42 / CHRONICLESnReprise: The Extraordinary Revivalnof Early Music is an odd, hybrid booknwith the admirable goal of “showingnreal people making music.” The firstnhalf is text, general chapters on thenhistory and development of the movementnand chapters devoted to specificnheroes: Arnold Dolmetsch, NoahnGreenberg, Thomas Binkley, thenHarnoncourts, the Kuijken brothers,nFrans Briiggen, and Gustav Leonhardt.nThe second half is photographsn(some elegant, some pedestrian) ofnpeople mentioned in the text. Thisnsection seems like a cross between anhigh-school yearbook and a fan magazine.nI think only dedicated fans willnfind it a compelling reason to own thenbook. The text, written by, Joel Cohen,nhead of the Boston Camarata, will benof interest to a larger group of people.nI assumed that I would like thisnbook, written by a respected performernin a field which fascinates me andnwhich has changed the way I teachnand play. From the beginning, however,nI found it annoying in several ways.nThe prose, for example, is both coynand casual and often quite purple.nCohen seems to have assumed that hisnfirst choice of words would suffice.nAfter the first page, I began to watchnfor offensive words and phrases. Henwas cute: “We are, of course, awarenthat the dulcian and the isorhythmicnmotet are no longer the commonnhousehold objects they nevernwere. …” His phrases jarred: “thennow plethoric discography,” “livingnactualizations of many masterpieces,”n”to autofinance his own orchestra.”nOccasionally, particularly toward thenends of chapters, his prose becamenpositively lurid: “As the twentieth centurynlurches and heaves toward its finalndecade, uncertain whether life orndeath is its goql, every sign of hope andnrenewal has more than ordinary importance.”nAs I read, small annoyances begannto be overshadowed by major doubtsnabout the book’s underlying assumptions.nI often stopped reading altogethernwhile I puzzled out my reactions toncasual generalizations. Cohen sees thenearly music revival too simply as partnof the modernist rebellion in the artsnin the early 20th century. The termsnhe uses to describe this rebellion reflectna crude view of society in whichnthe traditionally trained musician andnthe ordinary concert-goer are ignorant,nnarrow-minded, and moved bynthe worst possible motives. He describesnthe avant-garde as a reaction ton”the malaise in our cultural establishment,”n”the deadening effects of toonmuch standardization and repetitionnon our creative spirit,” and “the dominantnvalues of the concert world.”nThey rejected a “quasi-religious reverencentoward a fossilized musical repertoire.”nIt is ironic that he also describesnthe attraction of early music in thenlanguage of religious rebirth: “There isnsomething in the depths of the earlynmusic repertoire that invites us tonchange our values, to alter our lives.n. . . If you give it a chance, the musicnof the distant past will turn you aroundnand make you a different person.”nEarly music has “created a psychicnspace for self-affirmation.”nClearly there was an element ofnjustifiable rebellion in the early musicnrevival, and like any rebellion, it oftennmet with rejection, though (as I haventried to show) it also met with appreciationnand acceptance. If Cohen’s attitudenis representative of the movement,nit practically demandednrejection. Listen to the arrogance behindnhis imaginative reconstruction ofnthe effect of the early music movement:n”a threat to the local musicnteachers …” “Too risky for a conservativenmusic school!” The early musiciann”will corrupt the youth and giventhem wrong ideas of what great musicnis supposed to sound like! She willntamper with our most precious culturalnrelics; she will make them unfamiliarnagain! And by making those relicsnunfamiliar, she will rob them of theirnquasi-liturgical power. I told you thosendamn fiddle players were a bunch ofnatheists!”nSecure in their own salvation, earlynmusic specialists were perhaps not veryndiplomatic. To derogate what conservatorynmusicians have been taught bynteachers they love about music theynlove is to invite distrust if not hostility.nSeveral years ago I was told by anmember of the piano faculty of anmajor university, “None of us [pianists]ndares to play Bach anymore.” Onnthe other hand, I know students at anconservatory which simply ignores thenearly music movement who happilynplay Bach on modern instruments,nwith love and great beauty. Neithernnnthe pianists nor the conservatory studentsnhave benefited from the earlynmusic revival, perhaps because of thenway the movement presented itselfnCohen’s scathing descriptions of traditionallyntrained musicians arenenough to make one marvel, evennthough he may simply be reflectingnpervasive cultural stereotypes: “Fornevery Theresa Stich-Randall therenwere battalions of imperial sopranosnanxious to turn Bach and Handel intonoffensive weapons against the clients innthe last row.” Because of the earlynmusic revival, “‘tenderness of expression’nhas replaced the philosophy ofnfrontal assault.” After admitting thenneed for humility, he says, “I am notntrying to bring back the bad old days. Inmake no case for the thumping pianist,nthe megalomaniac conductor, ornthe glass-shattering concert soprano.”nThis book does the early music revivalnand musicians in general a majorndisservice. Cohen feels that early musiciansnare morally superior: “Rarelyndoes one find such sincerity and dedicationnin the commercial concert circuit.”nMy experience has been lessnextensive, but very different. For yearsnI have attended master-classes andnworkshops with concert performers.nAlmost without exception, they live tonserve the music. Some are arrogant,nsome not, but for almost all, the musicncomes first, and dedication is part ofnthe job description. Cohen’s denigrationnof commercial concert artistsnseems unnecessary. You would thinknhe was describing a lost cause, not antriumph.nLooking back on the book, the pervasivenattitude of denigration is what Inremember most—not Cohen’s gracefulnand tolerant descriptions of the realnvisionaries of the movement, not hisnintelligent appreciation of the role ofnamateurs in the movement, not hisngenuine knowledge and perceptionnabout the music itself Careless assumptions,ncareless prose, and carelessnhyperbole have turned a potentiallynfine book into a mediocre one. This isna book to borrow from the library.nDale Volberg Reed is a piano teacher,nan amateur harpsichordist, and anchoir singer who has played and sungna reasonable amount of reasonablynold music.n