Scan 87
Grove's dictionary of music and musicians: ed. by J. A. Fuller …, Volume 5, 1910
15 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 69. See the scan on archive.org.
1of Beethoven's Variations, op. 120, and also, though less correctly, when the notes of any given species remain of the same length, while the total value of the bar is changed, as in the following example, where the value of each quaver remains the same, although the bar of the 2-4 movement is only equal to two-thirds of one of the foregoing bars.
3Beethoven, Bagatelle, Op. 126, No. 1.
4Andante con moto. L'istesso tempo.
6A gradual increase of speed is indicated by the word accelerando or stringendo, a gradual slackening by rallentando or ritardando, all such effects being proportional, for every bar and indeed every note should as a rule take its share of the general increase or diminution, except in cases where an accelerando extends over many bars, or even through a whole composition. In such cases the increase of speed is obtained by means of frequent slight but definite changes of tempo (the exact points at which they take place being left to the judgment of performer or conductor) much as though the words più mosso were repeated at intervals throughout. Instances of an extended accelerando occur in Mendelssohn's chorus, 'O! great is the depth,' from 'St. Paul' (26 bars), and in his Fugue in E minor, op. 35, No. 1 (63 bars). On returning to the original tempo after either a gradual or a precise change the words tempo primo are usually employed, or sometimes Tempo del Tema, as in Var. 12 of Mendelssohn's 'Variations Sérieuses.'
8The actual speed of a movement in which the composer has given merely one of the usual tempo indications, without any reference to the metronome, depends of course upon the judgment of the executant, assisted in many cases by tradition. But there are one or two considerations which are of material influence in coming to a conclusion on the subject. In the first place, it would appear that the meaning of the various terms has somewhat changed in the course of time, and in opposite directions, the words which express a quick movement now signifying a yet more rapid rate, at least in instrumental music, and those denoting slow tempo a still slower movement, than formerly. There is no absolute proof that this is the case, but a comparison of movements similarly marked, but of different periods, seems to remove all doubt. For instance, the Presto of Beethoven's Sonata, op. 10, No. 3, might be expressed by M.M. 𝅘𝅥 = 144, while the Finale of Bach's Italian Concerto, also marked Presto, could scarcely be played quicker than 𝅘𝅥 = 126 without disadvantage. Again, the commencement of Handel's Overture to the 'Messiah' is marked Grave, and is played about 𝅘𝅥 = 60, while the Grave of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique requires a tempo of only 𝅘𝅥 = 60, exactly twice as slow. The causes of these differences are probably, on the one hand, the greatly increased powers of execution possessed by modern instrumentalists, which have induced composers to write quicker music, and on the other, at least in the case of the pianoforte, the superior sostenuto possible on modern instruments as compared with those of former times. The period to which the music belongs must, therefore, be taken into account in determining the exact tempo. But besides this, the general character of a composition, especially as regards harmonic progression, exercises a very decided influence on the tempo. For the apparent speed of a movement does not depend so much upon the actual duration of the beats, as upon the rate at which the changes of harmony succeed each other. If, therefore, the harmonies in a composition change frequently, the tempo will appear quicker than it would if unvaried harmonies were continued for whole bars, even though the metronome-time, beat for beat, might be the same. On this account it is necessary, in order to give effect to a composer's indication of tempo, to study the general structure of the movement, and if the changes of harmony are not frequent, to choose a quicker rate of speed than would be necessary if the harmonies were more varied. For example, the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata, op. 22, marked Allegro, may be played at the rate of about 𝅘𝅥 = 72, but the first movement of op. 31, No. 2, though also marked Allegro, will require a tempo of at least 𝅘𝅥 = 120, on account of the changes of harmony being less frequent, and the same may be observed of the two Adagio movements, both in 9-8 time, of op. 22 and op. 31, No. 1; in the second of these most bars are founded upon a single harmony, and a suitable speed would be about 𝅘𝅥 = 116, a rate which would be too quick for the Adagio of op. 22, where the harmonies are more numerous.1
10Another cause of greater actual speed in the rendering of the same tempo is the use of the time-signature 𝅘𝅥 or alla breve, which requires the composition to be executed at about double the speed of the Common or C Time. The reason of this is explained in the article BREVE, vol. i. p. 399a. See also TAGLIATO.
12A portion of a composition is sometimes marked a piacere, or ad libitum, 'at pleasure,' signifying that the tempo is left entirely to the
141 Hummel, in his Pianoforte School, speaking in praise of the Metronome, gives a list of instances of the variety of meanings attached to the same words by different composers, in which we find Presto varying from 𝅘𝅥 = 72 to 𝅘𝅥 = 224, Allegro from 𝅘𝅥 = 50 to 𝅘𝅥 = 172, Andante from 𝅘𝅥 = 52 to 𝅘𝅥 = 152 etc. But Hummel does not specify the particular movements he quotes, and it seems probable that, regard being had to their varieties of harmonic structure, the discrepancies may not really have been so great as at first sight appears.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.