Questioning the Authenticity of Music Performance

"As a simple rule, 'slow' movements should move along gracefully, never drag, while 'fast' movements should never express haste, and should always respect the player of the fastest notes, so that every note is distinct. As Alessandro Scarlatti wrote in a letter to the Grand Duke Ferdinando de' Medici: Where 'grave' is marked, I do not mean 'melancolico'; 'allegro' should be judged so that too much is not demanded of the singer. And the literal translation of the Italian Vivace is 'lively' - not ultra-fast!"


 "Many 'authentic' performances also adopt unsteady tempi, so that the music seems to move in waves, or fits and starts, ignoring the fact that a regular tempo was universally accepted in baroque times when the major concern was keeping unruly players and singers together."

"When the harpsichord emerges into its beautiful solo cadenza it is barely audible; indeed in one recent 'authentic' recording the harpsichord volume is actually turned up for the solo, either during the recording, the mixing or mastering - a shameful practice hardly worthy of any self-respecting recording company!"

"In the case of Bach's cantatas and choral works, most performances and recordings use a small portable organ for the continuo, ignoring the church's main organ in the gallery. This arrangement, while no doubt preferred by conductor and recording engineer, may be adequate for the accompaniment of arias and recitatives, but not for the opening choruses in cantatas such as 29 and 146 which feature what amounts to a solo organ concerto movement. Here the thin, almost pitiful sound of the little chamber organ is simply not up to the task."

"Another very prominent feature of string playing in today's 'authentic' performances is the almost total absence of vibrato, resulting in a flat, plaintive and lifeless tone. It seems quite unclear as to where this aspect of 'authenticity' derived from, since much evidence supports quite the contrary view. .... There are also many references in baroque musical literature, both to the importance placed on warmth and vibrato in vocal performance, and to the ideal in violin playing of replicating the human voice."

Quoted from Baroque Music Performance: 'Authentic' or 'Traditional' by Michael Sartorius