Description:
"This is an issue that recurs throughout early music: how far should (and can) we go toward the past, as opposed to trying to bring it toward us?" In practical terms, how far should we go in attempting to re-create the specific conditions (instruments, vocal techniques, scoring, pitch, etc.) of the time, as opposed to using the most up-to-date media available or making compromises between the two extremes? This fundamental question--with the many different ways in which musicians answer it and the controversies that result--is what makes "Historically Informed Performance" (HIP) the most interesting (in the sense, perhaps, of that ancient Chinese curse?) and dynamic field in classical music today. Bernard D. Sherman's "conversations with performers" illuminate these topics in a way that most scholars can't, and most music magazines don't have space for. Sherman is a superb interviewer: well informed, thoughtful, respectful without being sycophantic. In his written introductions to each interview, he is frank about where he stands on contentious issues but lets the performers speak for themselves: for example, Barbara Thornton of Sequentia and Christopher Page of Gothic Voices on singing the text "expressively" in medieval music (they're closer together than one might expect), or Alan Curtis, Rinaldo Alessandrini, and Anthony Rooley on whether one must be Italian to sing Monteverdi properly (they're not). Even Sherman's chapter titles are enticing--and they give a good idea of the treats his book has to offer: "You Can't Sing A Footnote: Susan Hellauer [of Anonymous 4] on Performing Medieval Music"; "Triple Counterpoint: Jeffrey Thomas, Philippe Herreweghe and John Butt on Singing Bach"; "Speaking Mozart's Lingo: Robert Levin on Mozart and Improvisation." We read Marcel Pérès explaining why he has used Greek, Corsican, and Middle Eastern singers in his revivals of chant repertories; Julianne Baird on Baroque singing techniques; Roger Norrington on taking Beethoven "off the pedestal"; and John Eliot Gardiner on period-instrument Berlioz and Brahms. These thoughtful, articulate musicians--and Sherman's considerable skills as journalist, critic, and guide to the reader--make this book a delight for early-music neophytes and mavens alike. It should even hold some interest for those who dislike everything "HIP" stands for. --Matthew Westphal
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