In honor of the 4^th of July, here is an article featured in the New York Times two days ago that I thought was really fascinating.  Scholar Danielle Allen, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, claims that the period that appears in the Declaration of Independence transcript right after the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is not present on the badly faded parchment original.   The rest of the article and the comments discuss whether this period effectively changes some meaning of the constitution and arguments that support and argue against the intentional use of the period.

We’ve had a lot of this same type of debate in music.  When there are different versions of a musical work, how does one decide which to use and how does one decide which interpretation is preferable?   We all are now being accustomed to the critical editions of Verdi’s operas, that supposedly transliterate the music exactly from the first manuscript, but are we so sure that the first manuscript is the definitive answer by the composer himself, or a hurried draft in desire for completion and getting a performance up and running? And is the critical edition in live performance truly the preferable answer for the basis of the opera today based on how our instruments tune? I especially enjoy examining the critical editions today versus what earlier “adapted” scores seemingly use. Does the timpani roll on the final bar of Il Trovatore? Is that a modern convention adapted for modern sentiments? And is progress good? To my ear, no timpani rolling at the end of the great Verdi operas is austere and empty even if the new scores say otherwise. So, I guess I’m in the progress camp.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy 4^th of July from across the pond!