The Art of Re-enchantment : Making Early Music in the Modern Age

In the late 1960s, a new movement emerged championing historically informed 'authentic' approaches to performance. Heard today in concert halls across the world and in a library's worth of recordings, it has completely transformed the way in which we listen to 'old' music, while revolutionizing the classical music profession in the process. Yet the rise of Early Music has been anything but uncontroversial. Historically informed performance (HIP) has provoked heated debate amongst musicologists, performers and cultural sociologists. Did HIP's scholar-performers possess the skills necessary to achieve their uncompromising agenda? Was interest in historically informed performance just another facet of the burgeoning heritage industry? And was the widespread promotion of early music simply a commercial ruse to make money put forward by profit-driven record companies? In The Art of Re-enchantment: Making Early Music in the Modern Age , author Nick Wilson answers these and other questions through an in-depth analysis of the early music movement in Britain from the 1960s to the present day. While other books have examined the history of early music's revival, this interdisciplinary study is unique in its focus on how various constituencies actually made their living from the early music business. Through chapters discussing the professionalization of early music, the influence of institutions such as the BBC and record companies, and the entrepreneurial role of leading early music pioneers, this book will shed new light on one of the most fascinating and influential movements in 20th Century art music. The Art of Re-enchantment begins a much-needed conversation about the true value of art and authenticity today. This volume is a must have for early music fans and performers, music historians and musicologists with an interest in performance practice, and anyone interested in the production, distribution and consumption of music. "In the late 1960s, a new movement emerged championing historically informed 'authentic' approaches to performance. Heard today in concert halls across the world and in a library's worth of recordings, it has completely transformed the way in which we listen to 'old' music, while revolutionizing the classical music profession in the process. Yet the rise of Early Music has been anything but uncontroversial. Historically informed performance (HIP) has provoked heated debate amongst musicologists, performers and cultural sociologists. Did HIP's scholar-performers possess the skills necessary to achieve their uncompromising agenda? Was interest in historically informed performance just another facet of the burgeoning heritage industry? And was the widespread promotion of early music simply a commercial ruse to make money put forward by profit-driven record companies? In The Art of Re-enchantment: Making Early Music in the Modern Age, author Nick Wilson answers these and other questions through an in-depth analysis of the early music movement in Britain from the 1960s to the present day. While other books have examined the history of early music's revival, this interdisciplinary study is unique in its focus on how various constituencies actually made their living from the early music business. Through chapters discussing the professionalization of early music, the influence of institutions such as the BBC and record companies, and the entrepreneurial role of leading early music pioneers, this book will shed new light on one of the most fascinating and influential movements in 20th Century art music."--Publisher's description Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments PART ONE: MAKING EARLY MUSIC 1. Introduction 2. Seven Ages of Early Music 3. Transcending Text & Act? PART TWO: MAKING EARLY MUSIC WORK 4. A Tale of Two Authenticities 5. Shake, Rattle and Roll 6. Holding History in Their Hands Early Music in Early Music (illustrations) PART THREE: MAKING EARLY MUSIC PAY 7. Spinning Out Early Music 8. Jumping on the Old Band Wagon? 9. Everything to Play for PART FOUR: MAKING EARLY MUSIC IN THE MODERN AGE 10. The Thief Who Came to Dinner 11. The Ineluctable Ore of the Authentic 12. The Art of Re-enchantment Notes References Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z This study tells the story of the British early music movement. Since the late-1960s this influential cultural phenomenon has completely transformed the way in which we listen to 'old' music, revolutionising the classical music profession in the process. 40 years on, the influence of historically informed performance is everywhere to hear. And yet the extraordinary rise of 'Early Music', founded on its apparently uncompromising agenda of 'authenticity', has been anything but uncontroversial. Historically informed performance (HIP) has provoked heated debate amongst musicologists, performers and cultural sociologists. In The Art of Re-enchantment: Making Early Music in the Modern Age, author Nick Wilson answers many salient questions surrounding HIP through an in-depth analysis of the early music movement in Britain from the 1960s to the present day.