The notable significance of and in Bach's era

Author(s): BEVERLY JEROLD

Source: The Musical Times , SUMMER 2014, Vol. 155, No. 1927 (SUMMER 2014), pp. 85-96
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24615625

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1. Friedrich Erhardt Niedt:
The musical guide, trans.
Pamela L. Poulin (Oxford,
'989), pp.xii-xiii, 31.
From Niedt's Musicalische
Handleitung oder Gründlicher
Unterricht[...]erster Theil
(Hamburg, 1700/1710),
unpaginated, Cap. IV: C
denotes 'einen langsamen
gravitaetischen Tact: soll es
geschwinde gehen/so setzet
der Componist ausdrücklich
darunter: allegro, oder presto'.
2. Johann Gottfried Walther:
Musikalisches Lexikon
(Leipzig, 1732), p.27.
3. George J. Buelow:
Thorough-hass accompaniment
according to Johann David
Heinichen (Berkeley, 1966),
P-I35
4. 'Alia breve', in Johann
Georg Sulzer: Allgemeine
Theorie der schönen Künste,
revised edition (Leipzig,
1793; rpt- 1967), vol.i, p.72.
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BEVERLY JEROLD
The notable significance of C and <f in
Bach's era
has an extremely wide range of tempo, and the signature is often
In today's
treated as an aliapractice ofshouldearly
breve whose tempo not be so18th-century
slow as to require music, the C time signature
subdividing the two beats. Fortunately, writers close to Johann Sebastian
Bach provide some clarification about these signs. According to Friederich
Erhardt Niedt, who studied with Johann Nicolaus Bach (JS Bach's cousin), C
signifies 'a slow, gravitaetischen [i.e. weighty, solemn, dignified] tempo'. If a
piece is to be played quickly, then 'the composer expressly writes underneath:
allegro or presto-, if it is to be played very slowly, this is indicated by writing
adagio or lento underneath'. This definition is included in a manuscript
(1738) attributed to JS Bach as his teaching material.' In early sources beat
subdivision is commonplace, and $ is utilised in two distinct manners. These
signs hold clues for both tempo and expression.
The genuine alia breve
When defining alia breve in his Lexikon, Johann Gottfried Walther (who
worked in Weimar at the same time as his distant relative JS Bach) uses the
past tense. Associating it with the Italian practice of beating a bar in two, he
says that it was performed very fast [for such large note-values], and used
only for motets, which were full of syncopations, ligatures and successive
fugues; they had no notes smaller than crotchets, and very few.2 Whether
termed alia capella or alia breve, the smallest prevailing note value originally
permitted was the minim, with a few crotchets allowed.
Bach's trips to Dresden included visits with his colleague Johann David
Heinichen, whose book on thoroughbass accompaniment (1728) links one form
of alia breve with a strict compositional style, noteworthy for its syncopations
and suspensions. The smallest note value normally permitted is the crotchet; if
a few quavers appear, they are beamed together in twos.3 In contrast to the old
alia breve that Walther described, more crotchets can now appear.
In Johann Georg Sulzer's encyclopedia of the fine arts (1771) alia breve is
defined in our sense; it contains minims throughout, and is said to make the
expression more serious than would notes of half value at the same tempo.
When written in 0, a piece has more strong accents than it would in C, giving
it a different character.4
the musical times Summer 2014 85
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86 The notable significance of C and $ in Bach's era

5- Walther: Lexikon, p.27:
'Allegro [...] bedeutet:
fröhlich, lustig, wohl belebt
oder erweckt; sehr offt auch:
geschwinde und flüchtig:
manchmal aber auch, einen
gemässigten, obschon
frölichen und belebten Tact.'
6. Kurt^gefasstes musicalisches
Lexicon, 2nd edition (Chemnitz,
1749), p-418: 'Vivace [...]
bedeutet so viel als freudig,
frisch, und mit heller Stimme'.
The 'Confiteor' in <' from Bach's Mass in B minor (ex.ia) is a genuine
alia breve, for it contains few quavers. A closing section of 26 bars is marked
'Adagio', implying four beats per bar. Then, without a pause or change of
signature, the next section, 'Et expecto' (ex.ib), is headed 'Vivace e Allegro',
a reminder to return to a more rapid tempo after the Adagio section. Its many
quavers remove it from the category of the genuine alia breve. According
to Walther, an allegro can be either animated or of moderate tempo.5 While
he does not have an entry for 'Vivace ', a later music dictionary defines it
as 'joyful, vigorous, and with fuller voice' — which is more a mark of ex
pression than tempo.6

