"Modern instruments, which were built to be used in large auditoriums, are deluxe machines; they are rich, full, bright. Period instruments sound sweeter, leaner, less heavy. Often they are more transparent, more articulate, more rhythmic. What is significant is that the sound they produce enables us to approach more accurately the style and sound of the classical composers. We follow their conventions; we do not force them to follow ours."
-Christopher Hogwood, Conductor Laureate

At first, the notion of "Historically Informed Performance" seems a bit daunting. But it doesn't really take intricate musical scores and a library of books to fully appreciate a Historically Informed Performance. What it does take is a little bit of curiosity as well as an enthusiasm for music.

Historically Informed Performance, or "HIP," as it is known, grew out of people's natural need to question and experiment. After 100 years of using 19th century-style orchestras for everything from Bach to Brahms, a group of innovative musical thinkers in the 1970s asked intriguing questions such as: "If the piano was not available to Bach in his time, why do we use it now when performing his works?" In fact, the keyboard Bach used was different from the one used by Mozart, and in turn the one used by Mozart was very different from Beethoven's keyboard.

In addition to the changes in instrument technology and design, the size of performing forces has also changed over the years. Composing a symphony for 90 players would not have endeared Haydn to his employer at the Palace of Esterházy. How could the Prince possibly get all those musicians into his salon?

What HIP performances offer audiences is a chance to hear Baroque and Classical works using the instruments and performing forces available to the composer. In this way musical lines that disappear in larger, homogeneous ensembles become clearer and take on a more prominent part of the musical experience.

Read more about HIP and the Handel and Haydn Society