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63-480: The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABO) is an Australian period instrument orchestra specialising in the performance of baroque and classical music. The orchestra's founder and artistic director is Paul Dyer . In 2013 Dyer was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his "distinguished service to the performing arts, particularly orchestral music as a director, conductor and musician, through

126-403: A case of violinists having to retune by a minor third to play at neighboring churches. The research of musicologists often overlaps with the work of art historians ; by examining paintings and drawings of performing musicians contemporary to a particular musical era, academics can infer details about performance practice of the day. In addition to showing the layout of an orchestra or ensemble,

189-443: A certain illusion of simplicity on what the passage of history has presented to us, bleached as white as bones on the sands of time ". Early music scholar Beverly Jerold has questioned the string technique of historically informed musicians, citing accounts of Baroque-era concert-goers describing nearly the opposite practice. Similar criticism has been leveled at the practices of historically informed vocalists. Some proponents of

252-428: A choice; only a facsimile can provide an unaltered expression of the composer's intent. Urtext editions also differ from interpretive editions , which offer the editor's personal opinion on how to perform the work. This is indicated by providing markings for dynamics and other forms of musical expression, which supplement or replace those of the composer. In extreme cases, interpretive editions have deliberately altered

315-425: A composer's intentions in their historical context, Ralph Kirkpatrick highlights the risk of using historical exoterism to hide technical incompetence: "too often historical authenticity can be used as a means of escape from any potentially disquieting observance of esthetic values, and from the assumption of any genuine artistic responsibility. The abdication of esthetic values and artistic responsibilities can confer

378-425: A facsimile. The reason is that some markings made by the composer simply cannot be rendered faithfully in a printed edition. For Haydn, these include marks that are intermediate in length between a dot and a stroke (which evidently have different meanings for this composer), or phrase arcs that end high above the notes, leaving it ambiguous where a phrase begins or ends. In such cases, printed editions are forced to make

441-468: A historic sound often use modern reproductions of period instruments (and occasionally original instruments) on the basis that this will deliver a musical performance that is thought to be historically faithful to the original work, as the original composer would have heard it. For example, a modern music ensemble staging a performance of music by Johann Sebastian Bach may play reproduction Baroque violins instead of modern instruments in an attempt to create

504-789: A photographic reproduction of one of the original sources for a work of music. The urtext edition adds value to what the performer could get from a facsimile by integrating evidence from multiple sources and exercising informed scholarly judgment. Urtext editions are also easier to read than facsimiles as poor penmanship or damage to the manuscript may make markings difficult to read in a performance setting. Thus, facsimile editions are intended mostly for use by scholars, along with performers who pursue scholarship as part of their preparation. The musicologist James Webster , basing his remarks on his study of two leading urtext editions of Haydn 's E flat Piano Sonata, H. XVI:49, suggests that players interested in historically informed performance ought to play from

567-446: A substitute for castrato singers. Alfred Deller is considered to have been a pioneer of the modern revival of countertenor singing. Leading contemporary performers include James Bowman , Russell Oberlin , Paul Esswood , Derek Lee Ragin , Andreas Scholl , Michael Chance , René Jacobs , David Daniels , Daniel Taylor , Brian Asawa , Yoshikazu Mera , Jakub Józef Orliński , and Philippe Jaroussky . Standard practice concerning

630-405: A work of art may reveal detail about contemporary playing techniques, for example the manner of holding a bow or a wind player's embouchure . However, just as an art historian must evaluate a work of art, a scholar of musicology must also assess the musical evidence of a painting or illustration in its historical context, taking into consideration the potential cultural and political motivations of

693-457: Is a healthy sign. However, that swing may have gone too far from the student's standpoint. For example, I would almost rather entrust my students to the old Bülow – Lebert edition of Beethoven's [piano] sonatas than to the Urtext , in which Beethoven's inconsistencies, especially in the matter of staccatos, slurs, and dynamic signs, can produce no end of confusion—almost, rather, that is, because

