# Fast tempos in authentic performances of baroque music



## JSBach85

Have you ever noticed in some authentic performances of baroque period music that tempos are especially fast? Just a month ago, I got Bach's Matthew Passion by McCreesh, I don't have numbers but I remember that the opening chorus: "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen" lasts only around 6 minutes. I noticed almost the same with some Bach's Overtures, Brandenburg Concertos performances that are quite faster than other period instrument orchestras performances. While I agree that modern instrument orchestras with 19th century tradition performance are proven to be wrong in contrast with what baroque musicologists scholars have revealed in their researches, I fail to understand why some period instrument orchestras and baroque specialists conductors use faster tempos in at least some movements that result in a lack of clarity and details. We know because scholars revealed that tempos were usually faster than 19th century tradition but a frantic conduction lead to a lack of details and clarity. 

Understanding the notes and appreciating Counterpoint requires very delicate balancing and I've never read something related to frantic tempos in baroque period. It's curious that I once read in another forum that such period was tough, full of diseases, violent wars and some composers may have tried to reflect that in their compositions but I ignore how true could be.


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