MHST 610A Playing with History: Authentic or Synthetic
Authenticity is a powerful concept. It is how we describe what, for each of us, is real and true. In this seminar, we will explore how the question of authenticity plays a role in music-making. Our case study will be the Historically-Informed Performance Practice movement, although final projects may approach the question of Authenticity as it applies to any repertory. The choice of HIPP as a testing ground reflects the fact that it, perhaps more than any other major concert hall repertory, has a particular stake in the questions of what authenticity is and why we believe it has something special to offer performers and audiences alike. Weekly reading assignments (usually about 40 pp. or less) will begin with John Butt’s book Playing with History (2002), supplemented from time to time with readings that address other aspects of authenticity. For example, we will study the forensic process by which a musical work is deemed authentic by scholars. We will also consider how claims of authenticity are applied on the one hand to intangibles such as interpretation and on the other hand to the commodification of music (pricing of concert tickets, Stradivarius violins, the trade in autograph manuscripts, and so on). Pronouncing something “authentic” is meant to endow it with a particular, irreplaceable authority or worth, whether that worth is measured in dollars or the soul’s experience. Each of us defines authenticity according to our own values. The goals of this course are to provoke thoughtful, informed consideration of what, for each of us, constitutes musical authenticity and to work toward its articulation in discussion, writing, and performance.