Edward Macdowell : Sea Pieces, Op. 55 played by Herbert Fryer : Pianola Institute

[TheCinemasound]

They are all too fast, in fact AD 1620 is ruined at this tempo

[pianolainstitute]

@TheCinemasound I go to a very wide range of concerts, and I frequently encounter tempi that strike me as too fast. It is a contemporary disease, in my view, and I suppose it comes from our modern lifestyle, with its computer-generated accuracy of time, which is one of many influences that militate against authentic performance. But I don't agree with you about these speeds, which seem perfectly natural to me. As I said to another correspondent, we shall no doubt agree to differ.

[Selendomono1]

I think that the first sea piece is played far too fast

[pianolainstitute]

@Selendomono1 Well, firstly, it is very unlikely that the speed of the roll is wrong. The two pieces come on the same roll, and they were almost certainly recorded one after the other. Welte-Mignon rolls nearly always play at the same paper speed, and they were not greatly edited. Herbert Fryer isn't around to justify himself, since he died 54 years ago, but I have to say I like the speed. I think the pauses and slower passages are offset rather well by the varied tempi. We'll agree to differ.

[Justinhartz]

Thanks for posting this.

An interesting period performance.

[pianolasociety]

incredible, and entirely natural. I am going to play through my sheet music copy of this first thing in the morning and revisit the whole work!