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756-698: Is an edition in which the editor's additions are typographically distinguished (usually with parentheses, size, greyscale or detailed in accompanying prose) from the composer's own markings. Such compromise editions are particularly useful for early music , where the interpretation of the musical notation of long ago often poses difficulties. Webster has suggested that many editions that are labeled "Urtext" do not really qualify: The great majority of editions labelled 'Urtext' make many more changes than their editors admit. Publishers are partly to blame; they are afraid of doing anything that might seem unfamiliar or off-putting to any potential market. Indeed they want to have

819-443: Is an important part of the principle of historically informed performance. Musical instruments have evolved over time, and instruments that were in use in earlier periods of history are often quite different from their modern equivalents. Many other instruments have fallen out of use, having been replaced by newer tools for creating music. For example, prior to the emergence of the modern violin , other bowed stringed instruments such as

882-436: Is based on two key aspects: the application of the stylistic and technical aspects of performance, known as performance practice ; and the use of period instruments which may be reproductions of historical instruments that were in use at the time of the original composition, and which usually have different timbre and temperament from their modern equivalents. A further area of study, that of changing listener expectations,

945-534: Is both modernist in culture and inauthentic as a living performance, an approach termed "deadly theatre" by Peter Brook. Urtext edition An urtext edition (from German prefix ur- original ), of a work of classical music is a printed version intended to reproduce the original intention of the composer as exactly as possible, without any added or changed material. Other kinds of editions distinct from urtext are facsimile and interpretive editions, discussed below. The sources for an urtext edition include

1008-417: Is how to present variant readings. If the editor includes too few variants, this restricts the freedom of the performer to choose. Yet including unlikely variants from patently unreliable sources likewise serves the performer badly. Where the editor must go farthest out on a limb is in identifying misprints or scribal errors. The great danger—not at all hypothetical—is that an eccentric or even inspired choice on

1071-467: Is increasingly under investigation. Given no sound recordings exist of music before the late 19th century, historically informed performance is largely derived from musicological analysis of texts . Historical treatises , pedagogic tutor books, and concert critiques, as well as additional historical evidence, are all used to gain insight into the performance practice of a historic era. Extant recordings (cylinders, discs, and reproducing piano rolls) from

1134-407: Is required can easily be forgotten, precisely because the exercise of musical invention is so automatic to the performer." Leech-Wilkinson concludes that performance styles in early music "have as much to do with current taste as with accurate reproduction." More recently, Andrew Snedden has suggested that HIP reconstructions are on firmer ground when approached in context with a cultural exegesis of

1197-1029: The Academy of Ancient Music ( Christopher Hogwood ), the Concentus Musicus Wien ( Nikolaus Harnoncourt ), The English Concert ( Trevor Pinnock ), the Hanover Band ( Roy Goodman ), the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century ( Frans Brüggen ), the English Baroque Soloists (Sir John Eliot Gardiner ), Musica Antiqua Köln ( Reinhard Goebel ), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir ( Ton Koopman ), Les Arts Florissants ( William Christie ), Le Concert des Nations ( Jordi Savall ), La Petite Bande ( Sigiswald Kuijken ), La Chapelle Royale ( Philippe Herreweghe ), Concert de la Loge Olympique ( Julien Chauvin ,

1260-768: The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra ( Paul Dyer ), and the Freiburger Barockorchester ( Gottfried von der Goltz ). As the scope of historically informed performance has expanded to encompass the works of the Romantic era , the specific sound of 19th-century instruments has increasingly been recognised in the HIP movement, and period instruments orchestras such as Gardiner's Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique have emerged. A variety of once obsolete keyboard instruments such as

1323-763: The Brandenburg Concertos of J. S. Bach , who was central to the Baroque period. Since the beginning in 1989, the orchestra has become the leading voice in the Australian cultural landscape due to the purity of their work when compared with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The group under Paul Dyer and Bruce Applebaum's leadership commenced life as the Brandenburg Ensemble, then as

