This book offers students and performers a concise overview of historical performance, taking into account the many significant developments that have taken place in the discipline, particularly in the last decade. It addresses practical matters rather than philosophical issues, and guides readers towards further investigation and interpretation of the evidence provided, not only in the various early instrumental and vocal treatises, but also in examples from the mainstream repertory. Designed as a parent volume for the series Cambridge Handbooks to the Historical Performance of Music, it provides an historical basis for artistic decision-making which has as its goal the re-creation of performances as close as possible to the composer's original conception. It relates many of the issues discussed to four major works composed c. 1700 -- c. 1900, the core period which forms the principal (though not exclusive) focus for the whole project. These four case studies are of works by Bach, Mozart, Berlioz and Brahms.