A collection of essays, which question many orthodox beliefs of the performance practice tradition and take a critical look at the early music movement. Coverage includes Haydn's ornaments, Mozart interpretation, Handel's overtures and binary and ternary rhythms.

The revival of interest in early instruments that began over a hundred years ago has more recently led to a desire amongst scholars, performers, and listeners to understand how old instruments sounded, how music was sung and by whom, and how musical symbols were interpreted. The essays brought together in this series show how the results of research into performance practice have fundamentally changed the way that early music is performed today. The repertoire represented ranges broadly across Western art music, both secular and sacred, and each volume addresses issues that arise in both vocal and instrumental music. This collection of the most influential English-language writings about performance practice published within the past several decades is an essential reference tool for libraries. In addition, by bringing together important articles in the field from disparate journals which are often difficult to locate and of limited access, students are able to study leading articles side by side for comparison, whilst lecturers are provided with an invaluable 'one-stop' teaching resource.

David Whitwell is one of the most influential college band directors of the twentieth century and the author of more than forty books on music, conducting, education, history and aesthetics. In this new collection of essays, "Essays on Performance Practice," he provides information on many of the topics missing from modern music education. Band conductors will find illuminating chapters on topics such as aesthetics, seating plans, time and placement, movement, and Classical Period performance idioms. This book also includes fifteen essays on Making Band Masterpieces Musical which address performance practice issues in the most popular wind band works such as the Holst Suites and the Milhaud Suite Francaise."

Over the last dozen years, the writings of Richard Taruskin have transformed the debate about "early music" and "authenticity." Text and Act collects for the first time the most important of Taruskin's essays and reviews from this period, many of which now classics in the field. Taking a wide-ranging cultural view of the phenomenon, he shows that the movement, far from reviving ancient traditions, in fact represents the only truly modern style of performance being offered today. He goes on to contend that the movement is therefore far more valuable and even authentic than the historical verisimilitude for which it ostensibly strives could ever be. These essays cast fresh light on many aspects of contemporary music-making and music-thinking, mixing lighthearted debunking with impassioned argumentation. Taruskin ranges from theoretical speculation to practical criticism, and covers a repertory spanning from Bach to Stravinsky. Including a newly written introduction, Text and Act collects the very best of one of our most incisive musical thinkers.

This classic reference work, the best one-volume music dictionary available, has been brought completely up to date in this new edition. Combining authoritative scholarship and lucid, lively prose, the Fourth Edition of The Harvard Dictionary of Music is the essential guide for musicians, students, and everyone who appreciates music. The Harvard Dictionary of Music has long been admired for its wide range as well as its reliability. This treasure trove includes entries on all the styles and forms in Western music; comprehensive articles on the music of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East; descriptions of instruments enriched by historical background; and articles that reflect today’s beat, including popular music, jazz, and rock. Throughout this Fourth Edition, existing articles have been fine-tuned and new entries added so that the dictionary fully reflects current music scholarship and recent developments in musical culture. Encyclopedia-length articles by notable experts alternate with short entries for quick reference, including definitions and identifications of works and instruments. More than 220 drawings and 250 musical examples enhance the text. This is an invaluable book that no music lover can afford to be without.