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What does "m.Iz." or "m.Tz." (or "m.I%." or "m.T%.": I don't know if it is a "%" or a "z") mean in this score? The piece is the waltz "Diana Triste" of the Colombian composer Luis A. Calvo (1882-1945). Here is the link to the score:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Dk_Y-xlXpcWsA6h5o8heTIscdgfhLO6o

enter image description here

J.C.M.H.
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1 Answers1

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My guess is that this is a Spanish score?

If so, the abbreviations tell us which hand plays which notes.

The "m.Iz." stands for "mano izquierda," which is Spanish for "left hand." The "m.d.," meanwhile, stands for "mano derecha," or "right hand."

The upper staff in the second-to-last measure, for instance, will switch hands every beat as you climb up the keyboard: right hand on beat 1, left hand on beat 2, and right hand on beat 3.

Similar terms are used for scores in other languages; see Why is there a "G" marked on an augmented octave in Scarlatti Sonata K466 in F minor?

Richard
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    Yes, it is a Spanish score. Thank you, now it makes sense. The problem is that the "I" looked like a "T", and in the last occurrence, there is a period sign between "I" and "z". – J.C.M.H. Aug 30 '18 at 00:25
  • @J.C.M.H. Yeah, that period is odd. Is it possible it's a slight flaw in the printing? – Richard Aug 30 '18 at 00:27
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    The edition of the score is somewhat neglected. The score appeared in the last page of the Colombian magazine "Mundo al Día" on June 28, 1930. The piece is the waltz "Diana Triste" of Luis A. Calvo. – J.C.M.H. Aug 30 '18 at 00:37
  • I wonder if it would be helpful to include some comments in your answer about the 'I' masquerading as a "T" in the manuscript. –  Aug 30 '18 at 13:47
  • @DavidBowling I wish I knew! I assumed it was just a handwritten "I" the looked like a "T" since the upper bar is wider than the lower. The "I" in the next to last measure is much more clear to me, but the apparent period is still confusing. – Richard Aug 30 '18 at 13:55
  • Worth noting that the more common Italian translation of this would be m.s. for the left hand (mano sinistra) and m.d. for the right hand (mano destra). – 0xdd Aug 30 '18 at 15:55
  • I wonder if the erroneous appearance as “T.” and period could be from a non-Spanish-speaking copyist or typesetter mis-reading the composer’s “m.Iz.” as “m.T.z.”, when preparing this edition? – PLL Aug 30 '18 at 16:55
  • If I where sight-reading this, the conductor would have received Mezzo Trillz b/c I'm also looking at the scoop next to the birds-eye. Medium Trillz is my answer since I go the Italian language on sheet music before any spanish begins to cross my mind. Italian. – Rene Marcelo Sep 04 '18 at 17:59