Double Bass When a piece is in "1"

[Andy Mopley]

Hi all

looking at a piece of music in 4/8, when conductor says piece is in '1" does it mean that where there are 2 crotchets per bar they are to be played in 1 beat? so you feel the time as if it was 1 beat per bar? Specifically, I am looking at the opening bars in Bela Bartok Rhapsodie for violin & orchestra..

Thanks for reading!

 

[WallBass]

In my experience it means the conductor is only giving one beat per bar, so yes, it is felt as only one beat but with the smaller subdivisions, like 4/8.