"Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner, and style of the musical era in which a work was originally conceived."
It examines the practical aspects of ancient music performance, from instrument construction to historical performance practices.
Historical context: Understanding the social, cultural, and political context of the time period in which the music was created and performed.
Notation systems: Familiarizing oneself with the various notation systems used to represent music over the centuries.
Instrumentation: Knowing the instruments that were available during the time period of interest and how they were used.
Ornamentation: Learning the various ornamentation techniques used in historical performance practice to add expressiveness and decoration to musical lines.
Sources and manuscripts: Understanding the different sources of historical music and how to interpret manuscripts.
Rhythm: Understanding how rhythm is used in different historical periods and styles of music.
Performance techniques: Learning the specific techniques used by historical performers to achieve a particular sound or effect.
Improvisation: Understanding the role of improvisation in historical music and developing the skills needed to improvise in an historically accurate way.
Vocal performance practice: Studying vocal performance practice, including techniques for breath control, articulation, and phrasing.
Historical tuning and temperament: Understanding the historical tuning and temperament systems used in different time periods and how they affect the sound and harmony of the music.
Dance forms and patterns: Familiarizing oneself with the dance forms and patterns that were commonly used in historical music.
The meaning of music: Understanding the historical context in which music was created and performed and how this influences the meaning of the music.
Aesthetics and style: Studying the aesthetics and style of different historical periods and how they are expressed in musical performance.
Musical ensembles: Learning about the different types of musical ensembles that were used in different historical periods and cultures, and how the ensemble affects the performance.
Acoustics and spaces: Understanding the role of acoustics and the characteristics of different performance spaces in shaping musical performance practice.
Gregorian Chant: A type of plainchant used in the Roman Catholic Church, characterized by its monophonic texture and unaccompanied vocal delivery.
Hymnody: The singing or composition of hymns, often accompanied by a choir or an organ for religious purposes.
Carnatic Music: A classical music form from South India, characterized by its complex rhythmic patterns, intricate melodies, and improvisation.
Dhrupad: A form of Indian classical music, characterized by its slow-paced, long-form structure, and use of a drone instrument called the tanpura.
Pibroch: A form of Scottish bagpipe music, characterized by its complex structure and use of various ornamentations.
Ars Nova: A type of medieval music characterized by its complex harmonies, use of rondeau form, and development of notation systems.
Courtly Love Songs: A type of medieval music composed in a troubadour style, characterized by its lyrical content about love and the accompanying use of instruments.
Ancient Greek Music: A form of music performed in ancient Greece on various stringed instruments, characterized by its use of scales known as modes and its close link with Greek drama.
Sama: A type of Islamic musical performance practice, characterized by the use of repetitive chanting and dance movements in order to achieve a spiritual trance-like state.
Ancient Egyptian Music: A form of music composed and performed in Ancient Egypt on various instruments, such as harps and flutes, characterized by its connection to religious and ceremonial practices.
"It is based on two key aspects: the application of the stylistic and technical aspects of performance, known as performance practice, and the use of period instruments which may be reproductions of historical instruments."
"The application of the stylistic and technical aspects of performance, known as performance practice..."
"...the use of period instruments which may be reproductions of historical instruments that were in use at the time of the original composition, and which usually have different timbre and temperament from their modern equivalents."
"Historical treatises, pedagogic tutor books, and concert critiques, as well as additional historical evidence, are all used to gain insight into the performance practice of a historic era."
"Historical treatises, pedagogic tutor books, and concert critiques, as well as additional historical evidence, are all used to gain insight into the performance practice of a historic era."
"Extant recordings (cylinders, discs, and reproducing piano rolls) from the 1890s onwards have enabled scholars of 19th-century Romanticism to gain a uniquely detailed understanding of this style."
"HIP performers will normally use scholarly or urtext editions of a musical score as a basic template."
"HIP performers [...] apply a range of contemporaneous stylistic practices, including rhythmic alterations and ornamentation of many kinds."
"Historically informed performance was principally developed in a number of Western countries in the mid to late 20th century."
"Initially concerned with the performance of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music..."
"HIP now encompasses music from the Classical and Romantic eras."
"HIP has been a crucial part of the early music revival movement of the 20th and 21st centuries, and has begun to affect the theatrical stage, for instance in the production of Baroque opera, where historically informed approaches to acting and scenery are also used."
"Some critics contest the methodology of the HIP movement, contending that its selection of practices and aesthetics are a product of the 20th century and that it is ultimately impossible to know what performances of an earlier time sounded like."
"For this reason, the term 'historically informed' is now preferred to 'authentic,' as it acknowledges the limitations of academic understanding, rather than implying absolute accuracy in recreating historical performance style, or worse, a moralizing tone."