Ex.ia: JS Bach: B minor Mass, 'Confiteor', bars 1—5

Sopranoi iCon
Soprano Con" "" te
" te - or,con-fi
- or, con-fi
Lh -- J
J »[ J-
J- J
J IJ
■ IJ ■
c
Soprano
Soprano 2
1 r t1J Ir'rr
Con -fifi- -te
Con
r
2 I
te--or,
|
or, con
con -- fi
Alto
Con - fi

j, i,
J- » M
N't r r r 11* rp Jir rrJ'J
B.C.
mm -r
Ex.ib: JS Bach: B minor Mass, 'Et expecto'

Vivace e Allegr

\j> h J J 1 j=n~~j
3=^ ~~jJ0<
J J| |r
r §=—
» — i—-j
1—
r "" JJJ1J1
AA 1^

t ' r Js J 2-
Soprano
£=f r1 ^=f*' ff tj
tj r to, ex - pec - to
Et ex - pec - - to, ex - pec - - to, ex - pec - to
bars 1—5

Et ex - pec - - to, ex- pec to

Tenor
Tenor jj jj ,, J.-"
J.-" ** "jJ
"il J.
r—
r Bass
r |r
'r r r 'r
ir lJ
cj
B.C. j""
B.C. 'Y Et ex - pec - to, ex - pec - to re - sur - rec

ii
p. iA-men, Alto ' tLir
CXU"zlzj cib"LLC
A
bars 88—91
A men, A

Tr"",r
Tenor

TTTJ, JTJl JTJ3 JJJ1J J i pi

Hu P
f Jr
rr 'r r ' r'
P Wr B.C.

