Music and Time Annotation << Back The practice of performing vocal music of the Renaissance in the 21st century: the search of genuine sound V.A. Fedorova The article is devoted to the analysis of the modern performing interpretations of vocal music of the Renaissance. The author use records of the Arkadelt's madrigal «Il bianco e dolce cigno» as an example for comparison the sound of European ensembles such as The King’s Singers, Hilliard Ensemble, Clivis Ensemble, Lutevoice and etc. As a result of comparison there was revealed that the most successful performances of the madrigal have a number of common properties. First of all, these include an increased attention to the content of sound, its evenness, mobility inside the tone and color of the sound. All these characteristics are derived from the performers' intuitive understanding of the artistic atmosphere of the epoch and are expressed in the use of similar techniques of sound production. During the analysis, it was found that the best Western ensembles demonstrate the same attitude toward sound that is described in Eastern treatises and is used in a modern musical practice in the East. Moreover, the eastern principles of attitude toward sound, which have remained unchanged throughout the thousand years, have not lost a lively sense of the harmony of the world in music, the understanding of which is necessary for modern performers. So Eastern (in particular, Indian) concepts of sound, breathing systems and vocal techniques can be considered today as promising sources for working with music of the XIV–XVI centuries. Also, the role of Eastern culture as one of the driving factors of interpretation should be recognized as extremely important in the process of sound experiments, search for performing solutions and popularization of vocal music of the Renaissance in our time. Keywords: Renaissance Music; modern performance; interpreting; sound, harmony, East, yoga. Pp. 10-16.