I would like to recommend to those interested in the subject a book by Daniel Leech-Wilkinson on "The Changing Sound of Music: Approaches to Studying Recorded Musical Performances", published free online under the auspices of the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (CHARM). It can be found here. Prof Leech-Wilkinson has also written books on medieval music and its interpretation.
Although the title may sound a bit dryasdust, and reading a lengthy work on a computer is not everyone's idea of enjoyment, I found it very well written and thought-provoking, with some very detailed analyses of early recordings (though not just early ones) and comments on performance style. It also has many sound extracts from those early recordings, some of which are fascinating in their own right, as well as graphical data analyses of details such as portamento, vibrato, rubato etc. I'd be interested to hear any comments on these from those with the stamina to read the work (you can confine yourself to half a chapter at a time if reading the close text on the screen is tiring).
Although the title may sound a bit dryasdust, and reading a lengthy work on a computer is not everyone's idea of enjoyment, I found it very well written and thought-provoking, with some very detailed analyses of early recordings (though not just early ones) and comments on performance style. It also has many sound extracts from those early recordings, some of which are fascinating in their own right, as well as graphical data analyses of details such as portamento, vibrato, rubato etc. I'd be interested to hear any comments on these from those with the stamina to read the work (you can confine yourself to half a chapter at a time if reading the close text on the screen is tiring).
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