Authenticity and Early Music - Tapa dura

The notion that music can and should be performed in the manner its composers intended has led to a search for original methods and styles of performance. In recent years the explosion of popular interest in what has been called the "authenticity" movement has led to a sea-change in our listening habits. Performances on period instruments are now supplanting those on modern instruments in some central areas of the classical repertory, and by many this is perceived as a threat. This book attempts to explore the thinking behind the search for so-called authenticity in musical performance and to question some of the received opinions about its worth and purpose. The contributors include critics from both sides of the Atlantic and leading scholars in the field of early music research and performance. This is a topical exploration of views and attitudes to the problems of authenticity in early music which have become current over the last few years and aims to stimulate new thought among both scholars and performers about the future of the historical performance movement. Nicholas Kenyon, music critic and broadcaster is also editor of "Early Music".