In the first half of this Organisten-Probe, upon the occasion of the 22nd Prob-Stück, a little reminder was given to the lovers of inappropriate time-beating. Since I have a lot of respected friends who are afflicted with an addiction to beat the time, who are strongly inclined to it and who perhaps were not completely cured of it by the given reasons, I will address a few words to them.

First of all, I want them to be grateful to me, since essentially I wrote this fifteenth test piece for their pleasure, so that the dear movement of their feet will not be inhibited – therefore the word Schertzando (jesting, playful, trifling) was chosen carefully. Secondly I condition that nobody dares to beat two downbeats in a measure of two crotchets, since this would be an abuse of my indulgence. And thirdly I will ask those who are beating the time with their feet, to at least hold still their heads, without disquieting the whole body according to the known proposition, that what can be done by one shall not be done by many.

How curious! Our people do not want at all to learn the French diligence, neatness and skill in the clefs, their unity while playing and all the other good habits. But their air-boxing, fussing, fencing and twisting are things that charm us Germans most, since we go to great efforts to ape them and pride ourselves much upon that. One should think that when a claimed Frenchman, accompanied by several violins, chews something, while believing to be singing, that he wants to ban the evil spirits with his strange grimaces, although he sings nothing but tender things. The most ridiculous thing is that he wants to beat the time to the people in the sweat of his brow with grave footsteps, although they know a thousand times better than he what the beat is. Which dangerous bowings we see not when looking at some French violinist; everything cracks and quakes under his feet, his sleeves (especially in the swaggering fashion) leave no fly alive and are better than all the fly whisks and fans in the world. But when considering it at daylight, almost no correct fingering or bowing is heard of him, but all rests upon this puffery, upon this tedious appearance. Those are the people that encourage us to beat the time because it befits them. Once I played the thorough-bass to the so-called singing of a hoarse Parisian woman that did not know a single note but still insisted to beat the time for me with her head, hand and foot.

We need to beat the time in our big concertos and choirs only out of necessity: just like a lame man cannot walk without his stick. Now it is certain that such a man will never take pride in it, but will rather try to hide it as much as possible. So why should we so unnecessarily and needlessly boast about our auxiliary, the time-beating? Since it only serves to support those who limp in the mob, so they can catch up and go along in good unity. Donius writesDe tibicinum romanorum sui temporis imperitia sic loquitur: Demiratus sum minus, iis in usu esse rhythmum pedibus moderari: sine quo vix numeros exacte sequi unquam possunt. Don. de Præst. Vet. Music. pag. 111. about the Roman whistlers and their inexperience: The less I was surprised that among them it is common to regulate the time with the feet: without it they could hardly ever find the right time of the notes.

Those French virtuosos should have noticed that, of which it recently was written from Versailles that they fell out with themselves regarding beating the time. The king's Capellmeister wanted to perform a piece that he did not write himself, but another composer. Thereupon the composer demanded to conduct it, since he knew best, how the movement of his composition was supposed to be. But the Capellmeister could not tolerate this intervention and took it as an offence of his honour that somebody wanted to cut short his conducting duty. The conflict proliferated so strongly that it had to be brought before the king who decided it like Alexander and ordered: There shall be no music in his chapel on that day. This was what those ambitious people reached. While in my opinion the composer was right, and the Capellmeister could have let it happen without losing any conducting-honour, yet also the composer should have retreated instead of tolerating that the service gets deprived of its greatest beauty because of him. Thus those musicians are full of vanity and nothing is holy enough for them, that they were not to sacrifice it to such an inclination to the devil. They do not care much whether their skill gives uplift to a Christian or whether it irritates him; if only a pretty number of listeners are allured and get astonished at their sometimes good and sometimes rather ridiculous ideas and whims. And although it tolerates many exceptions when this old church father is writing Non adest Ecclesia ut audiat mirabilia &c. The Christian community does not convene in order to hear things to be wondered about: for is it surprising that the listeners (as it expressis verbis is written in the Gospel) wonder in a place where many wonders are happening, sung and taught? It is not wrong to remind that to the ambitious conducting-lords, for they are afflicted in the sinful obsession that all services serve as nothing else than a comfortable opportunity to sell their so-called Merveilles (for German stinks too much for them) and to defend their conducting regiment.

