Music like it used to be

From brass bands to viols, from Shakespeare to Catherine de Medici, not to mention music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Corelli and many less well-known composers, music lovers are in for a treat with 10 days of Renaissance and Baroque music, theatre and dance in the New Zealand International Early Music Festival from February 27 to March 8.

Performers are coming from Australia, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic as well as around New Zealand to perform in the second annual New Zealand International Early Music Festival.

Early music includes medieval, renaissance and baroque music, up to about 1750.

The instruments were different then and most of the performers play on replicas of early instruments such as viols, harpsichords, lutes and early forms of violin or cello.

Michelle Hurnik explains why musicians go to the trouble of re-creating historical concerts when there are perfectly good modern instruments and why they prefer to perform in churches rather than halls.

''The main difference between modern instruments and historical instruments is largely in the amount of sound (steel strings on modern instruments produce much stronger sound) and clarity of sound (historic instruments with gut strings are much ''drier'' and thus less muddled; one can hear all the voices more clearly).

''Like today, in the time of Bach and Handel, the sound quality of a performance was dependent on two factors: the sound coming out of the instruments themselves and the acoustics of the hall. In the time of Bach, the church or hall was literally the amplifier of the sound. As halls grew bigger, the instruments were modified to create larger sound so that they could be heard. Today we have taken this even further by using amplifiers, absolutely guaranteeing sound no matter what the acoustic capabilities of the facility are.

''What is lost in this evolution is the natural quality of pure sound and the sensitive relationship of instrument and acoustic space. When this relationship is in balance, led by skilled musicians who are experts in historic interpretation, the music produced is of a beauty and clarity that cannot be duplicated by artificial means.''

A group of international specialists in baroque music and authentic interpretation, Hungarian Szabolcs Illes (baroque violin), Czech Edita Keglerova (harpsichord) and Czech Tomas Hurnik (baroque cello), who now lives in Christchurch, will also be giving workshops and masterclasses.