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1386-465: The clavichord and the harpsichord have been revived, as they have particular importance in the performance of Early music. Before the evolution of the symphony orchestra led by a conductor , Renaissance and Baroque orchestras were commonly directed from the harpsichord; the director would lead by playing continuo , which would provide a steady, harmonic structure upon which the other instrumentalists would embellish their parts. Many religious works of

1449-482: The flute in the 19th century, the recorder has experienced a revival with the HIP movement. Arnold Dolmetsch did much to revive the recorder as a serious concert instrument, reconstructing a "consort of recorders (descant, treble, tenor and bass) all at low pitch and based on historical originals". Handel and Telemann, both noted recorder players, wrote several solo pieces for the instrument. Often, recorder players start off as flautists, then transition into focusing on

1512-419: The rebec or the viol were in common use. The existence of ancient instruments in museum collections has helped musicologists to understand how the different design, tuning and tone of instruments may have affected earlier performance practice. As well as a research tool, historic instruments have an active role in the practice of historically informed performance. Modern instrumentalists who aim to recreate

1575-519: The 1890s onwards have enabled scholars of 19th-century Romanticism to gain a uniquely detailed understanding of this style, although not without significant remaining questions. In all eras, HIP performers will normally use original sources (manuscript or facsimile), or scholarly or urtext editions of a musical score as a basic template, while additionally applying a range of contemporaneous stylistic practices, including rhythmic alterations and ornamentation of many kinds. Historically informed performance

1638-462: The 20th and 21st centuries, and has begun to affect the theatrical stage, for instance in the production of Baroque opera , where historically informed approaches to acting and scenery are also used. Some critics contest the methodology of the HIP movement, contending that its selection of practices and aesthetics are a product of the 20th century and that it is ultimately impossible to know what performances of an earlier time sounded like. Obviously,

1701-723: The Brandenburg Concertos of J.S. Bach, whose musical genius was central to the Baroque era, as Paul Dyer is today. The concerts include both the music of well-known composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi and Handel, as well as lesser-known composers, rare works and unusual replica instruments. The musicians always play from original edition scores on replica instruments of the 18th century. The group has performed with guest artists such as Andreas Scholl , Emma Kirkby , Derek Lee Ragin , Andrew Manze , Philippe Jaroussky , Avi Avital , Dmitry Sinkovsky , Federico Guglielmo , Christina Pluhar and Elizabeth Wallfisch . Every December,

1764-956: The Brandenburg Orchestra, and finally the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Its first concert was in January 1990, in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House . The orchestra has hired the Sydney City Recital Hall as its main venue since it opened in 2000. This venue was custom made for the ABO. The group makes regular appearances in the major concert halls and cultural venues in Australian east coast cities of Brisbane and Melbourne. The Orchestra's name pays tribute to

1827-455: The Early music revival have distanced themselves from the terminology of "authentic performance". Conductor John Eliot Gardiner has expressed the view that the term can be "misleading", and has stated, "My enthusiasm for period instruments is not antiquarian or in pursuit of a spurious and unattainable authenticity, but just simply as a refreshing alternative to the standard, monochrome qualities of

1890-412: The Early music revival, and many advocates of HIP aimed to eliminate vibrato in favour of the "pure" sound of straight-tone singing. The difference in style may be demonstrated by the sound of a boy treble in contrast to the sound of an opera singer such as Maria Callas . Certain historic vocal techniques have gained in popularity, such as trillo , a tremolo -like repetition of a single note that

1953-500: The HIP movement essentially as a 20th-century invention. Writing about the periodical Early Music (one of the leading periodicals about historically informed performance), Peter Hill noted "All the articles in Early Music noted in varying ways the (perhaps fatal) flaw in the 'authenticity' position. This is that the attempt to understand the past in terms of the past is—paradoxically—an absolutely contemporary phenomenon." One of

