florida state university college of music performance practice

increasing amount of expressive qualities that only a half-a-century ago were subject to
ridicule and claims of anachronism.
The value of the present study documents the past and present philosophies,
ideology and theories of performance practice and their application upon one
representative case study, Johann Sebastian Bach‟s Passio secundum Johannem. What
makes this dissertation unique is that prior studies contrast recordings prior to and during
the Historically Informed Practice Movement. Yet this dissertation only reviews
performances that have been recorded and commercially marketed within the last twenty-
five years, thus solely within the period designated as the Historically Informed
Performance Movement.
Chapter 2 traces the enterprise of performance within the last century. First, an
attempt to clarify the term “early music” recognizes that while it usually means a
repertory before 1800, of late this has been liberally expanded by various individuals to
encompass music in the nineteenth and even early twentieth centuries. Early music not
only designates a particular repertory it also insinuates a manner of performance style.
Several other synonyms have been used in conjunction with “early music.” Phrases such
as the “authenticity movement” and “historically informed performance movement” have
additionally been used throughout the century.
One purpose of this chapter is to acknowledge that the antecedents of being
“historically aware” occurred much earlier than mid-twentieth century, as many believe.
The nineteenth century brought about dramatic upheaval in social and technological
affairs. The dissolution of the patronage system decreased the demand for new music
and altered its purpose from a social and pragmatic milieu to more of an individual and
inspirational endeavor. Social and Industrial Revolutions brought an unfrequented growth
and power to the middle or bourgeois class who became the new consumers of music.
Heightened awareness and interest of music from the past were championed by
“traditionalist” composers of the Romantic Period. Composers such as Johannes Brahms,
Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, just to name a few, were infatuated with the
music of the past and drew upon it regularly for inspiration. These same composers were
also responsible for resurrecting past repertoire and introducing it to the public, thus
ensuring its continued legacy.
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