Theories of musical rhythm in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Caplin, W. E. In The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory, 21, pages 657–694. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2002.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
Everyone agrees: it is di√cult to talk about rhythm in music, or, for that matter, the temporal experience in general. Compared with spatial relations, which appear to us as fixed and graspable, temporal ones seem fleeting and intangible. As a result, the lan-guage of time and rhythm is complex, contentious, and highly metaphorical. Considering that theorists today continue to have di√culty dealing with the metrical and durational organization of music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries – our most familiar music – it should come as no surprise that theoretical writings from those centuries often present themselves as perplexing and in need of explication. Though their manner of formulation may at times seem odd or convoluted, these theo-rists nonetheless ask many of the same questions about musical rhythm that underlie current concerns: What is a metrical accent? How do the profusion of time signatures relate to each other? Do the groupings of measures create a sense of larger-scale rhythm? Can various durational patterns be organized according to some scheme or another? How does our understanding of musical rhythm a◊ect performance, espe-cially tempo, phrasing, and articulation? Like many other domains of music theory, rhythmic theories are largely formulated in relation to a distinct compositional practice. Thus when compositional styles change, theorists respond by modifying their conceptions and formulating new ones in order better to reflect such transformations in practice. The high Baroque style, with its motoric pulses, regularized accentuations, and dance-derived rhythms, induced early eighteenth-century theorists to focus in detail on the classification of various metrical and durational patterns and to begin accounting for that most elusive concept – metrical accent. Later in the century, the emergence of the galant and Classical styles, with their emphasis on formal articulations, melodic prominence, and balanced phras-ings, stimulated theorists to consider the rhythms projected by phrase groupings and cadential goals. And some nineteenth-century Romantic idioms, whose phrase rhythms are even more regularized and symmetrical, encouraged theorists to promote varying (and often competing) schemes of hypermetrical organization. Though changes in musical style certainly prompted theoretical refinement and innovation, a strong conceptual inertia is evident in these writings. Thus early eigh-teenth-century rhythmic theory continued to be highly influenced by elements of the Renaissance mensural system, and it was not until much later in that century that an 657 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008 entirely modern conception of musical meter found systematic expression. This notion of meter then functioned as the basis for most nineteenth-century approaches. So, despite significant changes in compositional style, the sense of a " common prac-tice " of rhythmic organization is reflected through strong conceptual continuities in the theoretical thought of both centuries. Eighteenth-century theories: transition, innovation
@InCollection{     caplin2002-theories,
    author       = {Caplin, William Earl},
    year         = {2002},
    title        = {Theories of musical rhythm in the eighteenth and
                   nineteenth centuries},
    abstract     = {Everyone agrees: it is di√cult to talk about rhythm in
                   music, or, for that matter, the temporal experience in
                   general. Compared with spatial relations, which appear to
                   us as fixed and graspable, temporal ones seem fleeting and
                   intangible. As a result, the lan-guage of time and rhythm
                   is complex, contentious, and highly metaphorical.
                   Considering that theorists today continue to have
                   di√culty dealing with the metrical and durational
                   organization of music from the eighteenth and nineteenth
                   centuries – our most familiar music – it should come
                   as no surprise that theoretical writings from those
                   centuries often present themselves as perplexing and in
                   need of explication. Though their manner of formulation
                   may at times seem odd or convoluted, these theo-rists
                   nonetheless ask many of the same questions about musical
                   rhythm that underlie current concerns: What is a metrical
                   accent? How do the profusion of time signatures relate to
                   each other? Do the groupings of measures create a sense of
                   larger-scale rhythm? Can various durational patterns be
                   organized according to some scheme or another? How does
                   our understanding of musical rhythm a◊ect performance,
                   espe-cially tempo, phrasing, and articulation? Like many
                   other domains of music theory, rhythmic theories are
                   largely formulated in relation to a distinct compositional
                   practice. Thus when compositional styles change, theorists
                   respond by modifying their conceptions and formulating new
                   ones in order better to reflect such transformations in
                   practice. The high Baroque style, with its motoric pulses,
                   regularized accentuations, and dance-derived rhythms,
                   induced early eighteenth-century theorists to focus in
                   detail on the classification of various metrical and
                   durational patterns and to begin accounting for that most
                   elusive concept – metrical accent. Later in the century,
                   the emergence of the galant and Classical styles, with
                   their emphasis on formal articulations, melodic
                   prominence, and balanced phras-ings, stimulated theorists
                   to consider the rhythms projected by phrase groupings and
                   cadential goals. And some nineteenth-century Romantic
                   idioms, whose phrase rhythms are even more regularized and
                   symmetrical, encouraged theorists to promote varying (and
                   often competing) schemes of hypermetrical organization.
                   Though changes in musical style certainly prompted
                   theoretical refinement and innovation, a strong conceptual
                   inertia is evident in these writings. Thus early
                   eigh-teenth-century rhythmic theory continued to be highly
                   influenced by elements of the Renaissance mensural system,
                   and it was not until much later in that century that an
                   657 Cambridge Histories Online {\textcopyright} Cambridge
                   University Press, 2008 entirely modern conception of
                   musical meter found systematic expression. This notion of
                   meter then functioned as the basis for most
                   nineteenth-century approaches. So, despite significant
                   changes in compositional style, the sense of a " common
                   prac-tice " of rhythmic organization is reflected through
                   strong conceptual continuities in the theoretical thought
                   of both centuries. Eighteenth-century theories:
                   transition, innovation},
    address      = {Cambridge, UK},
    booktitle    = {The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory},
    chapter      = {21},
    doi          = {10.1017/chol9780521623711.023},
    keywords     = {music history,music theory},
    mendeley-tags= {music history,music theory},
    pages        = {657--694},
    publisher    = {Cambridge University Press}
}
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