lloyd,
i was thinking of those less than ideal situations where the orchestra
buries the singers. it seems the type of singing wagner envisioned, would
be more likely to occur if the singers were less concerned about battling to
be heard.
there is probably a continuous spectrum between absolutely authentic
and absolutely not. there are some who feel using anything but the
instruments of a composer's day, goes against the composer's design. also,
i am sure that not all composers have been equally particular about how their
compositions should be carried out. i have known composers who are beyond
anal about how their pieces should be done and i have known composers who are
thrilled to discover something they hadn't realized they had created because
the performer had done something other than the composer's exact wishes.
one could also assume that, while many composers might have felt lucky
to be alive in the time they were, with everything at their disposal they
could ever wish for, others must have been frustrated with the limitations of
their current technology (ives' symphony for four orchestras placed on
neighboring mountaintops, comes to mind). to apply the same performance
practice to all composers seems incomplete, as if the only variance between
composers and their desires, is dependent on period alone.
mike
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