While the notation of 17th- and 18th-century music looks familiar, its meanings and the treatment of meter in performance have evolved dramatically. When performed according to the conventions of its own time, the music of 1600-1800 balances precision and flexibility, with an enchanting lilt, grace, and vitality. With many quotations and musical examples from theoretical treatises and instruction manuals of the period, Meter in Music is a practical guide to the performance of Baroque and early Classical music, with guidance on notes inegales, fingerings, bowings, and woodwind tonguings.
"More than the notation was different! ... fine addition ... " --Early Music News "All practising musicians with an interest in the baroque owe it to themselves to be exposed to the ideas contained in this book." -Continuo "This is a book from an excellent musician in the early field who turns out also to be a most persistent scholar ... " --Early Music " ... the book offers a vast quantity of data from a wide range of sources... George Houle is to be congratulated for his honest presentation of the entire spectrum." --Music Educators Journal