The End of Early Music —— A Period Performer's History of Music for the Twenty-First Century

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in period stye performance (historically informed performance or HIP as the author prefers). It is full of interesting insights and even the densest points are often brought into focus by an excellent simile or metaphor. I knocked one star off because of the excessive time spent on knocking down modern style. The author approaches various aspects of what we know about Baroque music performance from multiple points of view in an attempt to give a very clear picture. The musical examples on the Oxford University Press site really help. Too bad some of them are "temporarily unavailable" when you try to listen to them.

Bueno

At first I couldn't stand this book. Every little section seemed to formulaically begin with someone else's opinion, a quote from some scholar or opinionator, as tho the author pulled a skillion little zingers out of years of reading and assembled them all as headings on every subject in the book. Since reading Haskell's survey of the history of the Early Music Revival, I'm returning to this book and seeing it thru new eyes. The little zingers are still irritating, and the choice of musical examples (which you need to either own or track down or subscribe to) date the book (2007). But the premise is becoming more valid with every day as more and more performers are speaking this particular musical dialect natively and without coming to it from some other one (20C "classical" music dialect). The book addresses the full spectrum of issues in performance of the repertoire carefully and thoughtfully, especially from the basis of a long life of involvement with performance. So one finds chapters dealing with instruments, ornaments, sources, etc. The point size of the font is very small, there is a lot of text to chew on and for middle-aged eyes it might be some work to do so, but give it a try. I believe the book is not intended for anything like a straight-thru reading.

This is one of the most entertaining and honest books on the subject of early music and the world of period performance in modern times. Haynes retells the remarkable history of the early music movement, from the mid-twentieth century through the past decade, discussing how the prominent performers and pedagogues in the field have shaped the path we are currently on. This book is essential for anyone who is actively performing or interested in historical performance, inspiring us all to continue actively combining creativity, musicianship, and scholarship.

The most thought provoking book I have read in some time addressing the relevance of not only early music, but all classical music in general.

Bruce Haynes latest book "The End of Early Music" is superb, and applicable to those of us in the Period music field, as well as to all classical musicians and classical music organization administrators. As we all struggle for audience and relevance, this book can provide context and challenge. Recommended without any reservation.

Fantastic book with great musical examples online! I agree 90% with his ideas; most HIP musicians should read it...congratulations I use it for my teaching lessons

Excellent book

Purchased as a gift for an Early Musician, he is very pleased to read Haynes' thoughts.

Muy buen libro

At first I couldn't stand this book. Every little section seemed to formulaically begin with someone else's opinion, a quote from some scholar or opinionator, as tho the author pulled a skillion little zingers out of years of reading and assembled them all as headings on every subject in the book.Since reading Haskell's survey of the history of the Early Music Revival, I'm returning to this book and seeing it thru new eyes. The little zingers are still irritating, and the choice of musical examples (which you need to either own or track down or subscribe to) date the book (2007). But the premise is becoming more valid with every day as more and more performers are speaking this particular musical dialect natively and without coming to it from some other one (20C "classical" music dialect). The book addresses the full spectrum of issues in performance of the repertoire carefully and thoughtfully, especially from the basis of a long life of involvement with performance. So one finds chapters dealing with instruments, ornaments, sources, etc.The point size of the font is very small, there is a lot of text to chew on and for middle-aged eyes it might be some work to do so, but give it a try. I believe the book is not intended for anything like a straight-thru reading.

Fantastic book with great musical examples online! I agree 90% with his ideas; most HIP musicians should read it...congratulationsI use it for my teaching lessons