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7- Johann Adolph Scheibe:
Ueber die musikalische
Composition (Leipzig, 1773),
p.199: 'Er [4/2] [...] tritt
ernsthaft, langsam und
prächtig, und also in starken
und hohen pathetischen
Schritten einher.' Also
pp.202f.
8. Heinrich Christoph
Koch: Musikalisches Lexikon
(Frankfurt, 1802), 'Alla
breve', p.129.
9. Scheibe: Ueber die
musikalische Composition,
p.206.
10. Johann Joachim Quantz:
Versuch einer Anweisung die
Flöte traversiire {u spielen,
3rd edition (Breslau, 1789;
rpt. 1974), XIV/7, p.139:
'Ein langsames Stück
im Zweyviertheil- oder
Sechsachtheiltacte, spielet
man etwas geschwinder,
und eines im Allabreve
oder Dreyzweytheiltacte,
langsamer, als im schlechten
oder Dreyviertheiltacte.'
11. Johann Mattheson: Der
vollkommene Capellmeister
(Hamburg, 1739), p.229.
12. Walther: Lexikon,
p.123: 'C [...] bedeutet
einen entweder aus vier
geschwinden oder langsamen
Theilen bestehenden Tact,
nachdem nemlich allegro
oder adagio dabey stehet;
ist aber nichts dabey notirt,
so wird allezeit adagio
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Like other composers, Bach reserved the true alia breve almost exclusively
for works having a serious, strict and contrapuntal nature, such as the second
movement from Cantata 28, 'Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende', in which
the crotchet is the smallest value. The Mass in B minor furnishes other
examples that are barred in 4/2. According to Bach's former student Johann
Adolph Scheibe, 4/2 is used mostly for contrapuntal, vigorous choruses.
It proceeds seriously, slowly and magnificently - thus in strong and lofty
solemn steps. He applies this description also to $ (2/2) in its genuine form.7
In 1802 Heinrich Christoph Koch, like others, still associates alia breve with
a serious expression, used particularly in fugal works and church music of
a contrapuntal nature.8
The slowness of the genuine alia breve is apparent also when Scheibe says
that 3/2 is to the triple-metre signatures what 2/2 is to the duple - that is,
denoting the slowest and most weighty execution.9 The Berlin court flautist
Johann Joachim Quantz (1752) offers a similar comparison: 'A slow piece in
2/4 or 6/8 is played a little more quickly, and one in alia breve or 3/2 more
slowly, than one in C or 3/4.'10
In both 3/2 and the genuine alia breve, the large values of minims and
crotchets, which connote a restrained pace and serious expression, form the
prevailing motion. Unlike the varied usages of the signature (below), 3/2
almost always designates the slowest tempo for triple metre, unless modified
by a tempo mark. This is seemingly unknown today, for many pieces in 3/2
are performed with extraordinary rapidity - for example, George Frideric
Handel's 'Alia Hornpipe' from Water music (ex.2). A clue for tempo
comes from Handel's friend Johann Mattheson, who in 1739 associates the
Hornpipe with Scottish bagpipes and supplies a four-bar example in 3/2.11
Its structure closely resembles Handel's piece.
0's other usage
Later in his dictionary, Walther describes the C signature as denoting four
beats per bar, which are either quick or slow, according to whether allegro or
adagio is indicated. If no tempo mark is included, 'adagio and a slow tempo
is always understood. The Italians call it Tempo ordinario and Tempo alia
semibreve'. 0, on the other hand, is used for alia breve or da capella in church
music, as well as fugues, bourrées, gavottes, and the like; 'but, here, a piece is
always performed faster than if written in the other signature."2 Implied for
the latter is a somewhat faster bar of four beats. Two important points from
drunter verstanden, und eine Tact an, und wird sowohl Bourréen, Gavotten, u.d.g.
langsame Mensur gegeben.' beym Allabreve oder da gebraucht; da aber immer
('[$ [...] zeiget einen Capella in Kirchen-Sachen, eine Gattung geschwinder als
geschwinden und gleichen als ausser diesen bey Fugen, die andere tractirt wird.')
THE MUSICAL TIMES Summer 2014 87
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 The notable significance of C and 0 in Bach ^ era
Ex.2: GF Handel: Water music, 'Alia Hornpipe', bars 1—7
Oboe,
|wiiir
hiiür r r i^r r^rirr
r^pirr rfr irr ri*r ir jfrnr <rrrir m
13. Johann Rudolf
Ahle: Brevis &perspicua
introductio in artem
musicam (Mühlhausen,
1673), unpaged: 'Diese [C]
bedeuten den grossen und
langsamen Tact. Diss [§]
bedeutet dass der Tact etwas
geschwinder fortgehen
soll.' Also offering the same
definitions (with little or no
additional elaboration) are:
Wolfgang Mylius: Rudimenta crotchets.1' According to a singing manual by Johann Friedrich Doles, who
musices (Mühlhausen, 1685),
unnumbered p. 31; Georg
Falck: Idea boni cantoris
(Nürnberg, 1688), p.52;
Wolfgang Caspar Printz:
Compendium musicae
signatoriae & modulatoriae
vocalis (Dresden, 1689), p.21;
Martin Heinrich Fuhrmann:
Musicalischer- Trichter
(Franckfurt an der Spree,
1706), p.6o; and Joseph
Friedrich Bernhardt Caspar
Majer: Museum musicum
(Schwäbisch Hall, 1732),
p.16.
14. Giovanni Maria
Bononcini: Musicoprattico
(Bologna, 1673), p.n: 'tempo
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strings . , , ,
r r F
w
Walther's description of C: it has four beats (the conventional description
throughout the sources; these need to be comfortable for beating with the
