Early Music Defended against Its Devotees: A Theory of Historical Performance in the

Twentieth Century
Author(s): Laurence Dreyfus
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp. 297-322
Published by: Oxford University Press
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UL

CNIRMt

SUMMER, 1983

scH7I RM f

Vol. LXIX, No. 3

THEMUSICAL
QUARTERLY
Early Music Defendedagainst itsDevotees:
A Theory of Historical Performancein the
Twentieth Century
LAURENCE DREYFUS
wemustfirst
Tryingtodevelopa newtheory,
takea stepbackfromtheevidenceand reconsidertheproblemof observation.
- Paul K. Feyerabend,
AgainstMethod

A Theoryof EarlyMusic?

called"EarlyMusic,"there
ITHIN theculturalphenomenon

on itsown activhas beenlittle,ifany,philosophicalreflection

whichchartsthe
of
a
and
literature
There
course,
is,
ity.
large
growing
But
of
historical
the
course
performance.
language hereis
day-to-day
to
the
answer
How
question:
ought we to perpragmatic,designed
formthis?This concernmaybe entirelylegitimate.But once we wish
to explore the motivationsunderlyingthisquestion,to understand
cultureshould place such a value on
why late twentieth-century
of centuries-oldmusic-in effect,
renditions
"correct"
historically
297

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298

The Musical Quarterly

once we wishtoarticulatea theoryofEarlyMusic-there seemstobe a

conspiracyofsilence.' Whenthequestionis raisedat all, we are most
ofteninformedthatEarlyMusicresultedfromtheprogressofmodern
musicology.But thismerelydisplacestheproblemonto musicology.
More commonlythequestion is answeredwitha logic thatsounds
themusicin accordancewith
oddlytheological:"Thou shaltperform
thecomposer'sintentions,
forthisis (H)is will." Authenticrenditions,
it appears, are ethicallysuperiorto inauthenticones. Many people
apparentlyfindthis argumentpersuasive.Yet as a justificationfor
muchlessa theoryofgenesisand structure,
historicalperformance,
it
is evasiveand empty.Small wonderthatthe criticsof Early Music
remainunconvincedand continueto view it as a hoax or nuisance.
But ifEarlyMusic is indeedsomethingmorethana passingantiquarian fad, thenit requiresa theoryembracingboth explanation and
But,curicritique.A theoryshould no doubtanswerthedetractors.
Music
its
it
must
rescue
from
also
devotees.
Early
moralizing
ously,
But what is "Early Music?" Certainlynotonly thesetof musical
of European music.For this
objectscomprisingtheolderrepertories
definitionwould gloss all too neatlyover the firstquestion of a
theoreticalinquiry: namely,Why has a sectorof "serious" music
of forgotten
instruculturedevoteditselfto therecovery
repertories,
moreusefulto defineEarlyMusic
ments,and practices?It is therefore
ensembleof social practicesinsteadof
as a late twentieth-century
it to theworkswhich occasion the interest.To be blunt:
restricting
of all people and onlysecondarilythings.
Music
Early
signifiesfirst
the
A brieflistingof
actorsand theirpropsis necessary.Firstthere
are the performers(professionalsand amateursof varyingproficiency),togetherwith theteachersand scholars,thislast group primarilymusicologistsbut also otherhumanistsinterestedin dance,
Then therearethosein the
theater,
iconography,and culturalhistory.
suchas luthiersand otherinstrument
makers,
supportingprofessions
music publishers,newspapercritics,concertmanagersand agents,
recordcompanyexecutives,and sound engineers.And complementing theseactive participantsare the consumers-the ever-growing
in WesternEuropeand
audiences,who aremostheavilyconcentrated
(increasingly)in NorthAmerica,butwho bynow span theglobefrom
1 The New GroveDictionaryofMusic and Musicians (London, 1980),forexample,does
not contain an articleentitled"Early Music," nor any coherentdiscussionof the twentiethand practices.
instruments,
centuryrevivalof earlierrepertories,

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EarlyMusic

299

Melbourne to Moscow. We must mentionthe visible tools of the

trade-those exteriorsigns of Early Music-the "original instruments":both antique and reconstructed
viols, "baroqued" violins,
ofendlessvariety,
winds
and
and
pluckedlutes,harpsichords organs,
a vastarrayofpercussion.Only thendo we arriveat themusicitself:a
massivecorpus extendingfromliturgicalchantof the Middle Ages
throughClassical symphoniesof theeighteenthcenturyand (at the
presentwriting)castinga covetousglance at thenineteenthcentury.
Finally thereare the keysthatunlock thedoors to historicalreconthearchivaldocuments,and theicostruction:thedidactictreatises,
nographical and notationalevidencewhich formthe basis forthe
discipline"performance
practice."
Ifthereis an idea whichcementstogetherthisdiversecollectionof
Whetheror not it is named,this
people and things,it is authenticity.
highlychargedconceptunderlieseveryconsciousactof EarlyMusic.
One mightwonderexactlywhatis meantbyit. First,as a regulative
ideal, authenticityexpressesa supposed opposition to the selfaggrandizingindividualismprevalentin Mainstreammusicalpraxis.
In thetypicalversionof thiswidespreadmyth,theindividualMainstreamartistharnessesthe musical text to his own will, thereby
at theexpenseofthecomposer'sintentions.
self-expression
glorifying
A musicianhumbledbyauthenticity,
on theotherhand,actswillingly
in theserviceofthecomposer,thereby
himselfto"truth,"
committing
or,at theveryleast,accuracy.But there'stherub.Forifwe peerbehind
theupliftinglanguage,we findthatone attainsauthenticity
byfollowrules
for
textbook
"scientific
method."
in other
the
Music,
Early
ing
not
does
some
into
the
in
an
actof
words,
preach
empatheticleap
past
it
in
mind is a strictlyempirical
imaginativeVerstehen.What has
programto verifyhistoricalpractices,which,when all is said and
into thecomposer'sintentions.Audone,are magicallytransformed
in
is
Music,
then,
thenticity Early
groundedin a philosophicalposition I shall call objectivism.By "objectivism"I mean above all the
epistemologicalpropositionthatknowledgeis assuredbyaccurately
describingthingsin the world withouttakingstock of the biased
vantagepoint fromwhich the (human) observerperceivesthephenomena.Only bymaintainingthisstrictseparationofsubject-object
itselfin practiceto empiricalaccumulation
can EarlyMusic restrict
and researchwhile claiming authenticityin principle as a moral
value.

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300

The Musical Quarterly

Adornoon EarlyMusic

There is no betterdiagnosis of thisobjectivismthan thatof the

Frankfurt-School
critic,Theodor W. Adorno,in thefewpassageshe
devotesto "historicalperformance.''2
To be sure,Adornois no friend
of EarlyMusic. Having evengone so faras tocastigateStravinsky
for
his causticreturnto a pseudo-Baroqueidiom-branding it a regression in consciousness--thismandarinof modernismis unlikelyto
have anythingkindto sayabout EarlyMusic's wholesaleevacuation
of the twentieth
On theotherhand, Adorno'spronouncecentury.3
mentspierceforcefully
butpitifulapolthroughthewell-intentioned
mostdiscussionsof EarlyMusic. Although
ogeticsthatcharacterizes
his conclusions,as we shall see,are quite wrongheaded,his orientation providesan excellentintroductionto a more comprehensive
theory.
Adorno'smostsubstantivecriticismfocuseson theillusiveobjecwhichunderliesthenotionofWerktreue--loyalty
tothemusical
tivity
work.He pointsout thatwhileno one wouldclaim thattheessenceof
a musicalworkis tantamounttothesumofhistorically
demonstrable
factssurroundingits performance,
the "fansof old music" go right
ahead claimingthatauthenticity
is guaranteedbyreconstructing
the
relevantinstruments,
texts,and practices.Butin so doingEarlyMusic
has no room forcrucialnonempiricalconsiderations--such
as emotional expressionor the meaning of a work-without which, all
would agree, music making is inconceivable.As Adorno puts it:
"Objectivityis not leftover once the subjectis subtracted."4More
he sensesthatthistheoretical
exclusionactuallyencourperniciously,
the
of
That
is,sincethedailypreoccupaliquidation subjectivity.
ages
tion of EarlyMusic stressestheobjectiveretrievalof historicalprac2 Adornodiscussesthe matterin three
places: (1) in a 1951articleentitled"Bach gegen
seineLiebhaberverteidigt"
("Bach DefendedAgainsthis Devotees"),latercollectedin a volume
called Prismen(Berlin,1955;Frankfurt,
1967),pp. 178-79,trans.Samuel and ShierryWeberas
Prisms(London, 1967;Cambridge,Mass., 1981),pp. 145-46;(2) in thechapteron "Types of
Musical Conduct" fromtheEinleitungin die Musiksoziologie(Frankfurt,
1973),Gesammelte
XIV, 187-90;trans.E.B. Ashtonas IntroductiontotheSociologyofMusic (New York,
Schriften,
1976),pp. 9-11; (3) in an articlefrom1966entitled"Der MissbrauchteBarock"("The Abused
1967),pp. 133-57,esp. pp. 149-55.
Baroque"), collectedin thevolumeOhne Leitbild(Frankfurt,
1949;Frankfurt,
1975),GesammelteSchriften,
3 Philosophie derneuenMusk (Tubingenf,
XII, 188,trans.AnneG. Mitchelland WesleyV. Blomsteras PhilosophyofModernMusic (New
York, 1973),p. 207.
4 Adorno,Prismen,p. 176;Prisms,p. 144.

