Abstract
Old Masters presents both an historical archive of the development of a performing ensemble and of its unique and characteristic sound, singing in many cases from new performing editions of Renaissance and early modern repertoire created directly from original manuscript and early printed sources, bypassing modern editorial traditions. The album generates new knowledge by demonstrating that performances directly from engagement with original notation – with its ambiguities of musica ficta, text underlay, and rhythmic interpretation – produce musically distinct and artistically valid results that challenge assumptions embedded in standard modern editions. Each track represents a research finding: a specific editorial/performance decision justified by manuscript evidence.