All, I've followed this thread at a great distance and with some trepidation. In all, it is sad when scholarly minds wander so far from the path and no longer follow the "best angels of our nature." Passion is the impetus that drives greatness, for sure, but the easy and slippery slope from passion to acrimony is always there and ready to foul the party.
While not as learned as many of those who posted here, I have an idea that all this talk of HIP and authentic performance is, ultimately, for bupkis. If you take a simple man who cannot read into the Sistine Chapel, he is still stunned by its beauty. (I know. I took flight attendants there and no more simple creature exists on this earth.) Likewise, the Mozart Requiem engulfs the football rowdy in its all enveloping pathos, just like a human. Scholarly criticisms aside, doesn't Sting at least get credit for trying? And, aren't we a bit disloyal to the music in not believing that it can stand on its own? This music has endured for 4 centuries. It can surely stand up to some perhaps misguided interpretation by Sting, me, or any other person who sees beauty in it and tries to give it life. We toil at Bach because when it works, in that rare, fleeting moment, it is miraculous. This music is the very heart and soul of beauty and transcends the centuries to become relevant today. Hopefully, that's why we play it, not just to satisfy some academic hunger to recreate the past. This is music folks, not archeology. I reckon that the music is greater than its interpreters. I listened to the cuts from the CD. I probably won't buy it but, damn, old Sting tried and took a real chance in doing so. That the critical harpies want to pick him apart is too bad. Quite frankly, it was like watching someone being picked to death by crows. The music is the thing, its preservation essential, and shame on us for not loudly encouraging anyone who attempts to play it. Rob Dorsey http://RobDorsey.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
