Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-08-16
NEWS or MUSIC
Ancient Instruments
Enjoy Revival Here
~ WENDELL MARGRAvE
Contributing Critic

~ W AANAAMA&2MA AAAAE88NM ZAA8 -
contributing Critic
Musicians and the listening
public are rediscovering the
music Of the past, in the
sounds Of the ancient In
struments for which 1t was
written.
Only . few years ago re-
corder, rebec, viola da gambia
ana harpsichord were known
only as pictures In Q book.
relics In museums and the
inexplicable hobby Of Q few
strange. unworldly eccentrics.
such as Dolmetsch In Eng
land and Doebefeiner in Ger
many. Performances were
mostly antiquarian curios-
ities--the professor Of music
history would drag q battered
link from the museum attic
and. applying 1t TO his learned
lips, would pun until q sound
manifested itself. The class
would giggle. and Herr zin-
kenblaeser would use this
primitive noise as Q point Of
departure for O summary of
the development" Of music
and musical instruments to
the pinnacle on which he
stood.
No Longer Obsolete
Today things are other
wise.
It IL readily possible to
hear expert playing in al
most any music center Of
half Q dozen obsolete" in
struments. Recordings are
ayailable Of excellent per-
formances Of renaissance and
barodue music. played either
on reservations Of gambas
by Stainer, hardsichords by
Fuckers, winds by Hotteterre,
organs by Sherman or on
faithful reproductions Of such
instruments.
The performances, whether
by Wenzinger as gambist or
conductor: by the harpsi-
chordists Kirkpatrick or Va
lenti, or by such q group as
Colin Sterne and the An
tiqua Players Of Pittsburgh.
are technically and musically
comparable to any music
you can hear on records, and
reflect. not only careful TECH
nical preparation, but also
the restoration Of the Auf-
fuehrungspraxis-the style Of
playing -of the historical
periods.
Authenticity Of style has
been pieced together, in the
absence Of a continuing ira
dition. by the study Of in
struction books OF the period,
pictures, notations, records,
letters, memoirs, literary ref
erences-in short, all the
data used by the last four
generations Of musicologists.
many Of them, Kinkeldey and
Parrish, for example. excel
lent performers.
But the interest in these
instruments and their music
is no longer confined to
scholars. professional players,
and antiquarians. Their his
torical use was to reinforce
singing, and to provide for
the noble and the wealthy an
active and interesting pas
time. And today the anna
teur musician, whose leisure
comes from the shortened
work-week, rather than from
wealth or social position, Is
coming into his own with the
same instruments and the
same music that engaged the
amateurs Of the 18th to 18th
centuries.
The reason for growing
popularity Of these instru-
ments is easy to find. The
music is relatively simple,
particularly "consort" music.
GA consort was q group Of
instruments playing together.
Consorts were whole II all
the instruments were Of the
same kind, broken" If it
contained different instru-
iments. for example recorders
with lutes. fidels. and cor
i1etti.) A beginner can learn
to play well enough to carry
an independent part in q
consort in Q month or SO. But
ct about this stage, the virus
sets in. and he starts to be
curious about the gambia