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Tempo – oh so important

I missed René Jacobs’ opening concert for the Klara festival in Brussels.  And so I listened eagerly when I heard parts of it broadcast as the ‘best of’ on the radio.

I had high expectations. An impressive man is René Jacobs. I had read Rudy Tambuyser’s article in Staalkaart. I was prepared to be made happy.

Of course, it was a bit odd hearing Bach’s St Matthew Passion in September, but hey, I was ok with that. Until it came to the last chorus.

Why did he chose that tempo? It was a dance, a waltz. “Wir setzen uns mit tränen nieder” – that beauty of a tear-jerker – was interpretated as a waltz. Call me text-bound, but I object. And instead of being left with the beauty of the music, I’m left only with the memory of my frustration.

So not only for Italy’s football team, here too – tempo is sooo important.

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