hand to avoid conversion to a two-beat bar); and the beats are slow, unless
designated otherwise.
0 served a dual function, for in its second usage it connotes simply a more
rapid tempo than does C, a distinction made in many writings over a long
period of time. For example, Johann Rudolf Ahle advises in 1673 that the
C signature designates a 'grand and slow measure', and the 0, a 'somewhat
faster' one.'3 The dual nature of 0 applied also to Italian music. According
to the composer Giovanni Maria Bononcini (1673), notes in a 0 signature
are performed with half the value of those in C, but modern composers treat
both C and 0 alike (with four beats), except that (j* is beaten 'somewhat faster
to make it easier in practice for singers'.14 Bach's former students describe
the two signatures similarly. In 1739 Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof
calls C the customary measure of four crotchets; <jî means to play the notes
faster than in C. He defines 2 in a cut-time sense, but adds that it allows few
succeeded Bach in the Leipzig position: '2/2 is also designated by a large 0
or a %. The stroke means that it is performed like a faster 4/4 [c] and is used
primarily for fugal pieces. It is also called Allabreve or Allacapella,''6 He
does not include our conventional definition of 0 as 'cut-time'.
alla breue, sotto del quale i739)> P-42: '(a) der ist eine gross 2.
si cantano tutte le figure per gewöhnliche Vierviertel
metà del loro primo valore, Tackt, welcher mit einem 16. Johann Friedrich Doles:
da i moderni viene perô gross C bemerket wird. 'Anfangsgründe zum
Gehet ein Strich durch das C
usato come il primo [C], Singen', undated manuscript,
battendo solo alquanto [...] so bedeutet es, dass man ed. Armin Schneiderheinze,
più presto, per renderlo più die Noten hurtiger als wo nur Beiträge ç,ur Bach-Forschung
facile alli Cantori nel prat ein bloses C [...] spielen solle, 7 (Leipzig, i$>89), P-43: 'Der
ticarlo.' (b) Tackt von zwey halben Strich bedeutet, dass er wie
Schlägen, da nemlich die ein geschwinder 4/4 Tact
15. Lorenz Christoph Mizler Noten lauter halbe Schläge ausgeübt und meistentheils
von Kolof: Anfangs- Gründe sind, und selten Viertel mit zu Fugensachen gebraucht
des General Basses (Leipzig, vorkommen; sein Zeichen wird.'
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 Ex.3: JS
Ex.3: JS Bach:
Bach:Cantata
Cantata151,
Demuth
Demuth kann
kann ich
ich Trost'
In Je
Je -- su
f»r
r»r rr jJ1 1r rJ irrj J
17- Johann David Heinichen:
Der Generalbass in der
Komposition (Dresden, 1728;
rpt. 1969), pp-343f. 'Nun
finden sich auch andere
Arthen Alia breve. Denn
an statt dass das bissherige
Allabreve die Harmonie
iedweden Tactes nur in 2.
Teile getheilet, und folgbar
weniger nicht als 2 4tel auff
einen Accord gehen kunten:
so theilen hingegen einige
die Harmonie iedweden
Tactes in 4. Theile, und
geben iedweden 4tel einen
eigenen Accord, brauchen
auch die Freyheit, mit vielen
Variationibus und bizarren
Sprüngem gedachter 4te; zu
verfahren, wieder die Natur
des Antiquen Allabreve, ob
sie gleich dieses dabey in
gewöhnlichen Rückungen
und Syncopationibus der
Con und Dissonantien zu
151,'In'InJesu
Jesu bars 1—3
Trost'
Andante
Andante
tL v ..
r»r
r»r rr J
•' ir
ir J
J rr JJ i"p
\t
su De-
De-mut_
mut_kann
kannich_
ich_
Trost,
Trost,
in in
sei sei
- ner_
- ner_
Ar-Ar-
mut_
mut_
Reich
Reich
- tum
- turn
fin - fin
den - den
itc&rr "r iir|[rv ir
i'clcJ" r er
'r ir ri jir
The aria 'In Jesu Demuthkann ich Trost' (ex. 3) from Bach's Cantata 151
exemplifies these writers' definition of 0. Because it moves predominantly
in quavers with a few ornamental semiquavers and is marked 'Andante', it
can have the four beats of C, but at a somewhat faster pace.
In true alia breve style, the chord cannot change more frequently than
at the interval of a minim. But, observes Heinichen, some composers use
this sign even when each bar is divided into four parts, so that each crotchet
has its own chord. They also take the liberty of utilising quavers in various
bass figurations and unusual leaps, as done in slow common time with
semiquavers. This style is usually called an alia breve spurium because it has
nothing of the true alia breve but the notes and borrowed alia breve sign.
It is only a translation of ordinary duple time.17 Heinichen's description
correlates with those above. Where the confusion lies is in calling this type
an alia breve and assigning it the same signature.
Bach's Fugue in E minor BWV 879 (ex. 4) from the Well-tempered clavier
II illustrates an alia breve spurium, in which each crotchet has its own chord.
It features complex rhythms and interweaving parts, with contrasting binary
and ternary figures. Although triplet motion predominates throughout,
Bach utilised 0, instead of 12/8, to indicate that the dotted figures are not
to be assimilated with the triplets. As his former student Johann Friedrich
imitiren suchen. [...] dahero von dem wahren Allabreve Allabreve Tact aufweiset,
man dieses Allabreve mit nichts als die euserliche an sich selbst aber nichts
Recht ein Allabreve spurium Kleidung, ich meine die anders ist, als ein übersetzter
zu nennen pfleget, weil es Noten, und den erborgten ordinairer egaler Tact'
the musical times Summer 2014 89
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90 The notable significance of C and <* in Bach 's era

