authenticity

In music, a trend initiated in Austria and the Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s aiming to reproduce the original conditions of early music performance and instrumentation as a means of rediscovering aesthetic terms of reference. It was pioneered by performers like Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt. Authenticity stimulated important practical research in manuscript editing and transcription, instrument making, dance, architectural acoustics, and vocal techniques and encouraged performance of vocal works in the original language. The interest in authenticity grew rapidly; there are a number of flourishing and highly regarded ‘authentic’ ensembles in the USA and in every major West European country as well as in certain Central European centres.

Notable exponents include the conductors Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Parrott, Roger Norrington, John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock, William Christie, Nicholas McGegan, Reinhardt Goebel, Frans Brüggen, and the musicians Ton Koopman, David Munrow (woodwind), Anthony Rooley (lute), Jaap Schröder (violin), Emma Kirkby (soprano), and Frans Brüggen (flute).