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EarlyMusic

301

in interpretation
theattitudethatsubjectivity
tices,itfosters
(whether
in performance
or in criticism)is irrelevant
or,at best,unknowable.
Whileproudlyproclaimingitshistoricalcredentials,
EarlyMusic
For
inconsistencies.
example,the
manages to overlooksome glaring
absolutizesa
concernto reproduce"the Baroque sound" uncritically
thatdid not yetexistin
nineteenth-century
conceptof orchestration
ofthe
theearlyeighteenth
century.In otherwords,thereconstruction
a
instruments
used
verifiably
by medieval,Renaissance,or
original
Baroque composeris takenas essentialto themeaningof themusic
beforetheidea ofessentialinstrumentation
becomeshistorically
operable. On a deeper level, Early Music has imposed the notion of
on composersforwhomthetermis meaningless;in other
authenticity
those
who have not yet imagined the metaphysicsof
for
words,
Goethe's Fassung letzterHand, throughwhich theintentionedtext
In one sense,then,thehistobecomesdiscretefromitsreproduction.5
ricistsarebad historians;theyfailto takestock,as do all objectivists,
of
theirown historicity.
Adornoalso pointsout thatobjectivismtendstorelegatequestions
of aestheticvalue and critique to a secondary,if not meaningless,
statusundertheguiseoffurthering
rigorousscholarship.The bedrock
of this position is of course the prevailingdoctrineof historical
relativism,
accordingtowhichno artisticepoch is regardedas superior
to any other.This assertionis in itselfnot too problematic.But in a
neat sleightof hand, the objectivistextendshis relativisma step
so thateach workofartmysteriously
becomestheequal ofits
further,

We maybestobservethistendency
in modernmusicontemporary.
which
has
enormous
dean
cology,
produced
apologeticliterature
Oftenprompted
bya searchto
signedtorescuethe"minormasters."
theoriginsofa genre(e.g."JacquesBuuswrotethefirst
discover
and
monothematic
or
the
antecedents
of
a
ricercar")
longest
style(e.g.
"Sammartini's
containthekernel
ofthemature
Classical
symphonies
as a levelingdeviceby
style"),thisKleinmeister-compulsion
figures
ofthelowestcommon
whichall worksarereducedtoa manifestation
denominator.
One can easilysee how congenialthisdoctrine(or
is toEarlyMusic,whichtreats
all Germethodological
consequence)
of
manBaroquecomposers
one
norm
German
by
"Baroque"perforAsAdornosoimpudently
mancepractice.
putsit:"TheysayBach,but
5 See Georgvon Dadelsen,"Die 'FassungletzterHand' in derMusik,"Actamusicologica,
XXXIII (1961), 1-14.

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302

The Musical Quarterly

meanTelemann."6 Forwhatwe havehereis nothinglessthana grand

nivellementofvalue so thatone interprets
Bach,forexample,onlyin
termsof themostcommonfeaturesof periodstyle.
Adorno triesto cast theobjectivistsensibilityin a psycho-social
an angry,
mold by seeingit as a formof contemporary
ressentiment,
in
to
emotion
the
recepprevalent
puritanicalresistance thereignof
tion of the MainstreamClassical repertory.By fusing together
Nietzscheand Freud,albeitin a somewhatobscuremanner,Adorno
has distilleda powerfulinsight.Foralthoughon thesurfacetheEarlyMusic enthusiastappears as highbrowas the traditional"Classical
order.One
music" buff,his aestheticintentis of a whollydifferent
might,forexample,say thatthe Mainstreamlisteneris attractedto
music, usually of a late-Romantichue, because of the low cost of
withthe
affective
byidentifying
output:he feelsdrainedyetfulfilled
emotionalebband flowofthepiece.The Early-Musicfan,on theother
hand,notonlycurbshis pleasurableresponseto themusic,butbrags
for
about his commandofauthentichistoricalfacts-thejustification
and editionsused,forexample. Indeed,he is proud
theinstruments
not to be emotingoverTchaikovsky'sPathetiqueand considershis
But thissomewhatpeculiarstancemay
a markofsuperiority.
sobriety
in factstem,accordingtoAdorno,froma desiretoliquidateRomantic
whichappearsas a formofpromiscuity.
The ironyhereis
subjectivity,
thatthepuritanhas implantedthecivilizedban on theuninhibited
expressionof feelings(the mimetictaboo) directlyinto theartform
whose purpose it was, in the firstplace, to sublimateit.' Music, a
cultural outlet for sdcially imprisonedsubjectivity,is then transa prisonforfeelings.IfAdornois
formedintoa place ofcontainment,
value-free
consumerchoice,but,
is
not
some
then
objectivism
right,
above all, a rationalizationfora defensiveposture.
The tablesarenow turned.For,as Adornoseesit,theEarly-Music
fansare theones who,in theirobjectivistzeal,havedistortedthegreat
musicofthepast.As forBach, "They havemadehimintoa composer
fororganfestivalsin well-preserved
Baroque towns,intoideology."'
It mustbe made clear,however,thatAdorno is not proposingas a
superior alternativethe standard neo-Romantic practice of the
6 Adorno,Prismen,p. 177;Prisms,p. 145.
7 On the mimetictaboo in culturegenerally,see Max Horkheimerand Theodor W.
Adorno,DialektikderAufkliarung
1969).pp. 149-50;Dialectic of Enlightenment,
(Frankfurt,
trans.JohnCumming(New York,1972),pp. 141-42.
8 Adorno,Prismen,p. 163;Prisms,136.

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EarlyMusic

303

Mainstream-theGreatConductorleadingtheswarmingchorusand
orchestrain enervatingrenditionsofthePassions. Ratherhe is questioningwhetheranythingwas gained byexchangingone distortion
foranother.(Later we shall see thatmuch was gained.) However,
Adorno'ssolution,ifitcan becalled that,is notreallyan answerat all
but a retreatinto the innersanctumof the Frankfurt
Institute.For
fromwithin this theoreticalsanctuaryit is easy to condemnevery
contemporaryattemptto performBach as ideologically tainted.
Adorno prefersinstead to see Schoenbergand Webernas the true
ofBach,forhavingchanneledtheirengagementwiththe
interpreters
ofhiskeyboardworks,they
past into"contemporary"orchestrations
remain"loyal to his heritagebybreakingfaithwithit."' They then
are Bach's truedevotees.This displacementfromreceptiononto proonto composition)is a neattrick,
duction(thatis, fromperformance
but itwill deludeno one. And yet,Adornomayhaveno otherchoice.
For ifEarlyMusic is groundedin a neuroticneed to repressfeelings,
how can it be anythingmorethana dredgingoperationforhistorical
residue?
BeforerecoilingfromAdorno(eitherin shockor in amusement),
one oughttolocalize thesourceofhis discomfort.
ForAdornodid not
know Early Music as it blossomedin the late 1960sand 1970sbut
confronted
themorebarbaricgropingsofthe1950sand a bitbeyond.
(He died in 1969.)This was theperiodofthe"sewing-machine"style,
sometimescalled the "Vivaldi revival,"when Germanchamberorchestrasenthusiastically
tookup "terraceddynamics,"when historiminded
conductors
cally
urgedplayerstostop "phrasing,"and when
in
the
music
occasioned a blaze of premeditated
embelrepeatsigns
lishments."Motoricrhythms,"it seemed,revealeda new speciesof
musicalgratification-the
freedomfromfeeling."Let themusicspeak
foritself"was thebattlecry.In practice:substitute
brittleharpsichords
forgrandiloquentSteinways,
pureBaroque organsforlush Romantic
ones,cherubicchoirboysforwobblyprimedonne,intimateensembles
foroverblownorchestras,
theUrtextfordoctorededitions,thenone is
truetoBach (or whomever)and his intentions.The musicalresultsof
thisearlypurismwereso sterilethatwe can hardlycriticizeAdornofor
having missed the seeds of a criticalnew development.Instead,he
focused insightfullyon the grimacedfaces of the sanctimonious

participants.