Ex.4: JS Bach: Well-tempered clavier, book 2, Fugue in E minor, bars 12—14

i^5]iW'rTV J -^»J-—r^JPJ7)fr7T'
izftsir iXS£& f i' 'r 'lU Lg
m

Agricola wrote when reviewing Georg Simon Löhlein's keyboard method

(which recommends assimilation):
18. Johann Friedrich
Such synchronisation takes place only with extreme rapidity. Barring this, the note after
Agricola in Bach-Dokumente
III, ed. Hans-Joachim the dot must be played not with, but after the last note of the triplet. Otherwise the
Schulze (Kassel, 1972), p.206: difference between the binary measure of such notes and 3/8, 6/8, 9/8, or 12/8 would
'bey punctirten Noten gegen be removed. This is what Johann Sebastian Bach taught all his students and this is what
Triolen, die Note nach dem Quantz, too, teaches in his treatise.18
Puncte auf die dritte Note
der Triole angeschlagen With its intricate structure and frequent chord changes, Bach's Fugue re
würde. Dies ist nur bey der
äussersten Geschwindigkeit quires four rather slow beats per bar.
wahr. Ausser dieser aber
muss die nach dem Puncte
stehende Note nicht mit, Beat subdivision
sondern nach der letzen Note
der Triole angeschlagen Early musicians kept time with the hand or foot. As Agricola observes,
werden. Denn sonst würde
ein Unterschied zwischen leaders commonly subdivided the beats: 'More frequent hand motions serve
geraden Tacte, worinn only to make the beat clearer to the unpractised. [...] great composers, too, when
dergleichen Noten vorkom
men, und dem 3/86/89/8
they find it necessary to give the beat, mark the crotchets, and even the quavers
12/8 Tacte wegfallen. So in a faster tempo, by particular small up-and-down hand movements.'9
lehrte es J. S. Bach alle seine
Schüler'.
Therefore, the time signature's numerator does not preclude beat
subdivision. Instead, as Agricola clarifies, the different signatures indicate
19. [JF Agricola]: Schreiben
an Herrn —, in welchem where a caesura may occur: on beats one and three in C, but only on beat
Flavio Anicio Olibrio sein one in 0, 2/4 and triple metre. Others, too, mention beat subdivision:
Schreiben an den critischen
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, the Berlin theorist who knew the Bach family
Musikus an der Spree
vertheidiget (Berlin, 1749), well, advises beating rapid tempi according to the signature's denominator
p.45: 'die öfftern Wendungen (for example, crotchet in C), but subdividing the beats in slow ones. He
mit der Hand nur dienen
den Ungeübten den Tact illustrates various hand motions to be utilised.20 Using notes of various
deutlicher zu machen; [...] denominations in the signature of C as an example, Quantz subdivides the
auch grosse Componisten,
beats; for instance, a dotted minim receives six beats.2' When discussing the
wenn sie sich genöthiget
sehen, den Tact zu geben, C signature, Johann Adam Hiller, a later successor to Bach in the Leipzig
die Viertheile, auch öffters
position, specifies eight counts when the tempo is slow, but four in a more
bey geschwinder Bewegung,
ja wohl gar die Achttheile,
durch besondere kleine 20. Friedrich Wilhelm p.8o: 'Ist die Bewegung Tactgliedern.'
Rückungen der Hand, im Marpurg: Anleitung {ur Musik geschwinde, so zählet man
auf- und nieder-schlagen überhaupt, und ^ur Singkunst nach Tacttheilen, und ist sie 21. Quantz: Versuch, V/17,
anzumercken.' besonders (Berlin, 1763), langsam, so zählet man nach p.20.

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22. Johann Adam Hiller:
Anweisung {um musikalisch
richtigen Gesänge (Leipzig,
1774), p.124: 'Uebrigens muss
diese Tactart [C], wenn die
Bewegung langsam ist, nach
Tactgliedern, d.i. als acht
Achtel gezählt werden.'
23. Daniel Gottlob Türk:
Klavierschule (Halle, 1789),
p.107.
24. Quantz: Versuch, XVII/
vii, 49 & 50.
25. [Agricola]: Schreiben,
p.45: 'Es ist wahr, dass der
Strich durch das C allezeit,
in gewissem Verstände,
eine geschwinde Bewegung
andeutet; allein mann findet
auch den Strich bey Stücken
die sehr langsam gehen; und
wieder bey geschwinden
Stücken keinen Strich'.
Ex. 5a: Quantz: Sei duetti a due flauti traversi, Duetto VI
bars 1—3
$i
bars 21—24
te
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rapid tempo.22 Daniel Gottlob Türk's keyboard method recommends beat
subdivision when appropriate.23
Quantz's 'Duetto VI' for two flutes (1759) illustrates the varied character
of 0 as applied to both sections in a French overture form. The opening is
marked 'Grave' (ex.5a), which he defines as the very slowest tempo. That
the alia breve designation did not by itself convey a rapid tempo is implied
by the Duetto's second section (ex. 5b), where Quantz specifies 'Alia breve,
but quickly'. This might suggest that the term alia breve served to denote
strong expression more than tempo. According to his book, tempo in an alia
breve (0) can be either slow or rapid.24
Later thoughts on 0
In 1749 Agricola cited inconsistent practice: 'It is true that the stroke through
the C in certain circumstances always means a quick tempo, but it is also used
in pieces that move very slowly—conversely, some fast pieces have no stroke.
It would be more correct to adopt this rule: the stroke through the C signifies
the Italian Tempo maggiore or alia breve, in which the notes, whether in slow
or fast tempi, are always held only half as long as in common time ( Tempo
minore), in which the C has no stroke.'25 His recommendation, however,
does not appear to have been widely adopted.
According to an anonymous writer in Berlin's Kritische Briefe über die
Tonkunst (1761), notes in 2/2 are performed either with their customary
j j j
Allabreve,
Allabreve, ma
ma Presto
Presto
the musical times Summer 2014 91
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1)2 The notable significance of C and 0 in Bach's era

