ABSTRACT
Concern for historical authenticity represents an unmistakable symptom of the present situation of our musical culture, a situation characterized by an extraordinary degree of insecurity, uncertainty, and self-doubt—in a word, by anxiety. The variety evident in current compositional fashions is reflected throughout contemporary musical life in general. There is new music, old music, very old music, art music, folk music, pop music, country music, eastern music, western music, to say nothing of the various sub-types found within each category. Any age, with a well-defined musical culture of its own, and consequently with a clear (and necessarily restricted) idea of the types of music and musical performance adequate to its own situation would find an 'authentic' approach to past music incredible. In musical societies with a strong sense of self-identity, where basic aesthetic and technical assumptions are taken for granted, music is played according to the dictates of that society.
