This study, the final version of a paper originally presented at a

seminar on 'The French Overture' at The Victorian College of the

Arts, Melbourne, is dedicated to Sol Babitz, co-founder of the Early
Musk Laboratory. 1948.
The French
"The battle of the double dot rages unabated.'1 How
style and the hostilities have intensified since the publication of these
words six years ago! Yet only a decade earlier the subject of
the present warfare, the rhythmic interpretation of French
overtures of overtures and certain other movements, was considered to be
more or less a closed case. A theory of overdotting and
upbeat synchronization having been expounded by Arnold
Bach Dolmetsch2 and endorsed by such scholars as Thurston
Dart,3 Robert Donington4 and Antoine Geoflroy-
iJOHN O'DONNELL^ Dechaume,5 the application of the so-called mardere francaise

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PART ONE constituted, along with upper-note on-the-beat commence-
ment of trills, the most substantial outward and audible sign
of the baroque performer. In 1961, however, a few murmurs
of dissatisfaction with the theory were expressed at the
Eighth Congress of the International Musicological Society
held in New York. David Boyden, for example, asked:'... if
the double dot was particularly appropriate to the French
Overture, why aren't double dots mentioned in Muffat's
Florilegium secundum, presumably the most detailed account
of Lully's practice?'6 Four years later this seed of doubt
blossomed into a total rejection of overdotting by Frederick
Neumann,7 according to whom the practice amounts to
nothing more than an invention by Dolmetsch, improperly
founded on the retroactive application of passages in Quantz
and C. P. E. Bach to the music oPLully and his imitators. The
ensuing debate will be familiar to readers of these pages: the
main writings are mentioned in Neumann's 'Once more: the
"French overture style"'.*
My purpose here is to establish Bach's intentions concern-
ing the performance of his overtures, probably the most
complex, most frequently played and most maltreated
examples of the genre. The disputed area is one of rhythm,
which I shall discuss in Part 2, but the key to a settlement lies
in the neglected territory of tempo, to which Part 1 is
devoted. An abundance of source material is brought
forward to testify to the existence of the purported French
manner at the time of Lully, though not entirely in accord-
ance with the Dolmetsch doctrine; notational problems are
examined and solutions offered; and the case against 'the
style' is found to be defective in virtually every detail.

A French overture consists of two reprises (repeated

Opjiosiu*: (.rithrit—/he palate unit garden in an erigrat-iti^ by M. Mrruin.
l.irrhiv fiir Ki<n*t unit Gevhithtr, Berlm-Xikotawee) Bach uwktit ill //«•
Court itf Duke UofmM of Anhalt-Cothen from 1717-2S
sections), of which the first, sometimes referred to by the
name of the genre, is in the majestic style of its prototype the
entree. The second, simply called 'the reprise' in early
writings, is usually fugal, often concluding with a few bars in
the majestic style or, occasionally, a more extended move-
meni of contrasting character. The greater pan of this study
concerns the first reprise, described by most theorists as
having two slow beats to the bar under the signature 2 or <p.

