WebFacts More WebFacts    WebFacts 1 We know that Baroque musicians used the motion of the hand down and up to conduct musical performances. Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), a contemporary of J. S. Bach, describes the motions associated with duple and triple meters. He says that both meters are based on a downward and upward motion of the hand, but that in triple meters the up-stroke lasts twice as long as the down-stroke, while in simple meters the down-stroke and up-stroke last the same amount of time. Because the hand motion in triple meters was uneven, they were called "uneven" meters; duple meters were referred to as "even" meters. During this time, ensemble music was led by one of the players, usually the harpsichordist or organist, who signaled the first downbeat, then played with the ensemble. Sometimes opera or large-ensemble conductors indicated the downbeat by banging a large baton or staff on the floor. This proved hazardous in at least one case: Jean-Baptiste Lully, a ballet and opera composer and conductor at the French court of Loius XIV until 1687, died from an infection in his foot after energetically striking it with the conducting baton during a performance.

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