EMAg Features

Is historical performance practice facing a 'correction' — a downscaling that reflects a more accurate valuation of its current worth — or, instead, are we heading toward a paradigm shift, where a familiar old model proves to be inadequate and is overturned by a new, workable, and perhaps revolutionary replacement?

There was once a dismissive, even hostile, attitude toward period instruments and scholarship-based approaches to technique and interpretation. Most of those complaints now seem like dated artifacts of the late 20th c., or were a reaction (let's be honest) to unrefined instruments and wobbly playing. But that's now all behind us, right?

From Tom Kelly's Musings column: 'I can't wait to see what early music will be programmed, and in what context, to commemorate America's 250th... We must engage with cultural history more than ever — and we pick which slice of that history suits our ensemble and community.'

From the Executive Director: 'We're at a critical turning point for cultural institutions. Federal funding for arts and culture is rapidly diminishing, and there's a real fear that foundations, corporations, and individual donors won't pick up the slack (and might even give less if economic uncertainty continues)...'

'A fellow vocalist,' writes Cecilia Duarte, 'mentioned to me that whenever she was onstage, she would hear the voices of every person that had ever criticized her. It became clear to me that our artistic community had a huge need...' 

In a Letter to the Editor, a soprano reacts to a much-discussed EMAg article on higher education in our field. She say the reporting left out an essential component: the students. 'As a graduate of two early-music programs, I frequently find myself questioning the value of my degrees.'

In 1759, five viols were stashed in a secret vault in Québec City. The viols' journey tells us about Canada's musical past, about how 'ancient' instruments are woven into the cultural fabric, and about narratives of early-music revivals.

The all-female Ospedali musicians have been hidden twice: once when performing in their own time and once behind Vivaldi in our time. Philadelphia's Tempesta di Mare uncovers music by some of these long-neglected women musicians.

Early musicians often do wildly creative things with old music, and a really good arrangement can reveal qualities that were unheard in the original. Tina Chancey, with help from friends, gets deep into the weeds: 'Even an extreme appropriation can work, but you have to own it.'

As a teacher, administrator, director, and advocate, Jody Miller makes everything in a class or workshop run smoothly. For early music, he says, 'we expect concertizing is the way we're going to reach everybody. I want us to think of solutions that work for the type of music we're dealing with.'