190
For example, according to Heinichen: 'Overture time is
generally indicated by a 2 . . . Its measure is properly slow
and expressive.'9 But what is 'slow'? In the preface to his
Florilegium primum, Georg Muffat, championing the Lully
style in Germany, stales that 'this measure 2 must be very
slow in overtures, preludes and symphonies . .. However,
when lit I is taken very slowly . . . in two beats, the notes are
almost of the same value as with the Italians under the
measure C in four beats taken quickly under the word
presto.'10 In 1696 this information was corroborated by
Loulie, according to whom the signature $ is indicative of
four fast beats or two slow beats." Moreover, Loulie's book
includes a description of the chronometre, an ancestor of the
metronome, by which it is possible to establish exact tempi.
According to the author he had noted the tempi of all Lully's
works, assisted by persons who had played under the com-
poser for several years.12 Unfortunately this complete list has
not come to light, but among the four music examples, each
of one bar, given by way of demonstration of his chronometre
the first two are of significance to the present study:
Ex.2
By reconstructing the principle of this device, that is, a
pendulum of adjustable length, one can discover that
Loulie's first example (ex. 1), having 'a measure of two slow
beats' ('. . . u n e Mesure a deux Temps lents'), is to be
performed at J = MM57, while his second (ex. 2), in 'four fast
beats' ('... une Mesure a quatre Temps legers') yields J =
MM 127." Since Montedair equates leger with presto'* it would
appear that Muffat and Loulie are in agreement in their
reports of Lully's tempi. Both suggest an approximate
equation of two slow beats = four fast beats, but the four-
beat measure is slightly faster, doubtless due to the differ-
ence in character between presto and grave.
These tempi were further corroborated in 1702 by Saint-
Lambert,15 using a method which is less precise but never-
theless instructive. He first describes the signature C, a very
slow measure of four beats:'. .. the beats must be measured
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by the steps of a man taking a stroll, and that quite slowly.'
Next he describes the signature ( , a measure of two beats:
'The two movements one makes with the hand in beating this
measure must be of the same duration as those of the four-
beat measure . . . the notes go twice as quickly... since in the
same duration of a beat one puts two crotchets instead of
one.' Thus the measure £ contains two very slow beats, the
paces of his slowly-strolling man. Saint-Lambert goes on to
191
say that the crotchets of this measure should conform to the of the first. The overture of the first partita has the signature
steps of a man walking at one-and-a-quarter leagues (five (p throughout and lacks any tempo indication, but the move-
kilometres) per hour, a pace he later describes as got or leger. ment of the opening is that of two beats to the bar and that of
He admits that these steps would vary according to the the second reprise four beats to the bar:
stature of the man, but his rules refer to a man of average
height. It is beyond the scope of this study to determine the
average height of a Frenchman of 1702 in order to estimate
the characteristics of his gait, but practical experiment has
demonstrated that adult persons of moderate stature take
approximately three steps per two metres when walking at a
pace of five kilometres per hour. This yields a tempo of J =
b bars 12-13
MM125, so a margin of MM120-132 ought to encompass
Saini-Lambert's intentions. This means that when taking a
slow stroll, as described by Saint-Lambert, this same man
walks at M M 6 0 - 6 6 . "
The overture of the fourth partita has the signature £ for the
The establishment of the overture tempo is of the utmost

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importance to this study, for overtures are traditionally per-
formed at a much slower pace today—often less than half the
speed at which we have arrived. A significantly faster tempo
immediately brings the warring parties a little closer to
rapprochement, since the degree of rhythmic intensification in
the purported French manner becomes much less exag-
gerated at a faster tempo. Within fifteen years of Lully's
death three of his disciples defined the same 2:1 relation-
ship existing between fast and slow beats. Loulie presented
these tempi with 'metronomic' accuracy, and his figures were
supported by Saint-Lambert's discussions of pace. Muffat,
wishing to convey the Lullist tempi to Germans of essen-
tially Italian training, equated two slow French beats with
four fast Italian beats, and since the presto of his day was
probably in the region of J = MM120," we arrive once more
at J = MM60 as the approximate overture tempo.
Of the wealth of music examples with tempo indications
given by l'Aflillard in his Principes" only the 'Marche' has a
measure of two slow beats. In the fifth edition, 1705, the first
to include pendulum markings, the tempo is given as J =
MM95, an indication which is corrected in the sixth edition of
the same year to J = MM 120, making J = MM60 the true
beat.19
An examination of the works of Fux provides .further
confirmation of the 2:1 relationship between fast and slow
beats. Of two miscellaneous overtures notated throughout
under the signature C, one is marked Allegro at the
commencement of the second reprise, and this merges into a
recapitulation of the opening material without double bar or
any further tempo indication. The other retains the style of
its opening throughout both reprises, apart from a brief and
atypical Adagio passage in the midst of the second, after
which the resumption of the earlier movement is indicated
Presto.10 In effect Fux equates the French grave of two minims
with the Italian presto of four crotchets. At the same time he
demonstrates that there is no difference in actual speed
between the two reprises, usually described as slow and fast
respectively. Another two overtures included in his Concentus
Musuo-Instrumentalts (1701) also suggest the equating of the
four fast beats of the second reprise with the two slow beats
opening and C for the second reprise, again without further
indication of tempo, and if interpreted proportionally the
second section would be performed at half the speed of the
first; but in fact there can be little doubt that the speed is to
remain constant throughout the movement, (f representing
two slow beats and C four fast beats:
Ex.4
a bars 1-4
b bars 12-14
Fux's inconsistency arises from a division of loyalty to the
French notation on the one hand and to his Italian-trained
orchestra on the other, and this resulting state of utter con-
fusion in the use of C and <f was to plague musical notation
throughout the 18th century.
The notation of overture style in four fast beats occurs also
in the works of Italian composers. The opening movements
of two works by Corelli, his Trio Sonata op. 3 no. 10 and
Concerto Grosso op. 6 no. 7, have the time-signature C and
tempo indication Vivace.11 Similarly the opening of an
incomplete work of Vivaldi, the Concerto 'con 2 Violini e 2
Organi obligati' (PV 309), has the signature C and tempo
Allegro non mnlto. (The rhythmic notation of this movement
will be discussed in Part 2 of this study.) It is clear that the
tempo of the Lully overture was not only precisely estab-
lished in France but was also known to foreign composers of
the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A few scattered
morsels of information from succeeding generations are of
interest. In 1719 Hotteterre described the signature 2 as
'usually lively and pique. It is used in the beginning of opera
overtures . . .'" Francois Couperin's fourth book of harpsi-
chord pieces (1730) includes an overture. La Visionaire Irom
the twenty-fifth ordre, the opening being Gravemenl el marque
and the second section Viste, but the recurrence of material

