Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
It is usually played in (french?) baroque overture style, with double dotting. Also usually played much faster than the last two versions. Something like this:
This may be considered a bit on the fast side for some, but I find it to be more consistent with the way other Handel works are usually played, FWIW.
I think it is not only a question of tempo but also of accentuation and how you play the dotted notes. This piece is in the form of a french ouverture. The first section in slow tempo in 2/2 followed by a fast section in fugal form. The slow section must convey sense of grandeur and nobility. It is also customary to add some snap by slightly overdotting, though that is something that is subject to discussion.
Why is it not written with double dots if that's how it is intended to be played?
I think the simple - if not simplistic - answer to that question is: that was the tradition at the time, depending upon the context and/or the form of a particular piece of music.
Why is it not written with double dots if that's how it is intended to be played?
It is not necessarily double dots, the amount of overdotting, when needed, is left to the appreciation of the performer depending on the context. There is an interesting discussion related to the french overture by Bach where he notated in 32nd.