At 08:37 PM 06/15/2000 -0500, nancy clasby wrote:
>Would the
>instances of dance-derived melodies be best done more slowly in this era
>than in Bach's time, so that the audience could relate with innate bodily
>response? Just a few thoughts...
Superb question - and I'm stumped - most baroque dances don't
even sound like dances to me - I have no toe-tappin' response to
an Allemande or a Gavotte.... but I think I'm going to hazard an
answer of no - since social dances aren't about covering
territory, but about two or more people moving in synchrony -
two hearts in three-quarter time, and all that. Having said
that, I also note that the tempi used in playing Bach seem to
vary according to fashion, from decade to decade, rather like
clothing or hair styles. Also, we don't know what Bach's
exact tempi were - he didn't use metronome markings.
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