Tempo Indications and How They Relate Between Eras and Composers
Date: Monday, September 13, 10:30-12:00pm
Location: online with Zoom, the link will be sent the day ahead
The choice of tempo is arguably the most important yet the most challenging decision that performers need to make. One of the challenges can be because different eras and different composers conveyed tempo differently. What Andante meant in the eighteenth century may be different from how we understand Andante today. Moreover, most performers usually depend on the tempo words such as Allegro and Andante without adequate consideration of the time signatures and the note values. Therefore, in this presentation, I will draw our attention to the relationship between tempo-words, time signatures, and note values in determining tempo, drawing from selected treatises from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. The objective is to help us make a more informed decision in interpreting tempo indications in the absence of metronome markings. The presentation will feature a general overview with selected musical examples by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and, time permitting, Romantic composers.
Dr. Irene Setiawan is a recent graduate in the field of musicology from the UBC School of Music and we welcome her warmly to our online meeting.
Please click here to register before September 9.