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Exactly How's That HIP?

Posted by Mike Porper (A) on December 30, 2014 at 13:47:00

In Reply to: Vocal quintet version of Beethoven's 5th. posted by Rick W on December 28, 2014 at 09:09:30:

Let's make sure we're talking about the same thing. In the classical world, HIP is an acronym for historically informed performance. It's a first class oxymoron [stress on the second syllable]. In the larger world, hip means something else. And, of course, in anatony, the word refers to a part of our anatomical structure of vertibrates.

To which usage are you referring?

If it's the first one, would you kindly produce any evidence that during HIP times such performances took place? Vocal quintet performances. Vocal quintets spontaneously formed specificially in 1808 [with no historical evidence for that - but mere facts never deter determined HIPpers] and, for no particular reason, decided to sing the 5th. Is that the latest HIP revelation? The latest Norrington discovery?

That's really news to me, especially since the historical record shows that the music was incomprehensible to most of the audience, and not well received. It wasn't until later in the 1800's that it started to be regularly performed. In fact, the first performance was a disaster, with Beethoven leading a bad orchestra. Maybe that's the HIP way to perform it - badly played, by incompetants. Ooops - we already have lot's of those. They're called "HIP", or something such as that.

Still waiting for that HIP evidence of 1808 vocalizing of the 5th, though.

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