values or half again faster: 'The first case is a Grave 2/2 and the second,
a lighter 2/2. In the sphere of the Grave or serious 2/2 belong cha
connes, and overtures in French style [...] To the light 2/2 belong the
26. [Unsigned]: 'LXVII. alia breve, gavotte, rigaudon, bourrée, tambourin, and march.'2"5 The 'Grave
Brief', Kritische Briefe über
2/2', in which the notes retain their usual value, corresponds to French
die Tonkunst (KBT), ed. FW
Marpurg 2 (Berlin, 1761): descriptions of a four-beat C barré, as in the beginning of the overture.
p.23: 'In dem Zweyzweytheil The discrepancy among writers concerning the degree of tempo increase
müssen die Noten entweder
nach der Zeit ihrer with the second form of 0 probably results from the semantic problem of
ordentlichen Geltung, oder stating what must in practice be a variable amount of increase.
um die Hälfte geschwinder
An earlier writer in the same journal observes that it had long been
gespielet werden. Wo das
erste geschieht, da ist ein customary to use $ for varied pieces in 2/2, whether fugues, overtures or
schwerer Zweyzweytheil,
gavottes, etc., and C for pieces in 4/4, whose tempo likewise is slow or quick.
und wo das leztere geschieht,
ein leichter Zweyzweytheil Often even great composers exchange the two signatures, either from haste
vorhanden. [^[] Ins or error, and copyists frequently err in notating the C and 0 signatures. With
Gebiet des schweren oder
ernsthaften Zweyzweytheils
the latter sign, a standard strongbeat caesura can occur only on the first beat.
gehören die Chaconnen, und If there is one in the middle of a bar, the signature should be C. Thus he
Ouvertüren im französischen
advises replacing these signs with numbers. He also calls it incorrect to use
Geschmack [...] Zu dem
leichten Zweyzweytheil the alia breve designation with a piece written in common time, because it
gehört das Alia breve, die
requires four beats, not two.27
Gavotte, das Rigaudon, die
Bourrée, das Tambourin, der This brings to mind the opening chorus of Bach's Cantata 4, 'Christ lag
Marsch, u.'. in Todes Banden', whose signature is C, 'Allegro'. Its contrasting closing
27. 'XIV. Brief, KBT 1 section has no change of signature, but is marked 'alia breve' (ex.6). Yet
(i759),pp.l°8f.
the texture becomes more complex and filled with syncopation (a feature of
28. Beverly Jerold: 'The the original alia breve style). Moreover, the harmony continues to change at
French time devices
revisited', in Dutch Journal
the crotchet level, an unsuitable setting for the genuine alia breve. Today's
of Music Theory vol.15 conductors sometimes beat the first section in a rapid four per bar, and
no.3 (November 2010),
double the rapidity at the alia breve. Then Bach's intricate contrapuntal
pp. 169-89; 'Maelzel's role
in Beethoven's symphonic texture and syncopation are lost to the listener, and the serious, weighty
metronome marks', in The
character associated with alia breve disappears. All indications point to
Beethoven Journal vol.24
no.i (Summer 2009), considerably slower tempi in the 18th century.28 If the opening section of
pp.14-27; 'Hummel's this chorus were taken at a more moderate tempo, the alia breve's tempo
metronome marks for Mozart
and Beethoven', in The
could increase slightly (but still in four beats per bar), thereby retaining
Beethoven Journal vol.26 no.2 the serious, vigorous style associated with alia breve, and highlighting the
(Winter 2011), pp.14-17;
syncopation. Or perhaps alia breve simply refers to adopting the 'strong and
'Eighteenth-century stringed
keyboard instruments from a lofty solemn steps' of this form.
performance perspective', in An alia breve in 3/4 appears in the middle of the 'Molto Adagio' aria in
Ad Parnassum 9 (April 2011),
pp.75-100.
C, 'Es ist vollbracht', from Bach's St John Passion, where it accompanies
a passage with semiquavers. In 1763 Marpurg observed that alia breve
29. Marpurg: Anleitung,
pp.74f.: 'In uneigentlichem formerly was found also in triple metre. In the word's true meaning, he
Verstände wird durch alla
says, note values are cut in half, but it also designates a fugal piece written in
breve ein in dieser Bewegung
gesetztes fugirtes Tonstück an alia breve tempo.29 A recent edition of this work has substituted 'Vivace'
bezeichnet.'
(from the string parts) for the score's 'Alia breve'. As noted above, vivace

