Explain the Benefits and Inherent Problems of the Legacy of the Early Music Revival
Essay title: Explain the Benefits and Inherent Problems of the Legacy of the Early Music Revival
Explain the benefits and inherent problems of the legacy of the Early Music Revival.
Prior to the early years of the eighteenth century, it was generally unheard of to perform music that was not contemporary. Indeed, audiences, both secular and sacred, expected to hear new works, thus prolific composers such as Bach were customary. The roots of the Early Music Revival (in the spirit of Butt, henceforth EMR) can be placed during this time, and was led primarily by the church fuelled by surrounding social and cultural changes. According to Peter Hoar, the EMR in the late 18th century was further promoted by the beginning of the Romantic era when musical genius was to be revered, with its âveneration of the artistâ and âgreat manâ theory.
However, although there were the odd periods of interest in early music for its own sake, such as Mendelssohns revival of Bachs St. Matthew Passion in 1829 or the re-orchestrations of Handelâs Messiah by Mozart, it was in the 1960âs and 70âs that the EMR came into itâs own. In May 1965, David Munrow played Susatoâs Danserye at Birmingham University to great acclaim, and so the field was opened for âauthenticâ or âhistorically informedâ performances. As Kenyon points out, the eager reception of this new way of performing old music was more due to Munrowsâ (and subsequent) performerâs enthusiasm and conviction, rather than to the