192
from the first reprise in the second suggests that no change of
speed is intended. An English source off 1760, a concerto for
trumpet by Richard Mudge, takes the form of a large
overture, and the opening is marked C and Vivace. Of greater
interest, however, are two French sources which give us exact
metronomic equivalents for two specific overtures: from a
manuscript containing the durations of all the movements of
Delalande's Te Deum it has been calculated that the opening
'Simphonie' proceeds at the pace of J = MM76; 23 and among
the music examples accompanying a description of his
metronome, 1732, D'onzembray included tempi for the two
reprises of the overture to Colasse's Les Noces de Thetys et Pe'lee
(1688-9), indicating J = MM64 for the opening and J. = MM80
for the second reprise whose signature is 6/4." (Saint-
Lambert mentions that the second reprise of the overture to
Lully's Armide, also in 6/4, was taken 'tres vite' by the
composer.)25 Finally, the following Entree (a movement
closely related to the overture) was given the tempo J = MM67
by La Chapelle in 1737:"
Ex.5
Entree de Ballet
Our findings so far indicate that the tempo of the first
reprise of the overture was in the region of J = MM57-76; that
when the second reprise had a measure of four fast beats the
notes retained the same values as in the opening section,
allowing that a slight hastening of the tempo may have
occurred as a result of the different character of movement
(e.g. Loulie's J = MM57 and J = MM 127); and that when the
second reprise had a measure of two compound beats (e.g.
6/4 J.+J.) a noticeable increase in tempo was in order.
We have now to consider the tempi of Bach's overtures.
Could this composer, who was said to be 'very accurate in his
conducting and very sure of his tempo, which he usually
made very lively'," be out of step with the rest of Europe?
Regrettably there are no metronomic indications, but
through an examination of the music it is possible to deduce
a number of pieces of evidence which enable us to establish
his intended tempi within narrow limits.
Variation 16 of the 'Goldberg' Variations is an overture,
and was so labelled by Bach. The symmetry of the work
suggests that the two reprises of the variation be of the same
length, so that a minim of the first section is equal to a dotted
crotchet of the second. (In the theme and remaining 29
variations the perfect symmetry is obvious, since each reprise
contains an equal number of bars and there is no change of
time signature.) Today, however, one is accustomed to
hearing the relationship J = J. , or nearly so. For example in
his edition of the work Ralph Kirkpatrick recommends J =
MM72 and J. = MM60, and in his new recording (Harmonia
Mundi IC 065 99710) Gustav Leonhardt adopts tempi of
approximately J = MM66 and J. = MM66. BUI the whole
magnificently logical scheme of the entire 30 variations is
immediately distorted by this bulge in the first half of one
variation; moreover, it is then heard as a moderately slow
four beats rather than a slow two. The largest hurdle to over-
come here (and in all of Bach's overtures) is the bias of
familiarity with 20th-century tempi. According to Quantzan
overture 'requires a grave and majestic opening',2" but his
description of the majestic style occurs in the chapter entitled
Of the Manner of Playing the Allegro: The majestic [Das Prachtige)
'is represented both with long notes during which the other
pans have quick motion, and with dotted notes. The dotted
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notes must be attacked sharply, and must be executed in a
lively fashion. The dots are held long, and the following
notes are made very short. Shakes may also be introduced
from time to time during the dots. 2 ' This is an accurate
description of Bach's 'Goldberg' overture, at least on paper
if not in current performance. Restored to its true tempo this
and other overtures of Bach will emerge majestic in the slow
beat and dotted rhythms, and splendid in the exuberance of
short notes. Since the only key to discovering this tempo at
present is an equation with the second reprise, a closer look
at this section is merited. Analysis of its rhythmic structure
reveals a minuet, for which, in 3/4, Quantz gives the tempo J
= MM160.30 Since the present example is in 3/8, by applying
this tempo to the quaver, we arrive at J +J +J = MM53 = J of
the opening section.
Although this tempo is slightly more moderate than the
French examples, most readers will at this stage be inclined
to reject it as devastatingly fast! The various steps taken in
arriving at this tempo are, however, supported by other
evidence. In the opening chorus of cantata O Ewigkeit, du
Donnerwort (BWV 20), a chorale concertato in the form of an
overture, the chorale melody, in Barform, is stated as a
cantus firmus in the soprano. The 'Stollen' is first sung
during the opening section and repeated during the middle
section (3/4, Vivace), with the 'Abgesang' occupying the final
(dotted) section. If the cantusfirmusis to proceed at the same
pace throughout the relationship of the opening section to
the Vivace must be J = J., equivalent to that recommended in
the previous example. The Vivace of the middle section is
parallelled by the indication gai of the corresponding 3/4
section of the overture in the cantata Nun homm, der Heiden
Heiland (BWV 61), and this section, in turn, has the rhythmic
character of a minuet.
Various other factors point to faster overture tempi. In the
first of the orchestral overtures, the counter-subject of the
second reprise is composed of melodic and rhythmic
elements of the opening. Although the sections are con-
trasted in movement, they are thus motivically linked, and
this becomes a clearly audible link if the tempo remains
constant:
193
 orchestral overtures of Bach, as can be seen from the follow-
ing harmonic skeletons:
Ex.8
a Owntun no.l bars 1-5 (skeleton)

