New early music — how HIP is that (W.P.)

In the time of Bach, it would have been near-unimaginable to think that anyone might perform music from over 300 years ago for a living. Yet nowadays, ironically, this is the essence of professional activity within the so-called Historically Informed Performance Practice. It seems that in our attempt to understand and emulate the true practice of early music, we have somehow lost a substantial part of its practical application.

When I joined my music high school as the only harpsichordist, I remember a classmate — a pianist — asking me in earnest, 
'So what now, are you only gonna play Bach for the rest of your life?'

Of course not! There is such a wonderful abundance of repertoire, such a variety of styles and multitude of composers in early music! And for many years after that question, I was thinking mostly about the music that is unknown to "classically" trained, or mainstream classical musicians; that I am feeling blessed to know it and to work with it on a daily basis. This is what we early music performers do, and (understandably) we want to do our best in bringing this repertoire back to life.

So we study not only the music, but also its context: delving deep into history, attempting to get to know the composers, the listeners, their lives and cultures, their personalities, fashions, expectations, imaginations, and tastes. As our passion becomes our profession, and our expertise broadens with the music we encounter and the sources we examine, we become more and more used to taking for granted a lot of the knowledge and manners of music-making, which constitutes the canon of our performance practice. Within the daily routine of working hard in this demanding profession, we might find it difficult to step back and consider questions that might surprise us on closer inspection; questions such as: 'Would Bach play only Bach for the rest of his life?'.

Because the answer to this question, being 'yes, possibly', has two possible interpretations — moreover, two which don't necessarily exclude or contradict each other. Obviously, if Bach would indeed play Bach's music for the rest of his life, the implication for us as 21st-century musicians is that we can best emulate Bach in also playing Bach's music for the rest of our lives. And obviously this is a metaphoric generalisation, applicable to any other baroque composer or musician of interest; but this is the status quo, the modus operandi nevertheless guiding our activity: to understand the music of the bygone eras by stepping into the shoes of the composers and musicians of the past.

However, the other interpretation leaves us with an interesting alternative. For if Bach played his own music for the rest of his life, this means that Bach would be playing his very own compositions till the end of his days; that the role of the composer and performer are united in one person. This is, however, a lesson learned from studying Bach's life and work that few now take into account as professional musicians. Yet is it not true that by following Bach's example of championing his own compositions, written in his preferred style, we can also best emulate Bach — and the general practice of his contemporaries?

This question of style and taste remains an open one, being a deeply personal matter. But a parallel can be drawn between the practice of imitation as a gesture of respect, honouring the achievement of a predecessor, as recorded in late medieval European history of music; and imitating a style of the past by modern composers — both are guided by the same motivation of inspired reverence and admiration. This parallel, too, places the practice of composing music in earlier styles nowadays within the broader historical context as a creative act with many a precedent — thus making 21st-century compositions that deliberately imitate such old works inherently "historically informed" beyond their musical matter.

An unquestionably practical application of creating new compositions in earlier styles is that it offers new (as in: yet unknown) music to audiences well versed in and aware of their preferences within the field of early music. As many experienced performers of early repertoire might agree, the market nowadays seems somewhat saturated with a selection of mainstream works — be it in early music, or the overall classical music industry. While joining the powers participating in successful recreation of the aforementioned works is a source of reliable employment to musicians — and a source of joy for audiences familiar with their favourite repertoire, it might be challenging to break through with unusual or rarely performed programs.

The recent interest sparked by the discovery and final attribution of two "new" (as in: thus far unheard of by many) compositions by Bach has shown that more music is always welcome from composers who have a very well established position and reputation. And understandably, imitating the compositional style of the masters in the field is a demanding challenge, requiring immense discipline, commitment to musical education and work, expertise, insight, and talent. But given the agitation roused by this appearance of new music in an early style, perhaps it is worth giving it a go — and trusting the capacity and talent of those who also have positioned themselves as respected composers nowadays already, and who are so inspired by the old masters as to spend years on passionately mastering these masters' musical language as their own vernacular.

If the expertise and talent of a composer can be trusted, then this reputation guarantees the quality of their compositions — no matter if their style is uniquely new or masterfully recreates a style from the past. This quality is further ensured if the composer is also experienced in performing, and even more so when they are versed in bringing both their works and original early compositions to the stage. Indeed, the interest that people have in imitating and reworking pre-existent art and music via the use of generative AI speaks to the excitement and joy of innovating and experiencing something ‘new’ in these older modes and ‘bringing back to life’ art and figures from the past. And if instead of turning to the imperfect synthesis of a machine, we choose to trust a human artist, their real-life experience and feelings, creating meaning and real connection between the artist and the audience, and between the present and the past, then we gain not only ‘new-old’ music, but such music practiced in the same way that it was practiced by the composers of yesteryear.

Weronika Paine

Cover photo: Karpati & Zarewicz