> Zach wrote: Prof. Jarvis is making very controversial and monumental
claims which would contradict decades of Bach studies. So the imperative is
for him to prove ... If Prof. Jarvis has such a compelling case he will have
no fear of scrutiny. But that is not what has transpired. ... I will regard
his assertions as fatuous.

Very interesting your remark Zach!

There are many aspects of historical performance practice where, unless new
historical sources are discovered, the evidence has been thoroughly examined
and published and there is not much else to do ... except for "proving
everybody else wrong". I has happened quite frequently during the last few
decades.

Possible the best known case is a lifetime of lecturing and publishing books
full of a few, but very important, claims about baroque historical
interpretation. The author was the late Prof. Frederick Neumann.
 
His "revolutionary theories" were soon proved unsubstantiated (when not just
based on wrong interpretation of the evidence) by a flurry of articles in
different periodical publications.

Decades later I scrutinised one of his books and at a point found it obvious
that he tried to put aside negative evidence with a nasty logical trick. It
was very disturbing to find this in a well known published book written by a
well-known musicologist. 

Problem is, over the years, rebuttals and negative reviews are no longer
reprinted, mostly cannot even be read online, while Neumann's books keep
selling and finding their places in libraries. Even worse, quite a few
musicians keep following these "revolutionary theories". 

We really have a problem.

Best
CDV

http://play.braybaroque.ie/



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