b bars 22-5 (skeleton;

Similarly the passages in semiquavers provide a connection

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between the opening and the second reprise of the third
overture:

b bars 4
Ex.9
a Ouvirture no.3 bars .i-X (skeleton)
*m

bars 21-2 d bars 2.5-6

' b.irs 29-30 I bars 76-7

We are accustomed to seeing these scores with the time-

signature C at the opening, followed by 2, £ or £ for the
second reprise, but in fact no such uniformity exists in the
sources.31 The opening may be marked C in some parts and (f
in others; the middle section may have a variety of sig-
Only in the second overture do the notes actually double in
natures or no change indicated at all; and the final section may
speed in the second section since this is notated alia breve:
have C or £ but not necessarily that which was given in thai
particular part at the opening. In short, chaos reigns! Ex.Id
Telemann exhibits a similar indifference in his use of time turf no.2 bars 1-4
signatures, and it is probably with either or both of these
composers in mind that Heinichen sums up the situation:
'. . . the signs 2, $, C and £ are used without discrimination,
sometimes for a naturally fast piece and sometimes for a slow b bars 21-4

one.'32 Hotteterre had already claimed that Lully used 2 and

<p 'indiscriminately',33 while other French theorists were
divided among the opinions that the former was twice the
speed of the latter,34 that the latter was somewhat faster than
the former,35 or that no difference existed."
As already observed above, the situation outside France
became confused at a very early stage. An overture by Fux
may have the same signature throughout, but the first section
moves in two slow beats and the second in four fast beats.
The same is demonstrably true of the first and third
Recordings of these works using period instruments and
aiming to meet 18th-century concepts of taste, adopt tempi
of MM 100-112 for the fast beat of the middle sections of these
overtures, which gives us J = MM50-56 as an appropriate
tempo for the opening section, virtually twice the speed
adopted on these same recordings.
There is one further method by which to determine this
basic tempo for Bach's overtures. In an article on overtures