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2016-400: The artist and allow for artistic license . An historic image of musicians may present an idealised or even fictional account of musical instruments, and there is as much a risk that it may give rise to a historically misinformed performance. Opinions on how artistic and academic motivations should translate into musical performance vary. Though championing the need to attempt to understand

2079-424: The autograph (that is, the manuscript produced in the composer's hand), hand copies made by the composer's students and assistants, the first published edition and other early editions. Since first editions often include misprints, a particularly valuable source for urtext editions is a copy of the first edition that was hand-corrected by the composer. An urtext edition will often have a prologue stating which sources

2142-624: The best of both worlds; for example, the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe claims to offer 'an unexceptionable text from the scholarly viewpoint, which at the same time takes the needs of musical practice into account.' Whether this is a pious hope or frankly based on self-interest, the fact remains that one can't serve two masters. William S. Newman suggests that in contemporary music teaching, urtext editions have become increasingly favored, though he expresses some ambivalence about this development: The pronounced swing towards Urtext editions ...

2205-497: The composer's notes or even deleted entire passages. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many famous performing musicians provided interpretive editions, including Harold Bauer , Artur Schnabel , and Ignacy Jan Paderewski . In the days before recorded music, such editions were often the only way that students could obtain inspiration from the performing practice of leading artists, and even today they retain value for this purpose. A compromise between urtext and interpretive editing

2268-443: The composer's part will be obliterated by an overzealous editor. One other source of difficulty arises from the fact that works of music usually involve passages that are repeated (either identically or similarly) in more than one location; this occurs, for instance, in the recapitulation section of a work in sonata form or in the main theme of a rondo . Often the dynamic markings or other marks of expression found in one location in

2331-448: The editor used. The editor will provide the academic library or other repository where manuscripts or first editions that have become rare are stored. Where the sources are few, or misprint-ridden, or conflicting, the task of the urtext editor becomes difficult. Cases where the composer had bad penmanship (for example, Beethoven ) or revised the work after publication, likewise create difficulties. A fundamental problem in urtext editing

2394-491: The entire book examining rhythm, vibrato, and portamento, Philip states that the fallacy of the assumption of tastefulness causes adherents of historical performance to randomly select what they find acceptable and to ignore evidence of performance practice which goes against modern taste. In his book, The Aesthetics of Music , the British philosopher Roger Scruton wrote that "the effect [of HIP] has frequently been to cocoon

2457-710: The era made similar use of the pipe organ , often in combination with a harpsichord. Historically informed performances frequently make use of keyboard-led ensemble playing. Composers such as François Couperin , Domenico Scarlatti , Girolamo Frescobaldi , and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote for the harpsichord, clavichord, and organ. Among the foremost modern players of the harpsichord are Scott Ross , Alan Curtis , William Christie , Christopher Hogwood , Robert Hill , Igor Kipnis , Ton Koopman , Wanda Landowska , Gustav Leonhardt , Trevor Pinnock , Skip Sempé , Andreas Staier , Colin Tilney , and Christophe Rousset . During

2520-430: The era, examining not merely how they played but why they played as they did, and what cultural meaning is embedded in the music. In the conclusion of his study of early twentieth-century orchestral recordings, Robert Philip states that the concept of "what sounds tasteful now probably sounded tasteful in earlier periods" is a fundamental but flawed assumption behind much of the historical performance movement. Having spent

2583-440: The late 20th century arguments into two points of view, achieving either fidelity to the conditions of performance, or fidelity to the musical work. She succinctly summarizes the critics' arguments (for example, anachronistic, selectively imputing current performance ideas on early music), but then concludes that what the HIP movement has to offer is a different manner of looking at and listening to music: "It keeps our eyes open to

