Dave Runnion wrote:

>You know, I know this will sound horrible to some, but I wonder if
>anyone shares my feeling: This new acronym, HIP, makes me slightly
>uncomfortable. It is of course sort of cool, sort of, well, hip, but
>there is something vaguely snobby, elitist, and insulting about it.
>
>...I am a performer...and I play on modern instruments.  Fine.  They're
>not the same instruments as Bach or Mozart heard, perhaps, mine was made
>in 1937, but they're pretty close, basically it comes down to steel vs.
>gut strings.

David, there is a lot more to a period performance than the material used
in the strings.  Let me list a few things about HIP performances (I hate
the acronym too, I have always said "period" performance) which differ
from their modern counterparts:

1) Yes the type of string used is one small factor.

2) The size of the ensemble is crucial to historical accuracy especially
with regards to choral singing, i.e. one voice to a part or not.

3) The style of playing is very important.  It is known that violinists
such as Corelli and Locatelli used very specific embellishments in their
music.  They were commonly used at the time and their use today really adds
to the accuracy of a period recreation.  In vocal music, too, there were
certain practices which differ from today.  Purcell wrote for a choir of
boys and men.  He himself having once been a member of the boy choir.  I
think it makes a difference using an all-male choir when attempting to
recreate the performance sounds of the past.

4) Certainly a VERY important distinction between period performances
and modern ones is the instrumentation.  A cello simply does NOT sound
the same as a Viola da Gamba or any other viol for that matter.  I imagine
the sound of Matthew Locke being played on modern cellos and it would most
DEFINITELY sound far removed from a period performance.  Besides, there
lies some major differences between the physical make-up of the instruments
themselves which greatly affect the sound.  The Viola da Gamba was a
fretted instrument with 6 and 7 strings (was 6 before Sainte-Colombe added
the 7th string), much different than today's cello.  The flutes of early
times were keyless and could only play in 1 octave.  They have a decidedly
different sound than modern flutes.

These are just a few differences which I'm sure you will agree are
important factors in determining the sound of a performance.  I love period
performances.  I also love modern performances.  I just think people need
to quit worrying about what their neighbors are doing and concentrate on
making the music THEY perform sound the best it possible can.

--Wes Crone