"Period" performance

[zlya]

What do you think of performances using "period" instruments and techniques to try to recreate a historical sound? What do you think of the accuracy of such attempts, and what do you think of the reasoning behind them? Is there such a thing as an authentic performance?

[rojo]

Hi zlya,

Well, personally I prefer modern performances, but as to period performances, I say, why not. How accurate are they? Who knows for sure. I can understand people being interested in this kind of thing; it`s like making a musical museum, sort of. Neat idea. As to authentic, depends on one`s definition of 'authentic', I guess.

[rojo]

Just occurred to me; we`ve got a couple of interesting threads on this topic-

http://www.magle.dk/music-forums/197...d+performances

http://www.magle.dk/music-forums/106...d+performances

I guess I could merge them... meh.

[ses]

For me they go side by side and one thing more. Performances with “modern orchestras” seamed to have learnt from historic performances. They are quicker, more intense and good times rhythms. (rock/roll)
And sometime you can need historical performances to understand why a certain piece was composed that way.
100 or 200 years ago most instruments sound different than today. Berlioz’s sounds today a little fat and noisy is easier to understand in “historic sound, where is no such problems. The saxophone was quite new at that time (it look like a sax from beginning) and the sound in today sax’s are very different.
James Eliot Gardiner has a fine story to tell when he performed Les Troyens. The entire original Saxes he could find was in museums, but he could not lent them. After a while he find a French lover of sax, he works at the railways, he has a lot of the sax’s and of course Gardiner could lent the saxophones. Their performance is on DVD and CD.
The wife of the railwayman was happy she doesn’t like the sound when her husband try to play.
But mostly I’m a “modern listener”, I prefer a Steinway in Scarlatti and Bach to a harpsichord. But with Gardiner, Herreweghe and many others I have no problemas att all. I love that music making too.

[Andrew Roussak]

I once attended a performance of Bach's JOHANNES PASSION played with the original instruments - that is, they used viola d'amore instead of violin . The "modern" violin is a fretless instrument , and viola d'amore still had the frets - certainly it had a different sound also. I am not sure I can properly name the other instruments used in the performance - they looked rather exotic, and the general impression was absolutely amazing. Even the soprano part was sung by a MALE singer!!!

What about a clavicembalo - I must admit I prefer a piano, even for baroque music. I tried several times to play Bach on clavicembalo and failed - I find the piano performance generally more impressive, because you can make use of "loud-low" contrasts by playing, which are technically impossible on the old instruments. Although, I guess one can hardly imagine Le Quattro Stagioni of Vivaldi without that gentle clavicembalo background.

[Contratrombone64]

I have certain problems with the movement, but on the whole I will purchase CDs with "historically informed" interpretations over the full blooded Karajan style stew.

They have this propensity to play string instrument with no vibrato, or very little. The fact that they base this idea of a couple of quotes from Quantz or Leopold Mozart's violin tutor puzzles me as these sources say emphatically that the use of vibrato should be tasteful and not over done. I can't imagine why they'd have put this into writting if the style of playing at the time wasn't overloaded with vibrato.

I heard The Harmonic Garden (il gardino armonico-pardon my spelling) play live in Sydney (an Italian period instrument ensemble) and they used vibrato with passion ... certainly the most different performance style compared to the monotoned Academy of Ancient Music (whom I also heard live).

[Theodor Ulieriu]

Of course, just period instruments or a certain technique (let`s say, limited vibrato) applied automatically don`t make by themselves a performance good. As always, the musician`s expressivity and intelligence make the difference. Look at some of these baroque ensembles and orchestras flourishing nowadays, made up of virtuoso players: I`m afraid few "modern orchestras" could match the immediate and expressive response of, umm, Freiburger Barockorchester or Giardino Armonico, if you wish. And much more. The so-called authentic performance has improved (both in research and actual performance) hugely since 1980. Contratrombone 64, have you listened to the relatively recent recordings of AAM, dir. A. Manze (Vivaldi, for example)? They`re far away from that colourless performances of the `80s.

I`d rather talk of ensembles, performances, works than repeating one more time the old talk about authenticity and vibrato.