Eighteenth-Century Conducting Practices

Abstract

. N THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, as in earlier times, conducting was performed with a baton, a roll of sheet music or other paper, or just the hand. A baton was especially popular in France in opera conducting, while concert and choir performances were often conducted with a roll. German musicians knew the baton but preferred the roll; in contemporary reports the roll was often mentioned, and also has been found on paintings of musical scenes and portraits. In some places the roll was considered the symbol of the Kapellmeister, and its popularity continued into thE nineteenth century.l