194
written by J. A. P. Schulz, under the guidance of his teacher
Kirnberger (a student and ardent disciple of Bach), it was
claimed that the small notes 'must be played with the greatest
speed and insofar as possible detached, which I admit does
not always apply when ten, twelve or more notes come within
the space of a crotchet'." Thus, presumably, eight notes can
be played within the space of a crotchet employing detache
bowing, but this ought to be regarded as the upper limit.
According to Quantz, 'no more than eight very fast notes can
be executed in the time of a pulse beat, either with double
tonguing or with bowing',3* and since his pulse beat is MM80
this would become the speed of the crotchet for passages in
demisemiquavers. Practical experiment using baroque violin
and bow confirms this maximum tempo for continuous
passage-work, but occasional tirades of eight demisemi-
quavers, such as occur sporadically in Bach's overtures, can
David J.Rubio

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be accomplished cleanly at J = MM 104 (J = MM52), while
smaller upbeat groups of three to five notes allow a tempo of
J = MM116. W • Ltithier •
Approached from three different viewpoints Bach's
overture tempo falls within the range of J *= MM50-56. That
Wishes to announce
this is marginally slower than the French tempo is explained that contrary to current rumour,
by reference to the greater complexity of texture, the longer Keyboard Instruments will
bows used by string players in Germany, and a con-
sideration of the German character, which as early as 1597 continue to be produced.
Morley had found to be filly represented by that 'more
heavie daunce', the Alman.40
The problem of tempo has been investigated in some
detail, from which it emerges that modern scholars and The repertoire now includes:
performers alike have fallen far short of the mark in their DOUBLES
overture readings. In fact the genre underwent a gradual Blanchet. 1733 (Chateau de Thoiry)
process of deceleration, commencing in the first half of the J. D. Dulcken. 1745. (Washington)
18th century and reaching its nadir in the early 19th, when Antoine Vaudry. 1681. (V&A)
Crotch published a keyboard transcription of 'The Messiah
Overture' (properly 'Sinfonia') with a pendulum indication
of 14 inches for the quaver, viz. J = MM 100, approximately SINGLES
half the overture tempo of Handel's day. The restoration of Flemish. A revalement of the Ruckers.
the true overture tempo is therefore our first task, and in 1640. G/B-d"' (split sharps)
doing this we have prepared the field for the battle royal— Italian. Gio. Bat. Giusti. 1679. All
the rhythmic dispute. cypress.
John U'Donnell has achieved international acclaim as a keyboard
performer since winning the National Organ Competition, Southport, Very reasonable delivery.
1969. Now Senior Lecturer in Music at the Victorian College of the
Arts, Melbourne, he is preparing a book on baroque performance
practice.
Further details from:
' James Anthony, trench Baroque Mum from Beau/oyeutx to Ratneau
I London. 19731, p. 369. D. J.RUBIO
1
Arnold Dolmrtst h. The Interpretation of the Mum o) the XYllth and The Ridge House
XVIIIth Centuries Revealed b\ Contemporary h.vidence 'London, n.d.
I 191 ill. pp. Mil. Duns Tew, Oxford
' Thursion Dan. I he Interpretation 11/ Mum 1 London. 19541. p. S1. After I September 1979
4
Roljert Donington. Ihe Interpretation of tarty Mum 'New Version)
1 London. 1974). pp. 44 lit.
5
Antoinc Cfeollroy-Dt'diaume. l.e* 'Secrets' de ta rnuuaue anctertne 13 St Peters St, Cambridge
'Paris. 19641. pp. 3711.
6
International Musicologiial Society, Report of the t-.ighth Congrew,
\eu' York 1V6I, Volume 2—Reports (Kassel. 1962), p. \2!>.

