I wrote:

>>Well, in German, "bis" means "to date." In other words.this is the opus
>>number assigned to date (implying a change in the numbering may occur at a
>>later date).

Jan Templiner responded:

>Now I have to jump in.  "bis" in German indeed can mean "to date", but
>the conclusion that "op x bis" has something to do with date is quite
>wrong.  "Bis" is used in the sense of describing a stretch of time (or
>something else).  14 bis 16 = 14 thru 16.  Thus, op. 14 bis would be
>incomplete in German, as it lacks the 'target'.  However, I found 'bis'
>in my French dictionary: It means in this case the same as "a" does.
>op. 14 bis = op. 14 a It also means 'da capo' in its various forms.

In familiar German and in a certain context "bis" without an object could
have the meaning "to date" or "up to now." Properly it would be "bis heute"
or "bis jetzt" to convey that meaning.  But the American way creeps into
the language.  A German girl friend once left me for the evening with a
finger on my lips and the word "bis," which I understood perfectly to mean
"until the next time" or "until tomorrow."

None of this is in any way meant to argue that "op x bis" is a German
notation. For all I know it could be Italian.

John Dalmas
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