SIXTH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC WITH THE HAYDN SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA: MORAVIAN COLLEGE, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA, 27 FEBRUARY–2 MARCH 2014

Happily, the ensuing decades have seen the pendulum swing back in the opposite direction, toward more permeable disciplinary boundaries and toward greater interaction between historical and analytical research perspectives, as demonstrated, for instance, by the diversity represented on the editorial board of Eighteenth-Century Music. [...]in the spirit of free exchange (and with my SMT and AMS membership cards firmly in hand, evincing my 'dual citizenship'), I deemed it safe to attend the joint conference of the Society for Eighteenth-Century Music and the Haydn Society of North America, a three-day gathering comprising twenty papers and three musical performances, as well as visits to historical sites related to the Moravian communities in Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania (about which, more later). [...]Graun's work spread as far as Bethlehem, where a score and parts remain in the collection of the Moravian Archives.) Rathey examined Bach's 'autobiography' - that is, his contributions to J. J. C. Bode's German-language edition of Burney's The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces (translation published in Hamburg, 1772-1773). Since Burney's original treatment of Bach was based on information provided by the latter when the two met in Hamburg, Bach's contributions to the German edition served not to provide new details but, Rathey argued, 'to refashion a new self-image' emphasizing his education and the concept of 'genius', and offering a lengthy apologia for Bach's limited travels. Sunday morning opened with a session on operatic reform, with a paper on elements of horror in Jommelli and Verazi's Fetonte (1768) by Sarah Bushey (University of Florida) and another by Eric Schneeman (Northeast Lakeview College, San Antonio) on revisions to Gluck's Orfeo for productions in London and Munich, adaptations that effectively reshaped the work to conform to the standards of opera seria (for example by expanding Eurydice's role to ensure sufficient time on stage, create opportunities for vocal display and increase the overall length of the opera).