Article in French.
Abstract:
The following article presents a mixture of musical history and analysis of musical excerpts. The passages oriented towards the interpreter, sometimes somewhat technical, are kept here in order to offer the possibility of testing the hypotheses put forward. The subject of the first metronomic indications has always been a long-standing enigma for artists and researchers. Conductors and musicians face the difficult task of interpreting the tempi of 19th century works, containing metronomic indications that appear incorrect based on our current standards. The pianist, organist and composer Bernhard Ruchti studied different hypotheses concerning the first original metronomic and tempi indications. The series of videos he produced under the name “A Tempo Project” illustrates original interpretive tempi of important 19th century works. His research includes valuable analyzes of scores and musicological sources such as concert press articles, correspondence, original manuscript annotations, and recordings of studied works. Ruchti illustrates the impact of the view of tempo indications on period concerts and offers a wide range of explanations for interpretations of early metronome markings.
Discover the full article in “Beethoven,” the Journal of the Association Beethoven France et Francophonie:
https://www.beethoven-france.org/2021/09/07/sommaire-de-la-revue-n21-premier-semestre-2021-134-pages/
Link to the article on ResearchGate (full article available):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354472899_Comprendre_les_premieres_indications_metronomiques_Le_Projet_A_Tempo
