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Description: |
The year 1685 saw the birth of no fewer than three baroque geniuses: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Georg Fredric Handel (1685-1759), and the lesser known, but equally brilliant harpsichordist, Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). It's quite common now to hear the music of these three composers performed on "authentic instruments", which usually implies not only the use of original instruments or copies of them, but also an ensemble of appropriate size, fidelity to the composer's tempi and dynamic markings, and the tuning pitch used at the time. For an easy-to-read discussion of the ingredients and merits of "historically informed performances", see the articles by Lampson and McComb. The PIPE List is a compilation of period instrument performance ensembles. It also has links to the home pages of many of these ensembles; see, for example, the home pages of Tafelmusik, Les Violons du Roy, and Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music. |
