Annotation for Yeston, Maury
Rubato and the Middleground
Annotation (by Jonathan D. Flowers):
- Leading eighteenth-century theorists agreed that rhythmic
inflections in tempo rubato should not alter the total
duration of measures. In his widely cited essay, Yeston
applies a Schenkerian approach to rhythm to determine what
types of inflections will not distort the metric structure
of a piece. He proposes that metric accents arise from
middleground tonal events rather than from foreground
durational values. Consequently, altering the placement of
foreground events will not distort the meter unless they
change the placement of middleground events. Yeston employs
his hierarchic approach to rhythm to provide an analytical
basis for C.P.E. Bach's prescriptions about executing tempo
rubato at cadences and in free fantasias.