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 Ex.6: JS Bach: Cantata 4, 'Christ lag in Todes Banden', bars 68—73

alla
aliabreve
breve

rji
Soprano
§*r
^ r *
* 1 " 1"
!" 7
7 r
r v
ja. Hal

Alto

ja. Hal - le - lu

tfc
tfe
> r 'Jj JJJ ji> ik
r s rpr r
|J| r
Jl |J|
r "M -Vp"
Tenor

ja. Hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu

Bass
mja.
j'7§Hal8
I- t7 ir r~p
leHal
- lu
p i' iJ
- le
- -ja,
lu hal
j j1Ji'J1
- ja, -hal
le --lelu
11 r
- ja,
lu - hal
r p
ja, hal
em
- le
- le
if
- lu
- lu■-
r me

|4'r
[4'r J
-le- -lulu
-le
J
- ja,
- ja,
jy
Vhal-le-lu
hal -
Jl|? J'p 1(1
le - lu - ja,- hal
i"C
ja, -hal
le - -
(!
lu le
iMT
- lu
- ja,
fMT
hal -
pip
ja,-, hal
- le
m
hal -- le
p - ja,
le-,
n-
- lu hal

^è*
{ /1Ji IjJ
/ JI j>ijJ ^J
^J J -1 UJ*
I 4tJ> V^ ^
ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu -

M ^ j 11
i? ^pJ'p
^pop p
p jW1
jW1 if
if ** ^7 f~
r~
ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal - le - lu - ja, hal

p PF "MP
JV'ift p [T "MP ''P
''F p
pppf
p
ja, hal - le - lu
lu -- ja,
ja, hal
hal -- le
le -- lu
lu -- ja,
ja, hal
hal -- le
le -- lu
lu -- ja,
ja, hal
hal -- le
le -- lu
lu -

is not necessarily a tempo indication, but an expression mark indicatin

30. [Unsigned]: 'Wider die
feurigen Kapellmeister',
in Allgemeine Musikalische
Zeitung io (1875), pp-i02f.
stronger execution.
A further explanation for $ in a slow piece is offered by the Allgemein
Musikalische Zeitung (1875), which says that it used to refer more to t
rhythmic stresses than tempo. The writer objects to leaders who frequent
conduct a four-beat bar in earlier music like an alla brevet Today's p
formers and conductors, unaware of the time signature's significanc

the musical times Summer 2014 93

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94 The notable significance of C and 0 in Bach's era

do the same. For example, the first 'Air' in Georg Philipp Telemann's
Ouverture in D major with a signature of C, 'Tempo giusto' (TWV 55:
Di; ex_7a), is often converted from four beats per bar to two.31 According
to Marpurg, Tempo giusto means 'in the right tempo, not too fast or slow'.32
Some performances of this work's third Air, with a signature of C, 'Presto'
(ex.yb), depart still further from four beats per bar by condensing the notes
into one beat per bar. Telemann's 'Presto' does not mean to play as fast as
possible, but denotes a rapid tempo that permits comfortable hand-beating
four times per bar. If he had wanted today's tempo, he would have written
the crotchets as semiquavers, and changed the time signature to 2/4. These
pieces are entitled 'Air', which implies a song-like expression.
Other instances of well-known pieces performed today at a tempo
greatly exceeding the bounds of the C and 0 signatures include additional
movements from Handel's Water Music in D major: the four beats of its
majestic opening movement in C (ex.8a), which should retain this sign's
serious character, are compressed to two beats, and the $ signature of its
'Bourrée ' (ex. 8b) is reduced to one beat per bar.

31. Georg Philipp Telemann:

Musique de Table (Hamburg,
*733)
32. Marpurg: Anleitung, p.73.
33. Quantz: Versuch,
XVII/5011.
from the sources. In 1752 Quantz compared their allegretto to the
Our conception of anAndallegro
presto of their forefathers.33 tempo
in 1813 the theorist for this period differs markedly
and composer
Gottfried Weber compared their andante to the Bach-era allegro. His article
takes the form of a dialogue between a composer who wants to use a pen

Ex.7a: GP Telemann: Ouverture in D major, 'Air I'

Air I. Tempo giusto

\JLH ^ J J J J J"3 j J J *
(<Y " ^ E g »=' p r p== r r1 r f r r

0. «
j> j i> fijf *
Ex.7b: GP Telemann: Ouverture in D major, 'Air III'

