Isn't it though? I couldn't agree with you more. Just don't try to pick it part; just revel in the experience. That's what music listening is all about - the music must communicate and be received by the listener, otherwise there is nothing.
But I find the Antal Dorati recording is the tempo I prefer for Bergamasca. A tad slower, more majestic (even if it is a lusty dance from Bergamo, Italy), and thus more sumptuous, sublime. A mind-blowing number indeed! Esp with the volume UP.
Miriam Boland Many seem to prefer that Dorati performance. For me, the tempos don't seem right, especially with the last movement that you like. In that performance, I find it overly distended and drawn out, compared to the other movements. But for a while, it was the only current recording, so I would imagine that you are used to what you are hearing on it. But I think there are better readings of this wonderful suite - certainly this one by Ozawa, and also the old one by Franz Litschauer.
To me, having done Renaissance dance in the Philadelphia Revels (& other places), it actually is easier to dance to that tempo, as well - it is a splendid end to a dance sequence. Audiences seem to truly appreciate it.
Miriam Boland I will always assert that the next one is entitled to his/her own opinion on these matters, assuming a degree of experience. Just to tell you first about myself. I have been a lifetime in music, actually approaching 79. I have also been dealing with dancers for the last 27 years, aside from having watched many performances. I continually see performances where a work of music is cut off before its proper conclusion, a multi-movement work has its component parts disarranged, or tempos are adopted which grossly misrepresents what the music appears to state. And this not only by amateurs, but by well known professionals and those with household names as well. Of course, this is not to detract from those cases where the music and dance scenario are perfectly wedded. True, these impressions are subjective, but you begin to see where this is leading. And in my experiences, I have come to a very sad realization, and that is that dancers and musicians speak a very different language. I as a musician have often wondered how dancers actually hear music, how they perceive it. Here too, I will say that there are some who are genuinely sensitive to musical syntax, and plan their scenarios accordingly. To get to your situation - I fully understand when you tell me that you do Renaissance dancing. One would then think that the music used of necessity should be from the Renaissance, or of a tolerably acceptable replication. This music from the Respighi suite - any of the four movements in fact, or for that matter, any of the other such suites that he put together - could by no stretch of the imagination be designated as Renaissance. The style evinced, as we hear it, is from a much later period, further emphasized that the attempted replication is from still later a period. That does not devalue the music in any sense. The four movements hang together well and are all gems of the first order. I would only say that to properly present them choreographically, one must work out a dance scenario that would permit the music to retain its essence, and not to slow it down simply because it is "easier to dance to." Be assured that I have encountered grievous examples of this sort in other works, and besides, I can be quite picky when it comes to tempo in interpretation of a work. In most instances, I actually do not prefer overly fast tempos. I think that they are a scourge on much music making of today - everything taken at such a hectic, frenetic tempo, possibly arising from the "authentic" movement, but in the end giving the listener no opportunity to take the time to savor what is being presented. With this suite, I can almost envision the second movement, the Danza Rustica, taken down a notch in tempo, which really would give it the sense of sumptuousness and dignity that you would crave in the Bergamasca, and in that sense, I can almost feel what you are after. But the last movement, to me, feels much more sprightly, and I personally would not wish to have it drag, as I feel that it should not. The tempo in this rendition sound near perfect to me (only the very final bars I feel should broaden out much more). And as a concluding note: like you, I turn the volume up when listening to this Bergamasca movement. Parts of it can be nearly inaudible by the way it is scored, and I like to hear everything that needs to be heard. Also, I turn up the volume at the very end, even the concluding stage where the whole orchestra joins in for the final appearance of the very opening, and I turn the sound up to get the maximum effect of it. I hope that I have made clearer to you where I'm coming from
I especially love 'Campanae parisienses', an ancient folk song, seemingly. Or is it by an anonymous composer of such sweetness? It could go on for another few variations, in my book.
