There's been some posting about the motivation of anti-hip folks who attack the foundations of the HIP movement. I've given this some thought and here's my conclusions: 1. The initial reaction is fear of the unknown and fear of loss of control and stabilty. 2. Fear leads to hostility. 3. Hostility leads to aggressiveness through the strong desire to debunk what is unfamiliar and the persons holding those views. 4. The debunking, at its most insipid, leads to silly comments and projections and devious questions, many of them voiced on this list. At its worst, the debunking and lack of respect leads to a friction within the classical music community, one which this small community can hardly afford. This reminds me of the hostility toward "modernist" music held by many listeners: it's alien, unmusical, and a threat. Those who like it are given no respect of their postion and are considered to not even really like the music. I really don't know what the answer might be to any of this. Perhaps one day these negative types will see the light (preferences remain the same, but respect for the other postion increases), but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation. It's just rather sad. As Mimi mentioned, there's plenty of room for *all* perferences and views, but there are many holdouts who don't agree. Don Vroon, of ARG fame, even identifies the HIP movement as a fad. But, I have noticed that ARG reviews many HIP recordings, and increasingly, the reviewers are not hostile to HIP. It's become relatively mainstream as it is now the prevalent style for early and baroque music, shares center stage with modern instrument performances of classical and early-romanic era repertoire, and has even entered the romantic and late-romantic world. You can look at it as an insidious virus which is infecting everything, like or prefer it, or personally reject it while respecting it as a form which is loved by many others. Your choice, but don't delude yourself into thinking that the first one has much worthiness going for it. That choice does not represent the best within us. Don Satz [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com