florida state university college of music performance practice

His study suggests that there are periodic fluctuations in tempo choices as a reaction to
previous extreme levels, or when a new generation of conductors reacts to the
interpretation of the previous vanguard. 370 To further confound and complicate the issue,
Uri Golomb feels that pre-HIP tempi are slower in the recordings of Bach. 371
Previous studies, like Bowen (1996) look at data to determine tempi changes from
recordings prior to the Historically Performance Movement to during the movement.
However, my research exclusively considers if within the twenty-five years of HIP there
are noticeable trends that have developed in relation to tempo. Specifically if there has
been a relaxation in tempos toward the end of the time study (1982-2007) that would
coincide with rhetoric of a renewed interest in romanticism in music.
In an attempt to provide concrete evidence to this study it was originally
conceived that there would be provided a table of metronomic markings of the obtained
recordings to supplement the time duration table of complete selected movements.
Following examples of previous studies, specifically Golomb (2004), I attempted to gain
evidence of tempo by employing a timing program created by Nicholas Cook, found at
the following URL address: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~musicbox/charm5.html. The
attempts were unsatisfactory, producing answers that were unable to be replicated in
subsequent trials. After the initial efforts with the timing program, I realized its futility
and turned to using a standard metronome for answers. That too provided inconsistent
data that could not be considered reliable. The inconsistency of results however did not
null the value of the endeavor. On the contrary, the varied readings provide information
that conductors‟ tempos were not static but possessed a wide range of tempos within any
given movement.
Bernard Sherman dedicated several writings on tempo and its relationship to
Bach‟s turba choruses in the Passions. In his writings, Sherman joins other scholars like
Robert Marshall and Peter Williams in the idea that Bach‟s tempos were, in part,
expressed in the given time signature. 372 According to Sherman, conventional practice of
the late seventeenth century used genres and Italian tempo designations to help clarify the
370 Fabian, Bach Performance Practice, 1945-1975, 131.
371 Golomb, “Expression and Meaning in Bach‟s Performance and Reception,” 42.
372 Bernard Sherman, “Bach‟s notation of tempo and early music performance: some reconsiderations,”
Early Music 18.3 (August 2000): 455.
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