Klarinet Archive - Posting 001088.txt from 1999/12

From: Anne Bell <bell@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Tempos over time
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 09:54:11 -0500

How about pieces written for Barrel Organ? Perhaps we have someone on the list with first hand knowledge but my understanding is that they were mechanical instruments and presumably we would be able to compare what is played with manuscripts of the music if it were available.
Anne

At 09:28 AM 12/30/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Yes, I realize (and indeed approve) of that. But the question was, "Is
>there any hard evidence as to any change in the meanings of these terms
>over time?", and the only real evidence from the pre-recording periods
>might be found in the markings on the earliest metronomes. We already
>"know" (from only two data points) that the meanings of these terms have
>shifted to faster tempi over the last ca. 100 years, and suspect (from the
>tempi now used to play older works) that this change might have been going
>on before that. Can anyone add more data points? Somewhere in museums
>there must be older metronomes marked both in words and beats per minute,
>or marked in words and still operating so they can be tested for bpm. I
>have not seen such, and was wondering if anyone else had. With luck we
>could extend the time back nearly another century and see if this trend
>continues.
>
>>As you can see, back in the Bach, Mozart, Handel, etc timeframes, the
>>metronome didn't even exist yet. The tempi of their works is generally
>>selected on the basis of tradition and feeling but this will vary from
>>conductor to conductor or performer to performer.
>
>And has this tradition changed over time? Clearly, tempo markings are
>meaningless if there is not some general agreement as to what they mean.
>My thesis (based on two data points) is that the generally accepted ranges
>have changed over time, and I am looking for more data.
>
>
>-----------------------
>George Kidder
>MDIBL
>gkidder@-----.org

*****************************************************************************
Anne Bell bell@-----.net
Bayside HS Orchestra Director
ABC Index: http://www.anne-bell.sneezy.org/ MUSIC LINKS!
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