Welcome to the musical philosophy page – an archive of miscellaneous writings relevant to the work of Piers Adams and Red Priest, addressing a few of the ‘how’s and ‘why’s of musical performance. We hope that you find them inspiring and informative.
The following have been gathered from a wide variety of sources; we find them useful both in teaching period performance style and – where necessary – in justifying some of our more extravagant musical decisions. Note, for example, that Quantz talks of adopting a different sentiment at each and every bar, or that Caccini suggests varying the tempo so radically that at times you literally halve the value of the written notes! It’s all here in black and white...
Extensive interview published in December 2002 covering the origins of Red Priest, recording, new repertoire, working with children and future plans.
The following are taken from actual newspaper interviews with Piers Adams and contain many insights into the work and philosophy of Red Priest. A useful resource for visiting journalists...
A lively debate over how modern performers can best approach early music as Piers Adams replies to a scathing review by critic John Shinners (Enjoy the Music.com)
A response by poet and writer Ellyn Peirson to the concert given by Red Priest and Suzie LeBlanc in the Glen Gould Studio, Toronto, January 2003
More articles to follow soon.