Adorno,Prismen,p. 179.

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304

The Musical Quarterly

But,Adornoaside, thequestionremainswhetherthesituationin
so fundamentally
fromthatofthe1950s.The
EarlyMusic todaydiffers
enthusiast
will
latter-dayEarly-Music
likely object: "Wait just a
moment!We'vecome a long waysincethe 1950s."In thishe is surely
right.Of course one would not want to commita geneticfallacy,
mistakingtheoriginof a phenomenonforits subsequentform.On
theotherhand,one mustgrantthattheobjectivist
programofauthenticityand itsrelatedrelativismremainwhollyintact.It is merelythe
which
sum of factsabout instruments,
practices,and circumstances
evensophisticated.
has swelled:themethodappearsmoreimpressive,
But if we honestlyevaluatetheartisticqualityof mostEarly-Music
thenthereare ample instancesof wretchedrenditions
performances,
champions of authenticityto grant to
ground out by stony-faced
Adorno'sdiagnosisa good measureof truth.
WhatAdornocannotaccountfor-and thisis a crucialpoint-are
is,forexample,unable to
EarlyMusic'smanifestsuccesses.His theory
suchas GustavLeonhardt.Forhereis someone
deal witha performer
consultedthepropersources,is technically
who has readthetreatises,
radicalinterpretations.
withoutpar,yetarrivesat thought-provoking
Adorno
has suspendedhis
with
small
one
could
no
irony,
say
Perhaps,
it
was
this
same
own dialectic.ForI hope toshowthat
deceptionin the
fosrealmof ideas-the objectivistprogramof authenticity--which
tered,paradoxically, one of the more critical developmentsin
music.But one does notdiscoverthereal advances
twentieth-century
of Early Music, as most would have it, in the outward signs of
verifiable
forces,
performing
historicity-the"original" instruments,
editions-but in therevisedoperationsin themindsof
or text-critical
sectorsof
theplayers.This means thatthemostcrucial interpretive
tone
and
performance-articulation,phrasing, tempo, rhythm,
not
remain
universals
production-do
metaphysical
beyondthegrasp
of historybut emergeas weapons thatforceMainstreamcultureto
At itsmostsuccessful,EarlyMusic does
confrontitsown historicity.
themusicalobjectin the
notreturnto thepastat all butreconstructs
hereand now,enablinga new and hithertosilencedsubjectto speak.
To surveyand connecttheseseeminglydiscretemomentswithinEarly
Music is, as I see it,theaim ofan adequate theory.
The Birthof EarlyMusic and theRepressionof thePresent
The arrivalofEarlyMusiccoincidedwiththemostprofoundcrisis

in European musical culture in which the middle-class public

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EarlyMusic

305

soundlyrepudiatedan avant-gardethatdared to forsaketraditional

tonality.One mightsay thatbothEarlyMusic and earlymodernism
occupy nearlyanalogous positionswith regardto the Mainstream.
Whereasthe avant-gardestrodeforwardin advancing the cause of
historicaltime,EarlyMusic tookan equidistantleap in theopposite
direction.But while theavant-gardecould not fail to recognizethe
ignorant
graveconsequencesofitsactions,EarlyMusicwas blissfully
of its historicalstatus.For to maintainequilibrium in a mythical
kingdomof thepast,repletewithcourtlyvalues and (palpably) harmoniousrelations,EarlyMusicpaid a price:itforcibly
every
repressed
sign of thepresent.
This is not to say thatEarlyMusic was pointedlyantimodernist.
Its day-to-day
withfewexceptions,made sureto brushaway
activity,
theproblemsof tortured
humanity,likeall formsofantiquarianism,
into therecessesof theunconscious.Whatit promisedwas a senseof
stability,an illusion of serenity,a "haven in the heartlessworld."
Neitherwas EarlyMusic in anysensea Neo-Classicmovement.It was
in convertinglivingcomposersto thejoys of
not remotelyinterested
pre-Romanticidioms. Nor was it even concernedto integrateitself
into Mainstreaminstitutions:
fromthefirst
it saw itselfas something
from
the
real
world.
Music
drew a wondrous
Indeed, Early
apart
curtainon realityand celebrateditsdevotionto thepast byresurrecting the relics of that beckoningage-the "antique" instruments
themselves.To the same extent,then,that "modern music" circa
1890-1914exposed theraw nerveofsocial disharmonyin theformof
the neuroticutterance,Early Music redressedthe imbalance by reof
pressingthenightmarish
presentand mountinga grandrestoration
thegloriouspast. WhereastheMainstreamhad said "no" to modernism,EarlyMusic forgotit was traumatized.
This kind ofamnesia surfacesin theworkofArnoldDolmetsch,
perhaps the most famous pioneer in Early Music. For despitehis
to historicalaccuracyand empiricalmethod,'0
enormouspretentions
one sometimesgetstheimpressionthathe not onlywishedto revive
thepast,butactuallyto improveon it. Take, forexample,his reconstructionof the harpsichordin a now-forgotten
account fromthe
1930s by his pupil RobertDonington." We learn,perhaps to our
10

Dolmetsch'smajor work was his Interpretation

of the Music of the Seventeenthand
EighteenthCenturies(London, 1915).
11RobertDonington,The Workand Ideas ofArnoldDolmetsch(Haslemere,1932),p. 8.

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The Musical Quarterly

306

surprise,thatDolmetschwas notentirelyhappywithhis reconstructivelabors. Even afterscrupulouslyrebuildinga historicalcopy,it

seemsthat
theold harpsichordhascertainlimitations[and produces]a jangle,slightin thetreble
butaudible in thebass. [Moreover,the]use ofthedamper-raising
pedal (corresponding to the sustainingpedal of the piano) is renderedimpracticable,precludinga
of greatmusicalvalue.
numberofeffects

The solution:
which remedythese historicaloversights,have
[Dolmetsch's] new instruments,
provedbothpurerand moresustainedthanany previousharpsichord.'2

tohistory,
butI
One could easilymakelightofDolmetsch's"fidelity"
findmuch more interestingDonington's view that the Dolmetsch
aregood commonsense.Progressmarcheson, and it
"improvements"
is irrelevant
thattwohundredyearshave meanwhileintervened.
Not
butalso the
only,then,is therepudiationoftheworldas is forgotten
retreat
itself.
grand
EarlyMusic as Defamiliarization
How ironic,then,thatEarlyMusic,coweringfromharshreality,
ought to turnaround and administerthe same shock which,at its
Forthereis no escapinga relatively
recent
inception,itsoughttostifle.
trendin whichcriticstreatEarlyMusic as ifit werea rebelliousand
rampagingmodernism.Of coursethismetamorphosisfromtraumatizedrefugeeto agentprovocateurwas a gradualprocess.But beginning in the1970sitbecameclearthatEarlyMusic was nota harmless
bit of antiquarianismbut a sweeping movementable to rock the
foundationsof Mainstreammusical culture. For what had been
especiallyof Bathoughtof as durableand traditionalmasterpieces,
in a disturbbecame
indeed
"defamiliarized"
music,
alienated,
roque
from
norms.
I
refer
here
to
the
expected
ing departure
priemostranof
made
famous
enie ("device
by the Russian
making strange")
Formalists.Forin a similarwaytotheprocessesofliterary
production,
the operationsperformed
by EarlyMusic "teartheobject out of its
habitual context . .. and forcea heightened awareness."'" One per-

ceivesthismostvividlyin EarlyMusic'sabilitytoinflect
long melodic
12 Ibid.,

pp. 9-10.
RussianFormalism
See
Erlich,
(TheHague,1955;NewHaven,1981),
13Victor
pp. 176-77.
also FredricJameson,The PrisonHouse ofLanguage (Princeton,1972),pp. 50-54.

