HISTORICALLY INFORMED PERFORMANCE AS AN INTELLECTUAL TOOL FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF BAROQUE MUSIC (CASE STUDY OF HENRY ECCLES’S SONATA IN G MINOR)

Abstract

The article explores the problem of the performance interpretation of Baroque instrumental music through the lens of hermeneutic discourse and the methodology of Historically Informed Performance (HIP). The relevance of the topic is determined by the discontinuity of the performance tradition and the need to overcome the «romantic trail» in reading the Baroque text. The author views interpretation as a deep search for meanings («will to meaning» after V. Frankl) based on the philosophical ideas of H.-G. Gadamer and P. Ricoeur. Special attention is paid to the concept of musical rhetoric as a key unifying factor for understanding the composer’s intent of the 17th and 18th centuries. The work analyzes the specifics of Baroque instrumentation (viola da gamba, harpsichord, gut strings) and articulatory practices, which are essential for authentic sound. The aim of the study is to substantiate the interpretive resource of Historically Informed Performance in reconstructing the stylistic meaning of Baroque works. The comprehensive research methodology combines methods of comparative source studies, discourse analysis, textual reconstruction, and the historical-dialectical approach. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the detailed analysis, conducted for the first time in musicological practice, of the Sonata in G minor (Op. 1 No. 11) by the English composer Henry Eccles within the context of stylistic diffusion and the publishing realities of the Baroque era. The phenomenon of «Italian taste» in the composer’s work is highlighted, along with the problem of attributing his works, specifically borrowings from G. Valentini and F. Bonporti. In the practical sphere, a comparative analysis of modern performance versions of the sonata (W. Jang, M. Morton, L. Jacobson, T. Langlois de Swarte) was conducted, which allowed for the identification of the most convincing interpretive approaches meeting the modern requirements of Historically Informed Performance. It is concluded that only the combination of technological mastery of authentic techniques with profound knowledge of rhetoric and the theory of affects allows for the creation of an artistically valuable reading of music from past eras.