Air III. Presto

1^*11JJJ. . #3= jj jj Jj
1^*11J
^$1 '■
p f1
t f4=
F= t r r {
=1=1 J JP
* * P ri~
r^
^ F r
f

£=
r r j= r iî
r f

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 Ex.8a: GF Handel: Water music, first movement

Allegro Trumpets
Allegro Trumpets I,I, IIII
=$=
2= 4 4 .4

Oboe, strings

Ex.8b: GF Handel: Water music, 'Bourrée'

Bourrée
Bourree

This
This Air
Airto
tobe
beplayed
played3 3
times
times
over
over
Tutti
Tu« , n j -g

fT

r
pj fpp
W

dulum device to indicate the desired tempo and a music director who is
sceptical. After the composer observes that the words allegro, andante,
adagio, etc. are vague, the music director responds:
Unfortunately, all too true! This is particularly noticeable with the older music. As
everyone knows, musicians of the first half of the preceding century understood the term
allegro to be only approximately what we now call andante, and all the remaining tempo
marks were thus understood to be slower than those of more recent composers. When
performing works of the older masters now, how difficult it is to guess the correct tempo
as the composer wanted it!

The music director, finally convinced by the composer's arguments, ex

34- Gottfried Weber: 'Noch
einmal ein Wort über den
musikalischen Chronométré
oder Taktmesser', in
Allgemeine Musikalische
Zeitung 15 (1813): pp.443f.
&447.
claims: 'If the Handels, Bachs and Grauns had put one or two such [pendu
lum] numbers at the head of their works, these would not now be performed
by so many of my colleagues in mistaken, incorrect tempi, and be desecrated
and disfigured!'34
In contrast to the multiple uses of C without a qualifying tempo mark
appears to have retained in most cases its original signification of four really
slow beats and serious expression. (As the century wore on, it was used also
for other types of expression.) To have a viable contrast between C and 0,
we may often need to adopt a slower tempo for C than is customary today.
Many of Bach's works for keyboard or instruments are written in C, with no

the musical times Summer 2014 95

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9 6 The notable significance of C and 0 in Bach's era
35- Marpurg: Anleitung,
p.74. His statement concerns
Quantz's pulsebeat system
and Saint-Lambert's pace of
a walking man. That neither
of these was intended to be
applied as literally as done
today is discussed in my
article 'Numbers and tempo:
1630-1800', in Performance
Practice Review vol.17 no.i,
article 4 (2012), available at:
http:// scholarship.claremont.
edu/ppr/ voll y / issi/4.
200.16.86.81 on Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:08:21 +00:00
Ex.9: JS Bach: Well-tempered clavier, book i, Fugue in Al> major, bars 44—45
'•'■h g
« m«0 r—
L_;
r f ~r *" '*
tempo indication. When semiquavers form the prevailing motion, four slow
beats will produce a moderate tempo.
Without metronomes, establishing tempo or writing about it was no easy
matter for 18th-century musicians. Undoubtedly some of the discrepancies
between various accounts (concerning the degree of tempo increase with 0)
result from individual perception and the difficulty of expressing in words
a concept that has to be adjusted on an individual basis. While Heinichen
called C the model for all the other signatures, its tempo is not easily
determined. According to Marpurg, the ordinary value of notes in C has to
be learned through experience, for the pulse beat is as little an infallible rule
as a man's walking pace.35 For us, hand-beating may provide a more reliable
guide. Thus a piece written in C should allow four comfortable beats per bar
with the hand, and eight in a slow tempo or intricate texture. Consider ex.9
from Bach's Fugue in A\> major from book 2 of the Well-tempered, clavier, in
which the harmony changes with each quaver, implying eight beats per bar
(EX.9). Since much of his music is characterised by similar complexity, it
benefits from a performance that enables the ear to grasp the extraordinarily
inventive harmony and counterpoint.
Thus we can let the the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic structures
determine whether beat subdivision is appropriate. The true alia breve,
which is limited to large note values and a change of harmony per bar,
persisted through the century and should be distinguished from other uses
of the $ sign. Its strong, weighty expression is most apt to be found in sacred
music and fugal composition. While quavers may appear, they should not
form the prevailing motion. Only this type conforms to our conception
of the 0 signature in two beats. The alia breve spurium, on the other hand,
is used in a wide variety of composition (sometimes erroneously), and
implies a somewhat more rapid tempo than would the same notes in C. If
a piece's harmony changes more frequently, the 0 signature needs four
(and occasionally even eight) beats per bar, with the tempo adjusted to the
musical content and the composer's indications.
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