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EarlyMusic

307

lineswitha seriesofmercurialgestures,to defusegrandiosecadences

withunexintogrammaticalendingpoints,toendowdancerhythms
pectedliltsand graces,and to deploya wide varietyof tonalcolorsin
masnew ways.The Mainstreamlistener,who believeshis preferred
sit
is
now
to
from
forever
safe
impocompelled
tampering,
terpieces
tentlybyas an unwittingiconoclastknocksdown his favoriteClassiframeof
cal knick-knacks,
remindinghim preciselyof thatfractured
mind,which,withGreatMusic,he hoped to forget.
Defamiliarization,
moreover,displacestheattentionfromtheinonto
the
terpreter
composition.Consider,forexample,theway one
of,say,theElgarCello Concerto(Casals,
usuallyjudgesperformances
Fournier,Rostropovitch,
DuPre). Then contrastthiswiththeusual
ofBach's BrandenburgConcertos
mannerofreviewingperformances
(eithera Mainstreamoran Early-Musicrendition).WiththeElgar,we
admire (or object to) various "interpretations"based on the performer'sapproach to sound, tempo, Romantic feeling,and taste.
What is strikingis thatany particularjudgment leaves the Elgar
concertountouched.Questionsregardingitsmeaningor value rarely
appear on theagenda. Not so withour Early Musicians tampering
with the BrandenburgConcertos.The choice betweenperforming
one overtheother
styleshereis anythingbutvalue free,forpreferring
amountstoa manifestopro orcontraauthenticity.
Areyou in favorof
or
Bach's
are
a
intentions,
you
respecting
proponentoftheelan vital?
thepointis thatthe"meanThe aestheticevaluationhereis irrelevant:
in
S.
Bach
mentioned
the
firstplace. All at once, it
of
ing" J.
gets
becomesmostimportantto takesides:you eithersubscribeto authenticitytoutcourt,seekcompromisesto appease thepurists,or else put
up withinauthenticrenditionsoffamousBaroque musicwhilemaking appropriateapologies formoral weaknessesin thisarea should
you be takento task.'4
14 Interesting
in thisregardis an articlein The New YorkTimes,March21, 1982,entitled
"The RebornBach AriaGroup." "The Bach AriaGroup playson moderninstruments.'We
all
havegratitudeand admirationforpeople like Nikolaus Harnoncourt,who have done so much
and performances,'
workwithauthenticinstruments
saysMr. [Samuel] Baron. But it does not
mean thathis is the only way. You don't have to reconstruct
the Globe Theatreto presenta
meaningfulShakespeareperformance.... My personal hero was Karl Richter,the German
conductor,who did so muchtoclean up Bach performance
practices.YetI feltsad thatat theend
ofhislifehe had todefendhimself[becausehewas] behindthetimesin matters
ofauthenticity....
there'sa lotofscrubbingup todo." In otherwords,
[Even]withoutgoing totheold instruments,
theguiltymodernplayerrealizeshe had betterridhimselfofoutmodedpractices.But notethat
EarlyMusic is not reallya respectedcolleague butan inimicaladversary.

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308

The Musical Quarterly

Throughthelogicofdefamiliarization,
EarlyMusicturnsaround,
the
of
its
moment
and
forgets
genesis,
repeats(albeitin mutedform)
theprovocationincitedbyitsculturaladversary:
itco-optsthedefiant
screamof theearlyavant-gardeand itselfbecomesa threatto establishedmusical values. Perhapsthisdisruptioncan be explainedas a
repetitioncompulsion.Freuddescribestheanalysand'spredicament
in this way: "He is obliged to repeat the repressedmaterialas a
itas something
contemporary
experienceinsteadof... remembering
the
to forgetits
to
Music
need
should
past."15 WhyEarly
belonging
is
not
hard
to
After
all, who today
original raison d'etre
imagine.
in
the
wish
to
would freelyadmit
liveas a fixture an antique shop, a
perhaps valuable but dead museum piece? Who, moreover,would
enjoyconcedingthathe has givenup on anymeaningfulcontempowishesto annihilatethe
raryart,and (what is worse)thathe secretly
of
modernism?
Thus
there
are
specter
perfectly
plausiblereasonswhy
fantasiesofthisorderareconcealedbeneathsuchcomfortable
websas
and thecomposer'sintentions.We can also understand
authenticity
in Early Music is not ordinarilyaccordedits
whydefamiliarization
due recognition:thedisruptionwas unintentional.
The Language of Resistance
To theextentthatdefamiliarization
withinEarlyMusicmimicked
theprovocationfirst
voicedbytheavant-garde,
it has also encouraged
similarformsof resistance.On thesurface,thisresistancemanifests
itselfin the sober calls formoderation:to revivehistoricalperformanceis admirableto a point,butnotifit becomesfanatic.Yet ifwe
examinethemetaphorsusedin theseinvocationstothegoldenmean,
an inexcusableviolationof
itappearsthatEarlyMusichas committed
social mores,as if it has exhibitedsome horribledisease in polite
society.The affrontthendemandssome act of censurein orderto
expose it, a public rebuke which the criticrationalizesas social
responsibility.
Consider firsttwo newspaperreviewsof works by Schoenberg
during1913-14:
performed
Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony-self-torture of a flagellant who whips himself
with a cat-o'-nine-tails while cursing himself! When a conglomeration of horns
15 SigmundFreud,BeyondthePleasurePrinciple(Leipzig, Vienna,Zurich,1920);rev.ed.
trans.JamesStrachey(London, 1961),p. 12.

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EarlyMusic

309

pushes upwardsthroughthe strings,it sounds like thewords,"You, monster!"A

hideous modernsound of thescourge!Schoenberg'sunappeasable natureis made
and a recklessadmission:"I am like that!"A sortof
clear: recklessself-mutilation
cat-music,whining,wailing,desperate.... Schoenbergis uncontrolled.... He bares
his breastin a furyof penitenceand showshis scars-and thespectacleis shocking.
And yet,if people mentionBrahms'schastity,one ought to speak of Schoenberg's
shamelessness.[ErnstDecsey,(Berlin)Signale,Feb. 4, 1914]16

Or else:
I fearand dislikethemusicofArnoldSchoenberg.... It is thedecompositionof the
thesound of
art,I thought,as I held myselfin myseat.... Whatdid I hear?Atfirst,
In thewelteroftonalidelicatechina shiveringintoa thousandluminousfragments.
tiesthatbruisedeach otheras theypassedand repassed,in thepreliminarygroupof
enharmoniesthatalmostmakethenose bleedand theeyeswater,thescalp tofreeze,
I
could notgeta centralgripon myself.Schoenbergis thecruelestofall composersfor
he mingleswithhis musicsharpdaggersat whiteheat,withwhichhe paresawaytiny
slicesofhis victim'sflesh.Anon he twiststheknifein thefreshwound and youreceive
anotherhorriblethrill.. .. Everycomposerhas his aura; theaura ofArnoldSchoenofsubtleugliness,ofbasestegoism,of
bergis, forme,theaura oforiginaldepravity,
and ofthemysticgrandiose.... Ifsuchmusicmaking
hatredand contempt,ofcruelty,
is everto becomeaccepted,thenI long forDeath theReleaser."7

