Classical and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900

Rating:
Summary: Very useful, but certainly not even close to all-inclusive.
Review: I realize it's impossible to cover a century-and-a-half of performance practice in just over 600 pages, but I was disappointed to see the accompaniment of recitative virtually ignored. Given the numbers of operas by Mozart alone and the prevalence of secco and recitative accompagnato, I certainly expected some discussion - at least a paragraph! There really is NONE. There's an 8 page section termed "Recitative Accompaniment" and I got all excited when I saw it! But it only talks about the movement in the early 19th century to move away from using keyboard instruments to more cello and strings in general. I didn't need an expensive book to tell me that.