Mats Norrman wrote:

>I know I will crack the heart in Don Satz and other HIP fans on the list
>now, but Historically Informed Performances are pointless, as there will
>never be a perfect HIP.

Writing from my hospital bed as I await a transplant, I would like to say
that Mats will never be perfect, but that doesn't make his life pointless.

I don't think of myself as a HIP fan, just a person who wants to get the
most enjoyment and enlightenment out of the music he listens to.  Once
upon a time, I listened to baroque music only on modern instruments and
wasn't pleased with the results.  Then, I happened across period instrument
performances and found what I had been missing; I knew nothing of any
controversies about HIP, but I knew what I liked.  So, all this posturing
by so-called anti-hip individuals about the impossibility of historical
accuracy and the bankrupt theory of HIP means nothing to me since those
arguments do not relate in any way to the enjoyment of music.  You either
like period instrument usage or you don't; whether it's an accurate
reflection of musical days gone by means very little in the final analysis.

With all our chatter about the merits of the HIP/Period Instrument
movement, we tend not to highlight the most important aspect: each of us
has the opportunity to *effectively* register our preferences through our
monetary expenditures.  The record companies, with little exception, put
out new baroque recordings of chamber, orchestral, and vocal/orchestral
music on period instruments.  They don't do this based on any preference
for period instrumentation; they prefer whatever makes them the most
profit.  And the fact is that period instrument fans "buy" new baroque
recordings; I often get the feeling that those not caring for period
instrumentation do not buy baroque music; they just complain.  If I buy
$1,000 of baroque music on period instruments and my modern instrument
couterpart buys only $100, the record companies are going to pay attention
to me, not my counterpart.  So, register your preferences.  So far, the
People have spoken, and they are saying "we want baroque instruments".  If
you don't like that result, open your wallet and do something about it.

Baroque music was in the doldrums prior to the HIP movement.  There was a
giant void, and HIP filled it up.  If the anti-hip folks had their way, the
void would just come back as strong as ever.

Don Satz
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