|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Back to Bach
| Article
# : |
20235 |
|
|
Section : |
THE ARTS
|
| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1992 |
1,387 Words |
| Author
: |
Christopher Manion
Christopher Manion, a writer whose work appears in several
national publications, teaches at Boston University. |
One of the most enduring features of the music scene in the past twenty years in America has been the growing popularity of "early music"--works from the era before Beethoven, before the modern orchestra and its techniques came into their own. As the contemporary world relies ever more on technology, sheer size, and organization, many people are drawn to the intimate works performed by smaller consorts and chamber orchestras on instruments of a character much more personal and, yes, quieter, than those used in classical music today.
Spurred on by a love of the genuine, a search for the "authentic original," musicologists and performers alike have been able to present magnificent renderings of works of centuries past with painstaking attention to detail; they aim at the most accurate presentation of the music as it was performed in its own era. In April, a brilliant performance of Bach's Orchestral Suites in Boston provided an occasion for reflection of the vitality and warmth of the best of the early classical repertoire.
Why Boston? The Boston Early Music Festival & Exhibition (BEMF), founded in 1980, grew out of a "critical mass" of talent, taste, and temperament that had been in the making since the 1930s in the Boston area, long a crucible of creativity for early-music intellectuals and performers. The BEMF aims to please every aspect of the public's interest in early music: In addition to offering a week of terrific musical performances, it also offers lectures and symposia, as well as an exhibition of the wares of instrument makers, publishers, and recording companies. Thus, the BEMF seeks to be a showcase for period-style instruments, scholarship, and education, in addition to musical performance. Since 1981, the BEMF has hosted six biennial June festivals that have brought Boston to a position of eminence among the established centers of early music activity: Amsterdam and London Primarily, but also Cologne, Leipzig, Paris, and Innsbruck. In America, the BEMF has reinforced one of the hallmarks--indeed the beauties--of the international early music movement, namely, that performers and aficionados alike will gladly travel long distances to keep this music alive.
All across North America, lovers of early music are contributing to its revival. From the most rural parts of wooded Michigan to the congested streets of Boston, world-class harpsichord makers are producing period instruments, true labors of love that reflect the best of the craftsmanship, patience, and appreciation that typifies the making of every instrument for this genre. So too, performers gather from everywhere to form consorts, troupes, and
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