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2646-494: The layout of a group of performers, for example in a choir or an orchestra, has changed over time. Determining a historically appropriate layout of singers and instruments on a performance stage may be informed by historical research. In addition to documentary evidence, musicologists may also turn to iconographic evidence — contemporary paintings and drawings of performing musicians — as a primary source for historic information. Pictorial sources may reveal various practices such as

2709-460: The more familiar 'pianoforte' used to describe the larger instruments approaching modern designs from around 1830. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the fortepiano has enjoyed a revival as a result of the trend for historically informed performance, with the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert now often played on fortepiano. Increasingly, the early to mid 19th century pianos of Pleyel , Érard , Streicher and others are being used to recreate

2772-559: The more skeptical voices of the historically informed performance movement has been Richard Taruskin . His thesis is that the practice of unearthing supposedly historically informed practices is actually a 20th-century practice influenced by modernism and, ultimately, we can never know what music sounded like or how it was played in previous centuries. "What we had been accustomed to regard as historically authentic performances, I began to see, represented neither any determinable historical prototype nor any coherent revival of practices coeval with

2835-428: The older the style and repertoire, the greater the cultural distance and the increased possibility of misunderstanding the evidence. For this reason, the term "historically informed" is now preferred to "authentic", as it acknowledges the limitations of academic understanding, rather than implying absolute accuracy in recreating historical performance style, or worse, a moralising tone. The choice of musical instruments

2898-650: The orchestra plays O Come All Ye Faithful and Stille Nacht in churches across Sydney, which is a highlight for families across the Eastern and Northern suburbs. The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards ) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music . They commenced in 1987. Historically informed performance It

2961-432: The past in a wad of phoney scholarship, to elevate musicology over music, and to confine Bach and his contemporaries to an acoustic time-warp. The tired feeling which so many 'authentic' performances induce can be compared to the atmosphere of a modern museum.... [The works of early composers] are arranged behind the glass of authenticity, staring bleakly from the other side of an impassable screen". A number of scholars see

3024-432: The possibility of producing music in new ways under the regulation of new ideals. It keeps our eyes open to the inherently critical and revisable nature of our regulative concepts. Most importantly, it helps us overcome that deep‐rooted desire to hold the most dangerous of beliefs, that we have at any time got our practices absolutely right." What is clear is that a narrowly musicological approach to stylistic reconstruction

3087-610: The promotion of educational programs and support for emerging artists". In 2003 Paul was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for his services to Australian society and the advancement of music and in 2010 the Sydney University Alumni Medal for Professional Achievement. The other founder and current managing director is Bruce Applebaum. The orchestra was formed in 1989 by Paul Dyer and Bruce Applebaum and their name pays tribute to

3150-409: The recorder. Some famous recorder players include Frans Brüggen , Barthold Kuijken , Michala Petri , Ashley Solomon and Giovanni Antonini . As with instrumental technique, the approach to historically informed performance practice for singers has been shaped by musicological research and academic debate. In particular, there was debate around the use of the technique of vibrato at the height of

3213-426: The repertories they addressed. Rather, they embodied a whole wish list of modern(ist) values, validated in the academy and the marketplace alike by an eclectic, opportunistic reading of historical evidence." "'Historical' performers who aim 'to get to the truth'...by using period instruments and reviving lost playing techniques actually pick and choose from history's wares. And they do so in a manner that says more about

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3276-565: The second half of the 18th century, the harpsichord was gradually replaced by the earliest pianos. As the harpsichord went out of fashion, many were destroyed; indeed, the Paris Conservatory is notorious for having used harpsichords for firewood during the French Revolution and Napoleonic times. Although names were originally interchangeable, the term ' fortepiano' now indicates the earlier, smaller style of piano, with

3339-683: The singers should stand in front of the instrumentalists. Three main layouts are documented: Some familiar difficult items are as follows: Some information about how music sounded in the past can be obtained from contemporary mechanical instruments. For instance, the Dutch Museum Speelklok owns an 18th-century mechanical organ of which the music programme was composed and supervised by Joseph Haydn . Until modern era, different tuning references have been used in different venues. The baroque oboist Bruce Haynes has extensively investigated surviving wind instruments and even documented

