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The Economics of Early MusicAuthor(s): Nicholas KenyonSource: Early Music, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct., 1976), pp. 443-447Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3126159Accessed: 14/01/2009 16:30

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8/11/2019 nicholas kenyon - the economics of early music.pdf

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The economicsof early musicNICHOLAS KENYON

Music is expensive. Most professional concerts run at a loss.

Early music is not an exception to this rule; but it is a newand special case. For at a time of acute financial difficulty inall the arts, there are some problems which are particular to

early music groups. Central are those caused by an unsatis-

factory system of funding devised with the needs of whollydifferent groups in mind. The London Orchestral ConcertsBoard (with

money provided jointly bythe Arts Council and

the Greater London Council) will subsidize small groupsonly by means of guarantees against loss covering a specificseries of concerts. Only expenses relevant to the perfor-mances themselves are allowable, and these are judged by thesame criteria which are applied to, say, a chamber orchestra.Yet a concert of renaissance music for voices and instru-ments* will include at least five or six times as many items asa conventional concert, mostly for different groups of per-formers. Each piece may require as much time as a far longerwork to rehearse; it is often not possible to co-ordinate com-

pletely the schedules of those involved.In addition most of the music will have to be specially pre-

pared. Even if it is published in scholarly editions it has to beedited for performance; more often the work starts with thesource material and includes reconstruction and editing ofboth the musical and literary aspects of the piece. This maybe done by the concert's conductor, but Musica Reservata,for instance, have a director who does this work quiteseparately from directing the performances, and all groupshave frequently to use outside help in specialist matters.(Then there's the whole question-too large to be discussedhere-of providing instruments for these ensembles.)

These factors point towards the need of such groups totake on a permanent, continuous form. But in the 'tworehearsals and concert' situation created by the grant-givingbodies, this is impossible. There are still few enough goodplayers for the best to be in continual demand by several

groups-this applies both to the renaissance and baroquefields. Though they might wish (and many of them do) todevote themselves to developing their playing within thecontext of the style of one particular group, much as a string

* For example, Musica Reservata's 'Florentine Celebration', QEH27 October 1975, or the Consort of Musicke's 'Music in RenaissanceVenice', QEH 24 February 1975.

quartet player does, they are forced in order to earn a livingto go from paid rehearsal to paid rehearsal. This depressesstandards in two ways-not only is ensemble rough becausethe exact combination of players is often different, but stylebecomes more and more anonymous: a lowest commondenominator of playing has emerged whose chief attribute isthat it will not 'jar', whoever the other players and con-ductors are. Chamber musicians are

beingforced to act as

session players.In reply to these points, John Cruft, Music Director of the

Arts Council, stressed that it was not the function of theCouncil or the LOCB to commit themselves to supportingthe livelihood of any groups of artists, and that they pre-ferred to keep as many as possible just alive than to make lifecomfortable for a few. Yet he made it clear that the Councilgives no specialist attention to the problems of early music

groups. Decisions are made by the Music Panel, of which MrCruft could think of no-one who was specially qualifiedthrough an intimate knowledge of the scene to comment on

early music groups (Thurston Dart was perhaps the last, he

said, though the panel now includes Simon Preston andStephen Plaistow). However, Mr Cruft said that outside

experts could always be called upon to advise the panel: itwould be interesting to hear of anyone who has advised inthis capacity. If no one has been called on, it is difficult to seewhat basis the Council can possibly have for its work. I askedwhat the reaction of the Council and the LOCB would be iffaced with a realistic estimate of the costs of music pre-paration and editing for an early music concert: Mr Cruftwas uncertain because, he said, the problem had not arisen.

A difficulty here is that early music activities have grownup so recently that no guidelines have been evolved to dealwith them. I raised the parallel with contemporary music, forwhether consciously or not, the Council and the LOCB doesaccept that different principles must apply in subsidizing newmusic groups. It accepts the need for more rehearsal time,and it accepts the inevitability of lower box-office takings.John Cruft argued that the analogy was not very close, for inthat case the problems were linked to a particular con-cert-assimilating the material, and compensating for thelack of attendance. Which is quite correct: the contem-

porary music problem can at least partly be solved on theCouncil's own terms rehearsals and box office-whereas

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the early music problem involves unfamiliar concepts. (Andat present early music groups lose out both ways, for by theconventional calculation they are penalized for having such

large box-office receipts ) Mr Cruft said that the matters Iwas trying to qualify for subsidy-learning to play instru-ments in the right style, and so on-were outside theCouncil's scope. They were 'quasi-educational'.

Which is the heart of the matter. Almost every pro-

position with a long-term perspective-for instance AndrewParrott's recent request for subsidy for a baroque string-playing seminar directed by an international figure-can beturned down quite genuinely by the Council on the groundsthat the project is educational. It may be an impossibly falsedistinction to maintain, but it is written into the Council'scharter. Such propositions are likely to be considered more

sympathetically by an organization like the GulbenkianFoundation which has educational aims. But here thelimitation, as Anthony Wraightes explained, is that theFoundation does not usually involve itself in continuingsupport for groups-it prefers to help get things off theground. And here too, with very many more applicationsthan can be satisfied, the problem for early music applicantshas been to prove the 'relevance and social significance' oftheir work to an organization that largely subsidizes the

contemporary arts.It's not that these grant-giving bodies are unwilling to

help. Many trusts, some administered by the Arts Council,have given grants to individual early musicians for privatestudy. It's rather that (in the words of Anthony Rooley) the

long attempt to break through the organizations' prejudiceshas a brutalizing effect on the most persistent applicant.Success is possible, but it's a struggle. John Cruft told me, forinstance, of the special grant which the Arts Council gave the

Consort of Musicke some years ago for their administrationexpenses-but Rooley told me how long he'd had to fight forit. One recent success which should encourage others is thatof the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists (already subsidized like

many groups outside London by their regional artsassociation), who were recently given a grant amounting toabout ?1,000 by the Gulbenkian specially for a week's con-centrated rehearsal. This was partly linked to their per-formances of Handel's Orlando t the York Festival, and was

sympathetically viewed because the players came from such awide area. Nevertheless, it's an important precedent.

On the whole, early music groups must find other waysbesides grants to make ends meet. How can they do it? Sheerbusiness acumen is one option. When David Munrow diedthe early music scene was deprived of the only person whowas making a commercial success in the field with a profes-sional ensemble. He subsidized his work in this country byfrequent visits abroad to countries where realistic concertfees are paid by promoters (Pro Cantione Antiqua is another

group surviving by this method); and he planned meticu-

lously so that concerts and tours were linked as often as

possible in both preparation and performance to recordings.Records can be another major source of income. Though

Two models from a range of pipe organsspecially designed for early music:

PORTAlI VEORGAN

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