Tempo and Tactus in the German Baroque

Before the advent of the metronome ca. 1800 there was little in the way of a standardized commonly accessible method for precisely communicating how fast musical compositions should be performed. Instead of absolute time (e.g. plottable on a metronome) Baroque musicians developed notational cues for relative speed: this was accomplished primarily through combinations of time signatures and note values. Julia Dokter's <i>Tempo and Tactus in the German Baroque</i> helps decode these tempo cues for modern performers.<br/><br/>Part 1 investigates metric theory in music treatises from roughly 1600 to 1790. Parts 2 and 3 explore the organ scores of pivotal composers such as J.S. Bach Buxtehude Weckman and Bruhns and present case studies demonstrating how Baroque tempo indications may interact in performance situations.<br/><br/>Readers will discover how Baroque musicians modified the Renaissance mensural system to incorporate tempo shifts; how the various duple triple and compound meters interrelated; how the technical display of stylus phantasticus writing affected tempo; how tempo words (e.g. <i>allegro</i>) functioned; and how the choice of performing forces (e.g. chorus solo keyboard etc.) could affect the way tempo was notated.<br/><br/>Dokter's book will become a basic resource for performers of Baroque music not only for organ and keyboard solo repertoire but also for other instruments and ensembles.<br/><br/>Julia Dokter teaches musicology at Georgia State University and organ performance at Agnes Scott College.