Historically Informative Approach to the Determination of Tempo in Flute Music of the 18th Century

Abstract

West European music of the 18th century is extremely required in modern flute performing practice. To determine the adequate tempo in the process of interpreting the musical works becomes one of the important tasks, the solution of which is complicated by the remoteness of the aesthetic principles and the performing technique of those times from today. The need to study these issues in order to achieve a full and competitive performance determines the relevance of the study. Main objective of the study — to research different historical methods of determining the tempo in the flute works of the 18th century, based on the rules and recommendations of the performing treatises of that time by J.M. Hotteterre, M. Corrette, T. Bordet, L. Mozart, C. P. E. Bach, J. J. Quantz, A. Vanderhagen, J.G. Tromlitz, and to give the generalized recommendations for determining the tempo in flute music of the 18th century.Methodology of research: 1) source-analytical method is used to attract performance treatises of the 18th century, which reflect the practice of determining tempo in different ways; 2) comparative is used to identify differences between the various methods of determining the tempo of performing that existed throughout the 18th century; 3) critical is used for the selection and systematization of the basic rules and recommendations from theoretical and performance sources of the 18th century.Results and conclusions. Even before the invention of the metronome (1810s ), theorists and practitioners tried to find ways to determine the exact speed of performance. In the 18th century the main ways to solve this problem were: 1) determining the tempo based on the genre basis of the work and tradition of performance; 2) determine the tempo by the time signature (metre); 3) determine the tempo with a pulse. It should be remembered that the Italian terms, which are interpreted today, mainly as indicators of speed of performance, in the 17th — 18th centuries, primarily reflected the character of the movement, its affect. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the tempo of the musical piece of the 18th century was not mechanical, static. For greater expressiveness, it could be flexibly accelerated or slowed down according to the direction of the phrase, to the general artistically idea, while the basic beating (metre) remained unchanged. This technique is called “tempo rubato”.Consequently, modern musician working with music of the 18th century should remember that the tempo of the movement is determined by its genre, metre, affect (emotional content) and the dominant fastest notes. The choice of the tempo can also be influenced by the acoustics of the concert hall, and, very indirectly, such purely psychological things as the personal temperament and mood of the performer during the performance.The significance of the research. For the first time in Ukrainian musicology, on the basis of historical performance treatises, the problem of determining the adequate tempo in flute music of the 18th century was comprehensively investigated, and a number of recommendations were formulated for contemporary musicians.