Expressiveness in historical perspective : nineteenth-century ideals and practices

Consideration of modes of expressivity as examined by music psychologists has tended, in the past, to relate almost exclusively to traits of style embodied by ‘mainstream’ performers trained from the second half of the twentieth century up to the present day. In this chapter, the authors attempt to relate key themes embodied in expressiveness in the nineteenth century, as well as discussing how these modes were outworked in practice. The chapter concludes by relating the pioneering work by the authors in ‘reconstructing’ and ‘re-imagining’ nineteenth-century expressiveness in their experiences of historically-informed performances.