Dialogue and collective interaction: Informants upon the collaborative interpretation of Baroque performance practice

Baroque composers frequently notated critical aspects of performance practice in minimal fashion, leaving to the performer's discretion interpretive characteristics that were considered mandatory knowledge for musicians of the time. Yet modern editions often present a diverse variance of scholarly rigor with respect to the interpretation of ornamentation, articulation, tempo, and dynamic inflections. Many of the twenty-first-century practitioners surveyed in this study reported limited formalised theoretical and practical training in Baroque performance practice, with skills instead honed through personal interaction within early professional contexts. Scholars reported upon interpretive guidelines relating to Baroque music as collaborative and artistic mechanisms fundamental to well-versed rehearsal and performance techniques. In light of these scenarios, this qualitative research study reflects upon musicians' collective interaction. The findings consider the decisive roles played by collaborative discourse and critical listening as procedures inherent to research processes and to rehearsal and performance environs. Furthermore, this paper suggests co-operative dialogue and analytical listening procedures as integral to effective pedagogical settings. Such techniques assist the twenty-first-century musician in engaging with, and adapting to the enigmatic nature of performance practice within Baroque music.