aOn 6 Sep 2007 at 19:03, Johannes Gebauer wrote: > On 06.09.2007 David W. Fenton wrote: > > Consider present-day college student with no musical training who has > > never (knowingly) heard Bach's music: will a well-done performance of > > a Bach choral work with 20 singers and modern instruments any less > > accessible than one by Joshua Rifkin's group, with one on a part and > > early instruments? I think that at that point it's not the > > instruments/singers that make the difference but what the musicians > > involved do with the music. > > I certainly never said larger performances should be banned, did I? But > if the public is simply misled by calling that a "historical > performance" I object.
Are you saying that a performance of a Bach choral work with original instruments and 2 singers on a part (of a work for which extant performing parts indicate one on a part) should not merit the "historical performance" moniker? If so, then I accuse you of the dogmaticism that I've already laid at Rifkin's feet, as the whole point is that there are only degrees by which we can approach a "historical performance" -- where one draws the line is, of course, a judgment call, but drawing at doubling the singers seems to me to be a severely narrow interpretation of what can be musically and historically appropriate. That said, I wasn't suggesting that the performance with 20 singers and modern instruments be called a "historical performance" -- that misses the entire point of my hypothetical. The point was that for the modern listener, these things make much less of a difference in the musical experience than does the commitment with which the performers play the music. I'm all for historical performance, as much as is possible, yes. But I think that, whatever musical subtleties it does enhance, it makes less of a musical difference than the musical gifts of a particular performer. -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
