After the HIP delights of Kirshbaum, Podger, Manze &Co, I eagerly opened my
Virgin recording of Holloway and Moroney performing the Bach Sonatas for
Violin and Harpsichord.

Love the chamber organ.  Love Holloway's phrasing.  But oh, how he wrestles
with that old violin.  Not only that, but there are some serious intonation
problems, most notably in the open sixth chords of the B minor Adagio

I exchanged it for Grumiaux's modern instrument version on a Phillips
2-fer.  Though I thought I was on the brink of becoming a card-carrying
HIPster, Grumiaux's sweet sounds wrapped around me like the tentacles
of some old-world sea monster, pulling me back into the abyss of the
historically incorrect with its deceptive siren song.

Who would have known that my love for HIP was still about as tenuous as
an ill-fitting catgut G-string--promptly catapulting itself into oblivion
before Holloway's first lively Gigue was even over?

I *will* keep trying.  My support group said that there would be times like
this.

John Smyth
Sacramento, Ca
http://facelink.com/j66560