There is, I regretto say,not much in Early-Musiccriticismthat

rivalsthehonestyand literary
competencein thesetwo texts.'8But a
superiorcompetitoris foundin GerardZwang,a Frenchsurgeonand
self-proclaimed
sexologist,who, in his book of 1977,A Contre-Bruit,
launches an unprecedentedattackon the infamyof Early Music.'9
Zwang complains thatFrenchNational Radio has succumbedto a
conditionhe calls "Necrobaroquisme."In respondingtothealluresof
theauthenticity
craze,he claims,theradio has propagatedthreeevils:
women
in churchchoirs,period instruments
boys supplant
replace
"modern"ones, and worstofall musicianstuneto Baroque pitch(a
16 Cited and translatedby Nicholas Slonimskyin his Lexicon ofMusical Invective(New

thetranslation
York,1952),pp. 156-57.I havemodified
slightly.
GibbonsHuneker,
TheNewYorkTimes,Jan.19,1913.QuotedinSlonimsky,
pp.
17James
wereordinary
153-54.Neither
DecseynorHuneker
philistines:
Decseywasa pupilofBruckner
Austrian
onmusic.Huneker
andan important
writer
theworks
ofRichard
Strauss,
popularized
andcounted
G. B. ShawandHavelockEllis.
amonghisfriends
a diaryentry
oftwoVictorian
18Onlyin theearlydayswhen,forexample,
ladiesrecords
a Dolmetsch
in 1892.Theydescribe
concert
"toothache
...
attending
callinguntotoothache
torture
... nothing
divineinit."CitedinMargaret
Dolmetsch:
TheManand
physical
Campbell,
hisMusic(Seattle,
Dolmetsch's
infamous
thismaysimply
1975),p.69.Considering
dilettantism,
beaccurate
reportage.
(Paris,1977).
19GerardZwang,A Contre-bruit

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310

The Musical Quarterly

semitonebelow contemporary).
Here is a sample of Zwang's tirade
againstEarlyMusic:
A grandioseprojectthatonly ends in . . . puttingback into circulationmusical
vehicleswhichought neverto have leftthegarage .... That is, old nails, bagpipes,
out-oftunecigar-boxes whichonlyproliferate
like
jew's harps,screechingfiddles,
..,
atticsand fleamarkets.
malignanttumorsin thepoor bodyofMusicinsteadofgracing
... All thisworthlessantiquarianismis vitiatedbya defectrenderingitnull and void:
theyplaya half-stepbelowpitch.And this,no (real) musiciancan bear.... Luckyare
thosemusicloverswithrelativepitch.Fortheothers,itis impossibleto listenwithout
discomfort,
nausea, withoutclenchingone's teeth.

His solution:
I sayitin all tranquillity.
GustavLeonhardtand consort,NikolausHarnoncourtand
sons,FransBruggenand assistantfifers,
Kuijken&8Co. arethepollutersofthemusical
environment.
anti-music.... And it is withthegreatest
They createanti-art,
joy that
[I] would see all thoseguiltyofmusicaloutragesthrownintoprison.Imprisonment
mustbe coupledwiththedestruction,
ofthoseold buggieswhichtheyhavethe
byfire,
to
call
musical
instruments.20
effrontery

MorethansixtyyearsseparateZwang fromDecseyand Huneker,

similar.
yetthestridenttoneand thearrayofmetaphorsarestrikingly
is
most
with
the
torture,
murder,
frequentamong
images,
Pathology
sin,and criminality
followingclose behind.Zwang'sown specialties
includereferences
towar,terrorism,
and pollution,all ofwhichenrich
an alreadyfertilefield.Now it is clear why Schoenberg'scriticsrespond to him the way theydo. With Zwang, however,the "symptoms"-low pitch, instrumentaland vocal sonoritiesper se-are
simplytoo trivialto account forhis uncontrolledanger. Instead,it
appears thatZwang is victimizedbya processofmusicaldefamiliarization which has robbed him of prizedpossessions.2'It is less the
Baroque violin thatupsetsZwang's sensibilitiesthan the Baroque
For Early Music
violinist'stinkeringwith musical fundamentals.22
20 Ibid.,

pp. 41, 15, 16.

which he already knew; he abuses,

21 His complaintscenterconsistentlyon repertory

moreover,not the typicallymediocreEarly-Musicdilettantebut the leading playersof the

advanceguard.
22 An examplewould be EarlyMusic's useofvibratowhichitseesas an additiveingredient
it is tautological,
similartoan ornament.Since vibratoin Mainstreampracticeis omnipresent,
or to use Roman Jakobson'sterm,"unmarked"withrespecttoexpression:sinceitalwaysrefers
to individualwarmth,itis almostmeaningless.In EarlyMusic,on theotherhand,vibratotakes
on a "marked"value whichenlargesthefieldofexpression:senzavibratono longerhas to mean
criticizesthe
music.EarlyMusic therefore
senza espressioneas in evenadvancedcontemporary
as one metaphysicaluniteitherpresentor absent,viewingit insteadas a
notionofexpressivity
rangeofemotionsexperiencedbythemusicalsubject.

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EarlyMusic

311

enablesa powerfuland sometimesdisturbinginsightintoa historical

a
subjectnot yetregimentedby the dictatesof thecultureindustry,
horizon
of
conventional
subjectlocatedbeyondtheepistemological
In addition,it servesto underminethemythicquali"expressivity."
ties of harmonyand restitutionwhich neo-Romanticculturehad
imputedto Baroque music.This, then,is perhapswhySchoenberg's
Chamber Symphonyof 1906 and Leonhardt'sBach in 1977 wreak
similarhavoc.
MusicologycontraEarlyMusic
themost
It is themusicologicalcommunity,
however,whichoffers
substantiveresistanceto Early Music. This may seem paradoxical.
Afterall, thescholarsweretheones who had nurturedEarlyMusic by
discoveringthemusicalrepertories
comprisingit,byeditingthemso
and bypublishingthetreatises.
Butaboveall themusicolrigorously,
viewthatmusicwas conditionedby
ogistschampionedthehistoricist
itstime.Fromhereitwas buta shortstepto thenecessaryconclusion:
Baroque musicrequiresBaroque performance
practice.Indeed,itwas
largelythroughmusicologicallobbying(or so the storygoes) that
Bach-Stokowskiwas deletedfromsymphonyprogramsin the first
place. But beginningin the 1960s,it became clear thatthe EarlyMusic progenywerecoming into conflictwiththeimplicitgoals of
and (sometimes)empostwarmusicology:accumulating,venerating,
balmingtheEuropean culturalheritage.23
The most significantformof musicologicalcritique thriveson
reprimandingEarly Music forits inadequate scholarship:that the
specificpracticeswhich Early-Musicadherentshave read about in
treatisesand seen confirmedin the musical notationare based on a
faultylogic. The mostvisibleproponentofthisviewis undoubtedly
FrederickNeumann, who has claimed since the 1960s thatseveral
importantconventionsof Early Music are historicalmisinterpretations.24
AccordingtohimEarlyMusic has fallenpreytoa "childhood
disease" (again, pathology!)which
23 All theseactivitiesare understandableresponsesto the demotionof high cultureby
society.The question is whetherapologetics,howeverappropriate,is methodcontemporary
ologicallyjustifiable.Being limitedto thepositive,thisorientationis oftenunable todeal with
truth.On this point see Adorno,Philosophie, p. 33; Philosophy,p. 26. But fora brilliant
see Hans RobertJauss,Asthetische
antidoteto Adorno'snegativity,
Erfahrungund literarische
Hermeneutik,Bd. 1: Versucheim Feld der asthetischenErfahrung(Munich, 1977), trans.
MichaelShaw,AestheticExperienceand LiteraryHermeneutics(Minneapolis,1982),pp. 13-21.
24 For a listof Neumann'spublications,see his biographyin The New Grove.

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The Musical Quarterly

312

is caused by a somewhatnaive trustin the infallibilityof historicaltreatises,the

in a faultyinterpretation
of thesedocuments.25
symptomsof[which]are manifested

is to show how theevidenceof thetreatises

Neumann's strategy
does not warranttheconventionalpracticesof EarlyMusic. For ina promiof Frenchovertures,
stance,he claims thattheoverdotting
nenttrademark
ofEarlyMusic,is a mythinventedbyDolmetsch.Not
onlydo thewitnesseswho allude to it (suchas J.J.Quantz)arrivetoo
a Baroque practice,butevennotationalevidencewhich
latetoconfirm
to
arguesforthecontrary-thatcomposershad to
points overdotting
it
prescribe because a conventionneverexisted.Althoughit is not
oftenmade explicit,Neumann's dismissalof Early Music's prized
conventionsgives the clear impressionthat "modern" playersare
perfectlyjustified in retaining the received wisdom of the
Mainstream-"Play as written!"-since so-calledhistoricalperformanceis a hoax.
This is why,in a sense,Neumannstressesthatthelessonhis work
teachesoutweighstheimportanceof his findings.As he puts it:
Whenwe play theovertures,
sarabandes,chaconnes,etc.of Lully, Rameau, Handel
and Bach,itisa mistaketodeprivethemoftheirmajesticdignityin favorofthefrantic
in Frenchovertures.]
heretooverdotting
In any
styleofjerksand jolts.[He is referring
case, formany listenersa prolongedseriesof such jerks and jolts can be rather
the
Othersmightfindsuch a stylestimulating,perhapsbecauseit reflects
irritating.
nervoustensionsofour age; theyhave theprivilegeof theirtaste,but mustcease the
claim of historicalauthenticity.26

