The Tempo Implications of Bach's Notation - Part 1: The Proportional Method
How fast should Bach be played? The question is one of the most debated and contested in performance practice. Leslie M. Kenney argues the answer has been there all along, hidden in plain sight within Bach's notation.
Drawing on decades of immersion in Bach's music and a mathematician's eye for pattern and structure, Kenney develops the Proportional Method: an organic and rigorous approach to uncovering the tempo relationships embedded within Bach's scores. The results are frequently startling. Familiar works, performed today at widely varying tempos, now sound more coherent, more compelling, and far more alive when the music is played at Bach's own tempos.
This book speaks directly to pianists, organists, music teachers, and anyone who has ever wondered whether the Bach they are playing is truly Bach as Bach intended. It is both a practical framework and a direct challenge to hear music you thought you knew with entirely fresh ears.
"When I play Bach's music using this method, I feel I am becoming ever closer to understanding his original musical conceptions - and that is one of the great joys of a musical life."
Leslie M. Kenney studied mathematics at Brown University and has spent decades applying both analytical rigor and a profound musical sensitivity to one of music's most enduring puzzles.
The Tempo Implications of Bach's Notation is a three-volume work; Part 2 covers the Dance Suites and Part 3 the Sacred Music.
