Editing Historically informed performance (section)

==Recovering early performance practices==
[[File:L’Orfeo. Favola in musica. Reprint of the First Edition of the Score, Venice 1609 - Toccata.jpg|thumb|Reprint of the 1st Edition of Monteverdi's ''[[L'Orfeo]]'' (1609); musicologists refer to [[Music manuscript|autograph scores]] or early editions to interpret performance practice]]
[[File:Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the musicians, B-I-2 162R lute rebab.jpg|thumb|Historical images, such as this Galician 13th-century illustration of lutanists, can inform modern performance practice, but must be interpreted with caution]]

===Interpreting musical notation===
Some familiar difficult items are as follows:

*Early composers often wrote using the same symbols as today, yet in a different meaning, often context-dependent. For example, what is written as an [[appoggiatura]] is often meant to be longer or shorter than the notated length,<ref>C. P. E. Bach, ''Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen'', Berlin 1753: Teil 1, Section 2 Par. 5.</ref> and even in scores as late as the 19th century there is disagreement over the meaning (dynamic and/or agogic) of hairpins.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Poli|first=Roberto|title=The Secret Life of Musical Notation|publisher=Amadeus Press|year=2010|location=Milwaukee, WI}}</ref>
*The notation may be partial. E.g., the note durations may be omitted altogether, such as in [[unmeasured prelude]]s, pieces written without [[Beats per minute|rhythm]] or [[Measure (music)|metre]] indications. Even when the notation is comprehensive, non-notated changes are usually required, such as rhythmic shaping of passagework, pauses between sections, or additional arpeggiation of chords. Cuts and repetitions were common.
*The music may be written using alternative, non-modern notations, such as [[tablature]]. Some tablature notations are only partially decoded, such as the notation<ref>Peter Greenhill, ''The Robert ap Huw Manuscript: An Exploration of its Possible Solutions'', 5 vols. (all), Bangor: University of Wales, CAWMS dissertation, 1995–2000.</ref> in the harp manuscript<ref>Thurston Dart, "Robert ap Huw's Manuscript of Welsh Harp Music", ''The Galpin Society Journal'', Vol 21 (1963). {{JSTOR|841428}}.</ref> by [[Robert ap Huw]].
*The reference [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] of earlier music cannot generally be interpreted as designating the same pitch used today.
*Various tuning systems ([[Musical temperament|temperament]]s), are used. Composers always assume the player will choose the temperament, and never indicate it in the score.<ref>"Stimmung und Temperatur", in F. Zaminer, ed., ''Geschichte der Musiktheorie'', Vol. 6: "Hören, Messen und Rechnen in der Frühen Neuzeit", Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (1987) {{ISBN|978-3-534-01206-0}}.</ref>
*In most ensemble music up to the early Baroque, the actual musical instruments to be used are not indicated in the score, and must be partially or totally chosen by the performers. A well-discussed example can be found in Monteverdi's ''[[L'Orfeo]]'', where the indications on which instruments to use are partial and limited to critical sections only.<ref>Jane Glover, "Solving the Musical Problem" in John Whenham (ed.) ''Claudio Monteverdi: Orfeo'', 138–155. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1986. {{ISBN|0-521-24148-0}}</ref>
*Issues of pronunciation, that impact on musical accents, carry over to church [[Latin]], the language in which a large amount of early vocal music was written. The reason is that Latin was customarily pronounced using the speech sounds and patterns of the [[Latin regional pronunciation|local]] vernacular language.

===Mechanical music===
Some information about how music sounded in the past can be obtained from contemporary mechanical instruments. For instance, the Dutch [[Museum Speelklok]] owns an 18th-century mechanical organ of which the music programme was composed and supervised by [[Joseph Haydn]].<ref>Rob van der Hilst, "[http://www.derecensent.nl/recensies/haydnh.htm Fluitekruid van Joseph Haydn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426051718/http://www.derecensent.nl/recensies/haydnh.htm |date=2012-04-26 }}", review of Jan Jaap Haspels, Marije Hulleman, and Bob van Wely, ''Haydn herboren: 12 originele opnamen uit 1793'' (Utrecht: Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement, 2004), {{ISBN|90-801699-3-5}}. ''De Recensent.nl'' (2004, accessed January 2014).</ref>

===Tuning and pitch===
Until modern era, different tuning references have been used in different venues. The baroque oboist Bruce Haynes has extensively investigated surviving wind instruments and even documented a case of violinists having to retune by a minor third to play at neighboring churches.<ref>Bruce Haynes, "Pitch Standards in the Baroque and Classical Periods" (diss., U. of Montreal, 1995).</ref>{{Page needed|date=November 2009}}

===Iconographic evidence===
The research of musicologists often overlaps with the work of [[art historian]]s; by examining paintings and drawings of performing musicians contemporary to a particular musical era, academics can infer details about performance practice of the day. In addition to showing the layout of an orchestra or ensemble, a work of art may reveal detail about contemporary playing techniques, for example the manner of [[Violin technique#Bowing techniques|holding a bow]] or a wind player's [[embouchure]]. However, just as an art historian must evaluate a work of art, a scholar of musicology must also assess the musical evidence of a painting or illustration in its historical context, taking into consideration the potential cultural and political motivations of the artist and allow for [[artistic license]]. An historic image of musicians may present an idealised or even fictional account of musical instruments, and there is as much a risk that it may give rise to a historically misinformed performance.{{sfn|Lawson|Stowell|1999|p=17-18}}