Fromtherangeofmetaphors,one would thinkthatEarlyMusic is

somerevolutionary
forcetryingtotoppletheancienp
rigime. Notonly
does Early Music dethronethe monarchs("deprivingthemof their
majesticdignity");it compels themto do a sortof rock-and-roll
(the
twofold"jerksand jolts"). The keyfigurehereis surelyBach, whom
Neumannhas takenspecial pains to protectfromthesuggestionthat
his overtures
oughtto be dotted,thatinequalityoughtto apply in his
music, or that his trillsought regularlyto begin fromthe upper
neighbor.Even thetitleofNeumann'srecentmonographis revealing:

Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music with Special

Emphasis on J. S. Bach (Princeton,1978). No doubt Bach is the

workin performance
centerpieceofmuchtwentieth-century
practice,
25 Neumann,
"Thedotted
noteandtheso-called
French
style,"
EarlyMusic,V (1977),311,
first
in theRevuede
Harrisand EdmundShay.Thearticle
trans.
Raymond
appearedinFrench

musicologie,LI (1965).

26Neumann,
"The dotted
note,"p. 323.

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EarlyMusic

313

butthe"special emphasis"alludes to his almosticonlikestatus:Bach

is viewedas a monument,which,ifdefaced,mustcontendwiththe
wrathoftheworshippers.This is whythetoneofNeumann'scritique
is so formidable.
But tone is not substance,and thatis whythisreadingof Neuto
mann'smotivationsin no wayendangershisargument.Therefore,
disarm Neumann means to examine his methodologicalpremises.
But by thisI do not only mean catalogingerrorsin his logic.27 For
Neumann's strengthlies in his claim that Early Music lacks the
empiricalsupportto proveitsargument.But theblame lies lesswith
evidencethanwithEarlyMusic's relianceon theempiriinsufficient
cistmethodologyin thefirst
EarlyMusic has been
place. Specifically,
accurate"fact"tosuccumb
forcedbyitsown fetishforthehistorically
to the debatableview thatempiricismsaves all, thatonly the most
cautiousinferences
maybe drawnfromthe"evidence,"and thatonly
data (theneo-positivist
thatwhichis demonstrablebyverifiable
twist)
is admissible.
But ifwe look at thereal developmentof EarlyMusic,we do not
Insteadthere
findpassivebodiesof factsinducingcarefulinferences.
theoriesto exhave been musicianscoming up withever-changing
findingin thenotation,
plain whattheywerereadingin thetreatises,
Notonlyis theempiricist
methodand learningabouttheinstruments.
practice:it was nevera
ology unhelpfulin thestudyof performance
model forthe progressof Early Music.28Instead,historicalperformancemustbe recognizedas an evolvingand necessarilyincomplete
paradigm ratherthan as a set of documentedindex cards set atop
inferencesculled fromfreshmanlogic texts.Viewed thisway, Neumann no longerposes such a threat,sincehe can merelyknockdown
strawmen,and offerinsteadthe much touted"freedom"of Mainstreamconventions.What he contributes,on the other hand, are
useful anomalies that oblige Early Music to refineits hypotheses,
rejectinga powerfultheoryonlywhen it can be replacedwithsomethingbetter.
27 David Fullerhas donea witty
job ofthisin an articleentitled"Dotting,the'FrenchStyle'
and FrederickNeumann'sCounter-Reformation,"
EarlyMusic,V (1977),517-43.The religious
metaphor is particularlyapt, for what betterway to describe Early Music than as a
Reformation-thereturntothetruereligion,theidolsremovedfromchurch,and eventhetheses
nailed to thedoor.The JesuiticalNeumann plies sophisticalargumentsdesignedto confound
thefaithfuland reinstatethesupremacyof MotherChurch.
28 See, in thisregard,Paul K. Feyerabend,
AgainstMethod(London, 1975)and Sciencein a
Free Society(London, 1978),and also Allan R. Keiler,"The EmpiricistIllusion: Narmour's
BeyondSchenkerism,"in Perspectivesof New Music, XVII (1978), 161-95.

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314

The Musical Quarterly

EarlyMusic and theAestheticof Novelty

of medievaland Renaissancemusic,unlike BaThe repertories

roque and Classical music,had of course neverparticipatedin the
fortheyhad neverbeenfamiliarin thefirst
phase ofdefamiliarization,
how theygavea newleaseon lifeto
one
consider
Instead,
might
place.
thetraditionalaestheticcategoryofnovelty.Accordingto thishistorical impulse,theobjetd'art,like thecommodity,is requiredperpetuitselfin a newguise.Builtintothisimportantmotor
allytoregenerate
a senseof"progress"in thearea oftaste
in thehistoryofartare,at first,
But it was ofcourseearly
a
form
of
obsolescence.
and, later,
planned
which
modernism
wreaked
such havoc with the
twentieth-century
it withits own undesirableconseaestheticof novelty,confronting
directlywithan opquences-innovative artworkswhichconflicted
the
of
aesthetic
Thus,
stylistic
gratification.
although
developposed
mentof the avant-gardewas conceivedas eminentlyrational (the
Schoenbergsand Co. continuallyinsistedon theirdirectlinkswiththe
past)29theEuropean middleclasses took thepath of leastresistance
and dedicatedthemselvesto a predictablestandardrepertory.
Ifwe locatetherevivalofmedievaland Renaissancemusicin this
historicalcondition (which, tellingly,has changed littleover the
courseof thiscentury),thenit becomesclearthatthissectorof Early
Music kills two birdswithone stone.First,it promisesprogressby
And
producingan ever-"new"sourceofmusicalraritiesforthefuture.
if
be
and
to
it
second, promises
diverting pleasurable.Thus, you are
concernedthatthePhilharmonichas programmedBrahms'sSecond
Symphonyforthe thirdtimethisseason, you can attendan Earlyare stillunderheavyexcavaMusic concert,wheremanyrepertories
tion and prospectsfor a regular supply of historicalore remain
excellent.
go all
Along withthisreconciliationof noveltyand gratification
ofthecommodity:theexaggerationand
accoutrements
thelatter-day
deceptionof advertising;the promiseof the good life; the hint of
piquancy;thedemotionofaestheticquality;and theprecipitousdrop
in artisticniveau. These themescan be readilyobservedin a newspaper blurbannouncinga subscriptionseriesto theWaverlyConsort
("America'sforemostearlymusic ensemble")in which I have italicized items of interest.Note how peculiar this language would sound

29 Or,as CharlesWuorinenputitin 1975:"Credoin unammusicam."LinernotestoString

Trio et al., NonesuchH-71319.

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EarlyMusic

315

in a notice fora Mainstreamchamber-musicseries.The Waverly

series,entitled"Italia Mia," features:
Four brand new and exciting programs-saluting fivecenturies of great Italian music
and the seven colorful and historic cities in which it flourished... at the courts of the
Medici, Sforzasand Gonzagas... under Brunelleschi's fantastic dome forSanta Maria

delFioreorMichelangelo's
gloriousceilingfortheSistineChapel... in themosaic
ofSan Marco,thegildedpalazzialongtheGrandCanaland thejewel-box
vastness
of La Fenice.10Brilliantly
50 Medieval,
theatre
GiftedSolo Singersand Players,
and Baroqueinstruments,
Renaissance
includingviola da gamba-vielle-nun's
ute-vihuela-theorbo-sackbut-gemshorn-cornetto--oudfiddle-rebec--l
... Forthepasteightseasonsthe
shawm-rauschpfeife-citole-dulcian-psaltery
Consort'sAlice"TullyHall serieshas beensold out bysubscription
six
Waverly
monthsin advance,withhundreds
turnedawayat thebox office.To share the
treasurableexperienceof the 1982-83season, subscribeNOW and avoid
disappointment.30