3402-444: The singers who have contributed to the historically informed performance movement are Emma Kirkby , Max van Egmond , Julianne Baird , Nigel Rogers , and David Thomas . The resurgence of interest in Early music, particularly in sacred renaissance polyphony and Baroque opera, has driven a revival of the countertenor voice. High-voice male singers are often cast in preference to female contraltos in HIP opera productions, partly as

3465-402: The size of an ensemble; the position of various types of instruments; their position in relation to a choir or keyboard instrument; the position or absence of a conductor; whether the performers are seated or standing; and the performance space (such as a concert hall, palace chamber, domestic house, church, or outdoors etc.). The German theorist Johann Mattheson , in a 1739 treatise, states that

3528-472: The sound of a 17th-century Baroque orchestra . This has led to the revival of musical instruments that had entirely fallen out of use, and to a reconsideration of the role and structure of instruments also used in current practice. Orchestras and ensembles who are noted for their use of period instruments in performances include the Taverner Consort and Players (directed by Andrew Parrott ),

3591-446: The soundscape of Romantic composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Brahms. Many keyboard players who specialise in the harpsichord also specialise in the fortepiano and other period instruments. Although some keyboardist renowned for their fortepiano playing are Ronald Brautigam , Steven Lubin , Ingrid Haebler , Robert Levin , Malcolm Bilson and Tobias Koch . A vast quantity of music for viols , for both ensemble and solo performance,

3654-479: The source material are missing in analogous locations. The strictest possible practice is to render all markings literally, but an urtext editor may also want to point out the markings found in parallel passages. One common response of editors for all of these difficulties is to provide written documentation of the decisions that were made, either in footnotes or in a separate section of commentary. Urtext editions differ from facsimile editions, which simply present

3717-406: The symphony orchestra." Daniel Leech-Wilkinson concedes that much of the HIP practice is based on invention: "Historical research may provide us with instruments, and sometimes even quite detailed information on how to use them; but the gap between such evidence and a sounding performance is still so great that it can be bridged only by a large amount of musicianship and invention. Exactly how much

3780-685: The values of the late twentieth century than about those of any earlier era." In her book The Imaginary Museum of Musical Works: An Essay in the Philosophy of Music , Lydia Goehr discusses the aims and fallacies of both proponents and critics of the HIP movement. She claims that the HIP movement itself came about during the latter half of the 19th century as a reaction to the way modern techniques were being imposed upon music of earlier times. Thus performers were concerned with achieving an "authentic" manner of performing music—an ideal that carries implications for all those involved with music. She distills

3843-469: Was principally developed in a number of Western countries in the mid to late 20th century, ironically a modernist response to the modernist break with earlier performance traditions. Initially concerned with the performance of Medieval , Renaissance , and Baroque music , HIP now encompasses music from the Classical and Romantic eras. HIP has been a crucial part of the early music revival movement of

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3906-444: Was used for ornamental effect in the early Baroque era. Academic understanding of these expressive devices is often subjective however, as many vocal techniques discussed by treatise writers in the 17th and 18th centuries have different meanings, depending on the author. Despite the fashion for straight tone, many prominent Early music singers make use of a subtle, gentle form of vibrato to add expression to their performance. A few of

3969-718: Was written by composers of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, including Diego Ortiz , Claudio Monteverdi , William Byrd , William Lawes , Henry Purcell , Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe , J.S. Bach , Georg Philipp Telemann , Marin Marais , Antoine Forqueray , and Carl Frederick Abel . From largest to smallest, the viol family consists of: Among the foremost modern players of the viols are Paolo Pandolfo , Sigiswald and Wieland Kuijken , Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Jordi Savall , John Hsu , and Vittorio Ghielmi . There are many modern viol consorts . Although largely supplanted by

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