Re: Re: Re: Re: Air and Bourree tempo


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Posted by Chuck(G) on December 13, 2000 at 18:09:51:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Air and Bourree tempo posted by Rick Denney on December 13, 2000 at 15:10:19:

Good points, Rick. But your earlier statement about "clockwork" really set me off to fuming about what I call "machine-gun" Bach. Play the damned thing as fast as possible, keeping time like there was a cesium clock between your ears. And strictly observe someone else's idea of ornamentation. The instrumental stuff was largely written for amateur musicians in the nobility to play among themselves and their friends. Tempo be damned, if you take the anecdote about C.P.E. Bach muttering about Fritz's sense of rhythm.

We live in a world full of clicks buzzes and rhythmic sounds, even if it's just listening to your car idling at a stoplight--or the thumping of the guy with a 500 watt blaster sitting next to you. Mechanical tempi seem very natural to us--but I'll wager it hasn't always been so and may well have seemed unnatural back in the 18th century.

My hemidemisemidollar's worth anyway.










In fact, most keyboard pieces were written for the amusement of amateur players, albeit nobility.


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