For audiences and performers, the value of touring is undeniable. A city-to-city string of shows can seem glamorous, heightening artistic reputations and drawing new fans in distant communities. Many American early-music groups would love to go on tour. Some have learned to navigate that complex landscape.

A fascinating new book aims to understand the “inventive” musical forgery: not a counterfeit, per se, but a newly created composition that is falsely attributed to someone else. The author investigates not only why forgers may be attracted to such deceptions but, as authentication has shifted from stylistic concerns to source documentation, why we are repulsed when the truth is revealed.

Friends and colleagues have shared with me, and I know from experience, that vocalists with exclusively “classical” training can sometimes be blind to the richness of other music. We tend to minimize our efforts when approaching different or less “formal” genres, or even avoid them completely.

Berkeley-born harpsichordist Lillian Gordis’ powerful new Bach recording dwells on sixes: the Partita No. 6 and English Suite No. 6, separated by six preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. With a unique voice and confrontational attitude, Gordis is a master of this repertoire.