EarlyMusic and theFlightfromEnvy

theculturalproductsofone's own timeis a
The failuretoconfront
featurewhichEarlyMusic shares,byand large,withtheMainstream.
mostpointedlyis in theirresponsetotheproblemof
Wheretheydiffer
social envy.Whereas the Mainstreamis forcedby the competitive
nature of societyto deal, for betteror forworse,with notions of
value-both theprincipalactorsand themusicalobjectsare publicly
recognizedas salable commodities-EarlyMusic likesto pretendthat
the problem does not exist. Denying envy,however,is hardlyan
thedenial is costly.For whatoftenappears
antidote.On thecontrary,
as a pleasant diversionfrompresent-daytensions,a utopian romp
throughthecourtsofEurope,mayin factintroduce,bywayofmusic,
conditionswhich are farmorecoercivethan thosethatEarly Music
celebrateditsliberation,
place. Having first
soughttoescapein thefirst
a moresecuresetofchains.By
EarlyMusic turnsaroundand proffers
consideringtherepressionofenvy,itbecomespossibletoexplainwhy
Early Music so oftenseems to take on the trappingsof a severe
monasticorder,a disguisewhichotherwiseeludesanalysis.
Let us considerthestatusof envywithinothersectorsof serious
"advanced" composer,forexample,
music.31 For the contemporary
30 The New York Times, May 16, 1982.
31 The standardworkon the
sociologyof envyis Helmut Schoeck,Der Neid (Freiburg,
1966),trans.Michael Glennyand BetsyRoss as Envy:A TheoryofSocial Behavior(New York,
in Group Psychologyand theAnalysisof
1969).Freudtreatsthequestionofsocial envybriefly
theEgo, trans.JamesStrachey(London, 1959).Melanie Klein'sEnvyand Gratitudeattemptsto
augmentpsychoanalytic
thinkingon thispoint.

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316

The Musical Quarterly

theencounterwithenvyis simplyunavoidable.Today's composer

realizesfromthestartthatmass adorationis not in thecards.He has
therefore
compensatedforhis enviousdesiresvis-a-vissuccessful"enbeforethefirst
tertainers"
dropofinkfallson thepage. This maytake
theformofa snobbishelitism("Who caresifyou listen?"),32 a vengeor a retreatinto the
ful vigil awaiting the vindicationof posterity,
hermeticcocoon of New-Musiccircles,wherethe injuredgive one
anothercomfort.WithinMainstreamClassical music,too,envyand
across the social spectrum
its relatedguilt are obvious. Performers
muststrugglewithauditions,juries,competitions--notto mention
and critics.In response,the"artist"feelscommanagers,contractors,
achieve
to
at
the
expenseofhis colleagues,toadmire(i.e. envy)
pelled
his superiors,and feela measureof guilt about thosewhom he has
vanquished. Although most musicians would not put it in these
terms,envy,a pervasivefeatureof all social life,cannotfail to be a
dailyfactof lifein Mainstreammusicalculture.
It was probablycapitalistdevelopmentof the late Middle Ages
whichfirst
broughtenvyintospecialprominencein theWest.Firstit
legitimizedthecovetouswishforthedesiredobjectthroughtheideology of the marketplace,making accumulation ("enlightenedselfinterest")tantamountto social progress.It latermasked the guilt
(caused by the fantasticenactmentof theenviousdesireas much as
ofbeingenvied)withtheidea offormalequality.
fromthediscomfort
at
The social contractthatresultedrequiresthatenvybe omnipresent
thesame timethatitsidentityremaincovert.Perhapsthisis why,in
AmericanEnglish forexample, the historicalsense of "envy" has
eitherbeen neutralized(as in: "I envyyou yourtripto Europe") or
confusedwithjealousy (which requiresa thirdparty).With either
meaning,theuglywish to see thedownfallof someoneperceivedas
or
superioris obscured,eitherbysuppressingtheoriginaldefinition
by maskingit underthesign ofan acceptableRomantictriingle.33
Withinthesphereofartisticproduction,our culturealso tendsto
32

The titleofan articlebyMiltonBabbitt,High Fidelity,VIII (1959),38.The originaltitle,

"The Composer as Specialist," was deleted by the magazine and the now infamous title
substitutedwithoutthe author's permission(privatecommunicationfromMilton Babbitt).
Although it has littleto do with the substanceof Babbitt'sarticle,the catchierphrase has
achieveda kind of notorietyand can serveas an exaggeratedemblemstandingforthe tragic
isolationof thecontemporary
composer.
damselfroma brutishsuitoris a preferable
fantasyto disposing
SS Rescuingthedistressed
of a secretly
enviedenemywhose veryexistenceis galling.

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EarlyMusic

317

thecreativepowerofenvy.Forjustas envyunderwrites
underestimate
theaccumulationof capital, it also sponsorsthatparticularformof
artisticprogressprevalentin theWestsincetheRenaissance:learnthe
master'scraft,admire(envy)him,and thenoutdo him (read:do him
and inhibitingeffect
of the"evil eyeof
in). The generallydestructive
transformed
intoa productiveact,whoseidentifying
envy"is thereby
sign is thepresenceof something"new."34
If the musical Mainstreamrepresents,as it were,an idealized
versionof postindustrialsociety,with its transactionsdesigned to
coordinateand rechannelthe harmfuleffectsof envy,then Early
as a special psychologicalhaven where
Music mustbe characterized
It
is as ifEarlyMusicsignalsa returntoa
is
not
to
exist.
envy
supposed
as
presumedstateof innocencebeforeenvybecameinstitutionalized
themotorofsocial progress.A Brechtiantablecomparingthedominant social code of Early Music with thatof the Mainstreamhighin a revealingway:
lightsthesedifferences
EarlyMusic
1. The conductoris banished.
2. All membersof the ensembleare
equal.
3. Ensemblemembersplaya number
of instruments,sometimessing, and
commonlyexchangeroles.
4. Symptomatic grouping: the
consort--like-mindedmembersof a
harmoniousfamily.
5. Virtuosityis not a set goal and is
implicitlydiscouraged.
6. Technical level of professionalsis
commonlymediocre.
7. The audience(oftenamateurs)may
at home.
play thesame repertory
8. The audience identifieswith the
performers.

Musical Mainstream
1. The conductoris thesymbolofaustature,and social difference.
thority,
2. The orchestrais organized in a
hierarchy.
3. The "division of labor" is strictly
defined,withone playerper part.
4. Symptomatic grouping: the
concerto-opposing forcesstruggling
forcontrol;later,the one against the
many.
5. Virtuosity
definestheprofessional.
6. Technical standardsare high and
competitive.
7. The audience marvelsat the technical demandsof therepertory.
8. The audience idealizes the
performers.

to Haydn,forexample,particularly
as depicted
in Maynard
34 Beethoven's
relationship
Solomon'sBeethoven
theprocessI am referring
to.
(NewYork,1977),typifies

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The Musical Quarterly

EarlyMusic

Musical Mainstream

9. Programsare packed withhomogeneous worksand are oftendull.

9. Programs contain contrasting

items and are designed around a
climax.

10. Criticsreporton the instruments,

thecomposers,piecesand that"a good
timewas had byall."

10. Criticscommenton theperformer

and his interpretation.

As thisschematiccomparisonmakesclear,EarlyMusic attempts
to hold envious desiresin check by negatingeverysign of social
It is as if,withtheabsenceof thetyrannicalfather-master
difference.
the childrencan live togetherin peace
(who epitomizesdifference),
and fellowship.Some formof thisprocess,in which social envyis
transformed
intogroupsolidarity,
occursno doubtin all social formations.EarlyMusicsimplydisplaysa superiortalentin thisregard,but
withan importantdifference:
therepressionofenvyleavesin itswake
an enforcedroutineand a uniformmediocrity.The colorlessand
suffocating
atmosphereencounteredso oftenin Early-Musicperformancesis therefore
notmerelytheresultofinferior
techniquebutthe
pricepaid foravoidingtherealityofenvy.35
EarlyMusic and "the Rules"
Consciously,this"aetiologyoftheEarly-Musiccomplex"depends
ofperformance
on a peculiarunderstanding
practice,thatitis in facta
set of rules which guaranteescorrectmusical behavior.But these
can be
rules-to theextentthattheoriesabout historicalperformance
discussedas a coherentset-are subjectto a precariousdialectic:they
defineEarlyMusicat thesame timethattheyendangeritsviabilityas
critique.
Viewed fromoutside Early Music, the rules appear as a secret,
powerfulcode,a concreteyetsomehowinscrutablebodyofknowledge
As such, theywield enormous
which assurescorrectinterpretation.
35 The seeminglyimprovedstandardsofEarlyMusicduringthelastfewyearsare probably
musiciansjoining the
due lesstorealtechnicalprogressthantoan influxofconservatory-trained
ranksin the hope of escaping the debilitatingstruggleforexistenceon the "outside." These
refugeesfromtheMainstreambelievetheyhaveeluded thecut-throat
competitionof the "real
world." But theirnew-foundfreedomis largelyillusory.

