Hi All, Yes, this question has cropped up recently, and has been much in my mind, because I have largely been a member of the "in tempo" brigade and slightly alarmed by the performances of some of our best present-day lutenists when they take large liberties with tempo. Of the various excuses for not playing in time, the best one seems to me to be the one which claims that what is important is the musical "gesture", the rhetorical force of a particular passage (I take it for granted that technical considerations are the business of the performer, not the listener). There is no doubt in my mind that what matters is musical expression, as communicated to the listener, however that is achieved by the performer. This expressive playing can be achieved by various means, of which variations in timing are essential but only one of many. As a listener, it is very important to have a clear expectation of when the next note should arrive, otherwise no "expressive" bending of time is possible. This is what is wrong with much of the lute playing I hear - the variations in timing are so random that the listener is at a loss to know what is happening. The result, ironically, is a performance completely lacking in "expression". The nature of the piece can make a big difference. In the case of a pavan, I feel one should have a slow two-in-the-bar as a basic reference point. In an intabulation of a well-known madrigal, there might be more scope to be more rhapsodic, though it is worth bearing in mind what jazz musicians do with "standards", being very creative against a steady beat from the rhythm section. To take a modern example, I particularly like the way Robert Barto plays slow movements by Weiss - the basic tempo can be very slow, but the steadiness of the basic rhythm makes it possible to appreciate the long sweep of the phrases over long paragraphs. Just a few thoughts to chew on.... Best wishes, Martin P.S. Yippee! We're discussing music at last! --
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