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Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians. Roland Jackson. 544 pages. Routledge, 2005. Reviewed by Carol Lieberman.
Assuming that you have been involved in the sometimes contentious field of period instrument performance during the last 50 years or so, would you find it useful to have a "dictionary-guide" on that topic written especially for musicians? This guide would discuss musical terms, composers, and instruments from Medieval times through the 19th century, as well as some 20th-century composers and their own "historical" interpretations. Hopefully your answer is "yes!" since a reference guide that also offers an extensive bibliography for further study seems to be a book made in heaven. This is exactly what Roland Jackson (professor emeritus, Claremont Graduate University) has presented to us in his Performance Practice. It is comprehensive, easy to read, and includes wonderful illustrations and a detailed index.
Almost every aspect of performance practice is covered in this book. For example, there are entries on diminution, inequality, and performance styles, as well as a particularly comprehensive historical overview of vibrato. Jackson takes into account both a number of books about this important subject and early recordings of great violinists. For instance, he cites a solo Bach recording made by the great Joseph Joachim in 1903 to illustrate how...