Monica,
--- On Thu, 11/11/10, Monica Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> In any case even a facsimile is not a substitute for seeing
> the real thing.
>
Well, yes, for performers, it really is. I think most of us on this list are
looking at this from the perspective of a performer rather than doing
musicological research. Us performers MUST use non-original copies as the
basis of our work. Few will be allowed to bring one's instrument into the
reading room to trash through old manuscripts just to see what sounds cool.
And few libraries will let you take a rare book home or out on tour. Those
replacement fees on lost sole copies are murder and the librarians are real
sticklers when you write fingerings in or spill coffee on 'em! ;-) (I know,
there are the rare cases in which performers are allowed to give select
performances from original manuscripts and such. This is obviously not the
norm.)
And even for scholars, a facsimile may be the most practical option in many
cases. If one is in Europe, going to look at an original that is housed 150km
away may not be that big of a deal, but for those of us in America and
elsewhere, traveling to that part of the world to check out a forgotten
flyspeck or watermark may not be that vital if it is of minor concern to our
thesis.
Chris
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