you --Gerda Arendt (talk) 23:15, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
  • I think ALT4g solves my original concerns so I'm approving it. Thank you to everyone for their work. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 06:44, 4 August 2022 (UTC)