195
7
Frederick N e u m a n n , 'La Note Pointee et la soi-disant " M a n i e r e
Franchise" ', Revue de Musicologie, 51 (1965), p p . 66-92, hereinafter
referred to as FN 1.
8
Early Music 7/1 (January 1979), p p . 39-4.5 CFN4').
9
' D c r Ouverteur-Tact wird insgemein mil einer 2 bezeichnet . . .
Seine Mensur ist ordentlichcr Weisc langsam, u n d palhetisch . . .'
Johann David Heinichen, Der General-Ban in der Composition
(Dresden, 1728), p. 348. [Translations throughout this article are by
John O'Donnell unless otherwise staled.I
10
'. . . cette Mesure 2 doit etre fort Icnte aux Ouvcnures, Preludes &
Symplionies . . . Cependant lorsque cette mesure 2 se donne fort
lentetnent . . . a deux terns, les notes sont a peu pres de la meme
valeur, que chez les Italiens sous relic mesure C a quatre terns
donncc avec vilesse sous le mot de presto.' Georg Muffal, Florilegium
primum (Augsburg, 169.5), Preface.
" Etienne Loulie, Elements ou principes de musique {Paris, 1696), p. 32.
12
ibid, p. 88.
11
The formula for finding the period of a pendulum is T = nV -i,
where 7" = the time of a single vibration, /. = the length of the
pendulum, and C = the acceleration due to gravity. Old measure-
ments have to be translated into their modern equivalents. The
pied de Hoi is 1.06 of the modern loot, but Loulie uses the pied
universal, which he says contains 'douzc pouces trois lignes moins
tin sixieme de ligne, de pied de Roy', thus 1.09 of our foot.
14
Michel Pignolet de Monteclair, Principes de musique (Paris, n.d.
117361), p. 117.
15
Michel de Saint-Lambert, Les principes du clavecin (Paris, 1702), pp.
18-20. '. . . les temps s'en doivent mesurer sur les pas d'un Honirac
qui se protnene, &: meme assez leniement.' 'Les deux mouvernens
qu'on fait de la main en battant cette Mesure, doivent etre dans leur
duree pareil a ceux de la Mesure a quatre temps . . . les Notes vont
unc Ibis plus vite . . . puisque dans la meme duree d'un temps, on
met deux Noires au lieu d'une.'
16
For a very different interpretation of Saint-Lambert's tempo
instructions see Neal Zaslaw, 'Materials for the Life and Works of
Jean-Marie Lcclair I'aine" (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University,
1970), pp. 240(1. For convenience I have used modern measure-
ments in these calculations. In fact there is some difficulty in
ascertaining the length of Saint-Lambert's league, since a Parisian
league in the 17th century equals 4.92 kilometres, while the common
18th-century French league equals 4.44 kilometres. Although these
longer distances point to faster tempi, it should be observed that one
is inclined to lake longer paces to increase velocity, so that the speed
ol the steps will vary only marginally, if at all.
17
In his VersucK einer Anweisung die Flote traversiere zu spielen (Berlin,
1752) Qiiantz gives J = M-M 160 as the presto tempo, but considers that
formerly this was 'almost twice as slow' (17, 7, §49-51), which must
be an exaggeration. H e states that 'contemporary French musicians
have retained this style of m o d e r a t e speed in lively pieces to a large
e x t e n t ' ( 1 7 , 7, §50). His poco allegro, J = 120, probably represents this
m o v e m e n t . [ Q u o t a t i o n s from Quantz in this article refer to E. R.
Reillv's translation On Playing the Flute (London, 1966).I
18
Michel I'Afiillard. Principes tres-faciles pour bien apprendre la musique,
5th edition (Paris. 1705), p p . 52-151.
19
T h e generally accepted interpretation ol these indications has
rccentlv been challenged by Erich Schwandt, 'L'Allilard o n the
French Court Dances', Musical Quarterly, 60 (1974), p p . 389-400. In
explaining the behaviour of a pendulum l'Alfillard states that
' C h a q u c Vibration grande, o u petite, d u r e un certain terns, toujours
rgal. mais en allongeant ce fil. ces Vibrations durcnt plus long-tems,
& en le racourcissant. clles durent moins. (Folding plate 2, tipped in
on p . 55.) In this statement Schwandt sees 'a clear indication that a
vibration comprises a complete period . . . o n e vibration of the
p e n d u l u m is a d o u b l e movement, including movement and
return . . .' (p. 395). However, I'Allillard simplv wishes to explain