Up to here we were talking against the exceeding conducting-desire Lully had the habit of beating the time with strong blows of his Spanish cane against the floor; but he died because of it, as his biography tells. Cf. Crit. Mus. T. I. pag. 183. and against the ungodly ambition in which it results. But how would it be if we found directors that do not even know how to conduct themselves? but need someone to do it? A scholar from Breslau, G.E.S.Gottfried Ephraim Scheibel., wrote about it on the 28th of July 1728: I have been talking to a good friend here, who knows the sly old fox and novelistic knight, the arch– – – and lampoonist D.M. The initials refer to the Göttingen "Doctor musices" Joachim Maier, with whom Mattheson had a dispute about the right church music since 1726, cf. Jürgen Heidrich, Der Meier-Mattheson-Disput, eine Polemik zur deutschen protestantischen Kirchenkantate in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, Göttingen 1995. Consequently, this footnote does not appear in the 1st edition of the Organisten-Probe (1719). in Göttingen rather well. He reported that he was the most massive fellow in the world, and being the director of the choir he did not even have the skill to conduct but needed someone else to do it for him while just beating with the foot and lagging behind etc.

Those are the enemies of the cantatas, the defenders of chorale notes so long that no measure is needed. We cannot hold against them that they do not tolerate what they do not understand. And for this pitiful reason I also look into the instance of the well-known Unschuldigen Nachrichtern, oder Sammlern von alten und neuen Theologischen Sachen, Refers to the newspaper Unschuldige Nachrichten | Von Alten und Neuen Theologischen Sachen edited by Valentin Ernst Löscher, 1703ff. which recently gave again a forum for those bunglers, insulting the more good-minded musical world. In fact, I do not even read their silly objections and irresponsible slanders against all Christian love: for it is enough for me, that I sufficiently recognize what sort of men they are and from where their sinful errors derive their origin: from sheer and gross incompetence in this matter and, associated with just that, a clerical presumption and collar-pride. If only those gatherers, who insist so much on the clarity, graveness and edifying nature of their old chorale idols, knew, how unclear, silly and irritating e.g. Lasso, Hammerschmidt etc. were proceeding in their compositions, in which the Harmonia was the domina, they would not embarrass themselves, but rather change the tune. Yes, if those folks knew that this way of making music, which they condemn because of some performing it badly, is essentially this way that they would have to praise when hearing others, they would for once be quite ashamed of their ill-timed and unscholarly diligence. A palpable example of the first point is found in the preface of this book, and of the second I will publish some at the next occasion, with God's help.

It is impossible to list all the embellishments that can be added in the present example. In measure 13 one plays exactly the notes that were in the bass in measure 11 and moves down stepwise until the 17th measure. In measure 18 the right hand is playing the ordinary three or four measures of the beginning; afterwards it follows the bass in thirds and full chords until the cadence. It is easy to see that in the 11th measure of the second part the main subject falls to the right hand again; likewise in measure 29ff. and again in measure 41. The last period before the da Capo gives a good opportunity for elaboration, since it is repeated. Ideally a student will seize the opportunity.

Now the promised aria appears in all simplicity and respect. I know for sure that one who did not read the previous having to play the melody as a test piece, will publicly laugh at the one, who gave it to him: for indeed it looks as simple as it just could be. However, I would give something to see, in the presence of some connoisseurs, an idler and conceited master expose himself with it. I will not spoil the place: it will appear in time and the Algebraists will smell it from far away: Especially the Hof-Organist from Quedlinburg, who thinks the people to be cats.

It is to be noted that C minor and F minor etc. have the same scope, modulating unexpectedly to D-sharp minor and G-sharp minor. It is nice to see an algebraist organist stumble in it.