# Tempo before a pause



## akhill jain (Feb 19, 2022)

I'm currently studying an excerpt of The Choral Variations on "Vom Himmel Hoch" mm 1-8 from Adler's.
While I'm aware that the duration of the pause is half the length of the note it is on, I'm not sure about why does the tempo slow down before every pause in the passage? Could anyone please clarify this. How is the tempo reduction taken into consideration?

as it can be seen in the image attached the tempo marking is a quarter note= 82. But when I did the tempo mapping in my daw for a mockup, it seems to be at around 55? Some suggestions would be helpful

I'm attaching the audio for reference too

Thank you


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## CT (Feb 19, 2022)

This is common with old German chorales like this one. The ritardando and fermata are introduced to demarcate each phrase of the chorale a little bit. The fermatas are written in, and in performance they're approached by a little slowing (which is not indicated, no) just to make them feel more natural.

You may also encounter performances which are done just as written, with no ritardando, or even without much emphasis on the fermatas.

The overall tempo is a bit slower than indicated because... they decided they wanted it to be I suppose!


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## JohnG (Feb 19, 2022)

@Michaelt is spot on. 

Tempos for old pieces are rarely specific, ritardando, crescendo -- just about every aspect can be debated (including tuning of course, and period instruments; it's endless). On top of that, sometimes the instrumentation isn't even very clear.

I sing in a choir and over the past four years we have had three conductors. We're performing some pieces at dramatically different tempos from our former guy -- same pieces -- but the breathing, tempos, ritards (or not) all have changed markedly. 

Still sounds nice but quite a different approach.


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## akhill jain (Feb 19, 2022)

Michaelt said:


> This is common with old German chorales like this one. The ritardando and fermata are introduced to demarcate each phrase of the chorale a little bit. The fermatas are written in, and in performance they're approached by a little slowing (which is not indicated, no) just to make them feel more natural.
> 
> You may also encounter performances which are done just as written, with no ritardando, or even without much emphasis on the fermatas.
> 
> The overall tempo is a bit slower than indicated because... they decided they wanted it to be I suppose!


Thank you for the insight @Michaelt! It's really helpful!
Cheers


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## akhill jain (Feb 19, 2022)

JohnG said:


> @Michaelt is spot on.
> 
> Tempos for old pieces are rarely specific, ritardando, crescendo -- just about every aspect can be debated (including tuning of course, and period instruments; it's endless). On top of that, sometimes the instrumentation isn't even very clear.
> 
> ...



Ah I see! Thank you @JohnG for the insight and also sharing your personal experience!!😁


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## SamMarksMusic (Feb 21, 2022)

Michaelt said:


> This is common with old German chorales like this one. The ritardando and fermata are introduced to demarcate each phrase of the chorale a little bit. The fermatas are written in, and in performance they're approached by a little slowing (which is not indicated, no) just to make them feel more natural.
> 
> You may also encounter performances which are done just as written, with no ritardando, or even without much emphasis on the fermatas.
> 
> The overall tempo is a bit slower than indicated because... they decided they wanted it to be I suppose!


Fascinating! So interesting how all these various styles have their own stylistic preferences or make-up.


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