that the vibrations of a p e n d u l u m arc affected by its length, but not
bv its a m p l i t u d e : 'Each vibration whether large or small lasts a
196
certain time, always the same, but by lengthening the thread the
vibrations last longer, and by shortening it they last a shorter time.'
Scbwandt's interpretation reduces all l'Aflillard's tempi by half, but
La Chapelle, some of whose tempi are even faster than l'Aflillard's
states unequivocally that 'chaque mouvement a droite o u a gauche
est une vibration' (Jacques Alexandre de La Chapelle, Suite des vrais
principes de la musique (Paris, 1737), p . 42), which agrees with Sauveur,
to whom l'Allillard refers the reader for further details. Clearly
Schwandt is mistaken.
20
These two overtures are published in Denkmaler der Tonkunst in
Osterreich, 19.
21
I am grateful to Neal Zaslaw for cautioning me that 'Vivace is not
an indication of tempo but of character [which] explains how
Handel could have marked a movement "Largo Vivace" ' (letter to
the author, 17 April 1977). The warning has been well heeded; but
while vivace is always an indication of character, and is absent from
lists of gradated tempo indications, it nevertheless can carry a tempo
significance, which is also true of the equivalents 'lebhafi', 'vil' and
'lively'. Sebastien de Brossard, in his Diclionaire de musique defined
Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ by Roberto Pérez on December 10, 2011
vivace as '. . . chanter ou joiier avec/ra, avec vivacite, avec esprit, etc.
C'esl aussi souvent joiier ou chanter vite, ou d'un mouvement hardi,
vij, anime, etc. C'esl a peu pres comme Allegro.' 2nd edition (Paris,
1705), p. 222.
22
'. . . ordinairement vive et piquee. On 1'emploie dans le debut des
Ouvertures d'Opera . . .'. Jacques Hotteterre le Romain, L'Art de
pre'luder (Paris, 1719); ed. Michel Sanvoisin (Paris, 1966), p. 67.
23
See Genevieve Thibault, 'Lc "Te Deum" de Lalande. Minutage de
l'epoque', Fontes Artis Musicae, 12 (1965), pp. 162-5.
24
Louis-Leon Pajot, Comte D'onzembray, 'Description & usage
d'un m e t r o n o m e . . .', Histoire de I'academie royale des sciences. Annie
MDCCXXXI1 (Paris, 1735), pp. 182-96.
:i
Saint-Lambert, op cit, p. 25.
26
La Chapelle, op cit, p. 44.
27
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Friedrich Agricola, joint
article in Lorenz Mizlcr's Musikalische Bibliolhek (Leipzig, 1739-54), 5,
3.
28
Quantz, op cit, 18, §42.
29
ibid. 12, §24.
J
° ibid, 17, 7, §58.
31
See details of sources given in the Kritischer Bericht of the Neue
Bach-Ausgabe.
32
'. . . die Bezeichnungen 2 ^ C if ohne Unterscheid bald bey denen
von Namr geschwinden, bald langsamen pieccn findet.' Heinichen,
op cil, p. 350.
33
'M. dc Lulli 1'a employee dans ses Opera assez indifleremment
avec celle du 2 simple.' Hotteterr^, op cit, p. 67.
34
Saint-Lambert, op cit, p. 18: Charles Masson, Nouveau traile des
regies pour la composition de la musique, 3rd edition (Paris, 1705), p . 7;
l'Allillard, op cil, pp. 52-70, tempi calculated from pendulum
indications.
35
Muliat, op cit, Prelace; Jean-Pierre Freillon-Poncein, IA veritable
maniere d'apprendre a jouer en perfection du haui-bois, de la flute el du
flageolet ( P a r i s , 1700), p . 2 5 .
36
Francois David, Me'lhode nouvelle ou principes generaux . . . (Paris,
1737), p . 2 3 . Q u a n t z ( o p cit, 1 7 , 7 , § 5 8 ) w a s a l s o o f this o p i n i o n .
37
'Nach diesen Hauptnoten folgcn mehr oder weniger kleinere, die
in dcr aussersten Gcschwindigkeii und so vie! moglich, abgestossen
musscn gespielt werden, welches freylich, wenn 10, 12 oder mehr
Noien auf einen Vicrteltakt Kommen, nicht iinmer angeht.' Johann
Abraham Peter Schulz, article 'Ouverture' in Johann Georg Sulzer's
Allgemeine Theorie der Scho'nen Ku'nste, Z w e y l e r T h e i l ( L e i p z i g , 1774),
p. 874.
38
Q i i a n t z . o p cit. 17. 7, § 5 1 .
39
Baroque violinist Judith Falkus (London) kindly experimented,
and arrived at these figures without prior knowledge ol my theories
on Bach's overture tempo.
40
T h o m a s M o r l e y . A Plaine and F.asie Introduction to Practical! Musicke
(London. 1597).