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EarlyMusic

319

influenceon Mainstreammusicians,who would like nothingbetter

than to get theirhands on the code and know the awful truth.36
advanceofEarlyMusic
In facttheyreallywishtohaltthethreatening
its
secrets.
of
a
neat
By
acquiringtherules,it
expropriation
through
that
deal
with
those
marginallyunimportant
seems--particularly
will be able totake
areassuchas ornamentation-theseMainstreamers
retain
middleroad,keep to theirmoderninstruments,
a comfortable
criticismbythe
theirviewson phrasingand articulation,and forestall
growing numberof Early-Musicadherents.But tryas theymay,
somethingis always amiss: the rules do not workwell on modern
The
and counterintuitive.
and oftenseemcontradictory
instruments
"Since musicis a living
Mainstreammusicianthenbecomesresentful:
relevantto modern
art,I reservetherightto makemyinterpretations
audiences." Of coursetheappeal to relevanceis somewhatdisingenideasarewarmed-over
uous,consideringthat"contemporary"
practiof the
ces of Vienna in the 1920sprettiedup by the perfectionism
The
rules
of
Music
have
such
a
No
matter.
Early
industry.
recording
be
circumvented
an
that
must
and
they
by uneasy
prestige jurisdiction
compromiseor rejectedoutright.
This special status which the Mainstreamgrantsto the rules
cannotbutbe a sourceofpridetoEarlyMusicianswho haveswornthe
oath of allegiance. No need now to takea daringinterpretive
leap;
properapplication of the rules guaranteesaccurate"period style."
we have somethingyou
The rulesalso ensureidentitybydifference:
oftheruleshad beenintegral
lack. Historically,ofcourse,therecovery
ofthemusicalobject.Butnow,itseems,therules
to thereconstitution
have losttheirexperimentalpotentialand becomedogma,dispensed
therankestamateurintoauthentic,historical
as an elixirtransporting
time.
fromtheMainstream.The modern
Hereagain EarlyMusicdiffers
violinistin theconservatory
workingup theSibeliusconcertobelieves
he is expressinghisinnermostfeelingsthroughthemusic.The typical
distrustshis intuitiveimpulsesas a
EarlyMusician,on thecontrary,
harmfulresidueof a Mainstreamupbringing.Instead,he reads the
proper treatises,investsin expensive facsimiles,consults sourcecriticaleditions,and worriesthathe is deviatingfromtheproperstyle.
The playersoon comes to feartherulesas harshproscriptions.
Style
towardthemusical
36 This is partlytocompensatefortheguilttheyfeelat theirirreverence
texts:theytoo are trainedto viewartas moralimprovement.

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The Musical Quarterly

no longerelucidatesbut only inhibits.This is why,withinmuch of

is discouraged,and deviancefromthe
EarlyMusic,experimentation
normsis brandedheresy.
The Revoltof theAdvanceGuard
The hegemonyoftherulesin EarlyMusichas meanwhilecometo
be repudiatedby theleading musiciansin themovement.This was
bound to happen: iftheyspokehonestly,theywould admitthatthey
had neverregardedperformance
practiceas anythingmorethanan
initialstimulusto breakwiththeMainstream.But at leastfromthe
of the 1960s,it certainlyseemedas if theseplayers
pronouncements
had discovereda scienceof interpretation.
They weretheones, after
all, who had exploitedthe slogans of "authenticity,""original instruments,""firstversion,"and "composer'sintentions."Perhaps
these gimmicks of advertisingwere once useful, but they have
On theother
now thattheyhavebecomecommonproperty.
backfired
in theopposite
hand, theadvance guard has now overcompensated
direction.(They were also tiredof the accusation that theywere
theless
unfeelingantiquarians.)Hence: "The moreI readthetreatises
heart."
the
"I
from
as
often:
And
I know."
play only
These disclaimers,while appearing to contradictthe underpinningsof EarlyMusic,can be safelydisregarded.For theproofof the
puddingliesnotwithrationalizationspostfestumbutwiththestatus
of theperfoimances.And here,in myjudgment,theadvance guard
has continuedan admirable tradition:funnelingthe raw material
informedbyhistoricalcritiquethroughthecontemporary
subjectto
new
and
If
the
outward
of
something
express
complex.
signs revoltare
attest
to
a
rift
between
they
symptomatic,
growing
professionaland.
amateur.This distancemayin factproveusefulin safeguardingthe
For thosein theadvanceguard
independenceof theantiobjectivists.
avoidedpreordainedformulas,whichis why
have programmatically
theirinsightsresistduplicationbystudents.Atbest,theyhavecreated
an inimitableantistyle.37
on thefuturedevelopmentof theadvanceguardstemlargelyfromthe
37 The constraints
and homogeneous
whichencouragestechnicalflawlessness
demandsof therecordingindustry,
is preoccupiedwith
expression"in theage of mechanicalreproduction."Once theperformer
to formulatenovel approachesto interpretation.
"sound forsound's sake" it becomesdifficult
One wondersifthecriticalmomentof EarlyMusic has passed.

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EarlyMusic

321

EarlyMusic as Hermeneutics
I drewa distincIn circumscribing
thescope ofthisinvestigation,
tion betweenEarly Music as a social ensembleand therepertory
it
takesas its primaryobject. This was above all a tacticalmove,designed to put the spotlighton the actorsinsteadof the play, as is
usually done. But the distinctionalso provesusefulin the way it
highlights another pair of terms familiar to the humanistic
facedwitha text.Indeed,EarlyMusiccan
disciplines-the interpreter
viewed
as
a
be
classical hermeneuticactivity,in thatit attemptsto
ferret
out meaningshiddenbeneathth?surface.Seen in thisway,we
mightconsiderEarly Music withrespectto what Paul Ricoeurhas
called thetwo poles of hermeneutics.38
The first
pole, originatingin
biblicalexegesis,takestherestoration
ofmeaningas itsgoal. As such,
the interpretation
figureslargelyas a revelationof the sacredand
maintainsan attitudeofrespecttowardthesymbol.The secondpole,
on the otherhand, attemptsa demystification
of meaning,which
underliesthesymbolas a disguise.This hermeneutics
is suspiciousof
the symbolbut hopes, throughits interpretation,
to minimizethe
illusion. Althoughinterpretive
stylesareoftenreducedtoone formor
theother,Ricoeurobservesthatthegreatmoderninterpreters
of the
second school-he names Freud,Marx, and Nietzsche-manage to
mediatestrategically
betweenbothpoles. Asa consequence,demystification and semanticrestoration
are not logicallypriorto each other,
but are inextricably
linked.
If Mainstreamcriticsof Early Music have misjudgedit, it is because theyhaveyettoacknowledgethehermeneutic
circleenveloping
theiropinions. Admittedly,
Adorno suffered
fromno such naivete.
But he jumped too quickly,perhaps,into the second hermeneutic
mode, therebyneutralizinghis own dialectic.To its credit,Early
Music is one of the fewinterpretive
strategiesto have bravedboth
hermeneutic
albeit
with
poles,
varyingdegreesofsuccess.Perhapsthis
is its mostprofoundstatementto thetwentieth
century:withonlya
religious respect for historical reconstruction-the objectivist
stance-the revelationtendsto unveila mirroredimage of theinterpreter. But with only a perfunctorydismissal of historical
38 Paul Ricoeur,Freudand Philosophy,trans.Denis Savage (New Haven, 1970),
pp. 26-27.
See also JohnThompson's introductionto Ricoeur'sHermeneuticsand theHuman Sciences,
trans.,ed. JohnThompson (Cambridge,1981),p. 6.

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322

The Musical Quarterly

remainsinperformance-Adorno'sskepticism-thedemystification
do
without
Music
cannot
both
modes of
complete. For Early
and
it
is
to
interpretation-restoration critique-if
signifybeyonda
dead past and point to an idiom notyetinvented.

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