Considerations of editorial procedures in preparing performances of Renaissance music

This study explores the effects of editorial procedures on performances of Renaissance Music, using William Byrd's Mass for Three Voices as the exemplar. The study attempts to answer the following question: do editions notated that use modern notational conventions enable stylistically authentic performances, or do the modern conventions awaken singers' biases and make authentic performances more difficult to realize? The participating choir prepared five excerpts from the Mass for Three Voices using five different editions, each containing different editorial procedures (i.e., barlines, score format, and reduced or non-reduced note values). Each edition was evaluated based on the choir's ability to achieve a predetermined set of performance goals. Included are the author's personal rehearsal journals and the empirical data gleaned from the experience. Based on his findings, the author offers suggestions for the rehearsal and conducting of Renaissance music