“With a title like the one this book is carrying, I’ve got some explaining to do. What kind of “end” am I talking about? Well, two, actually. “Early music” has long outgrown its name, which is no longer adequate to describe what is happening in the twenty-first century. By reflecting on what we really mean by the term, we might discover some interesting insights into what we “Early musicians” have been doing, and what we might do in the future. As has been clear for a generation now, the one thing our music is not is “Early,” “ancienne,” or “oude.” (An irony, to think that by turning straw into gold, antiquated into current, we have caused our very name to become obsolete.)
Actually, my first thought in choosing this title was to talk about what, finally, is the cause and purpose of Early music’s existence, its “end.” I’ll nibble at this question and offer some thoughts. Asking what Early music is for leads to other questions. . . . Come to think of it, on balance, you’ll probably be getting more questions than answers here. I think it’s only fair to warn you of that now.

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(from the introduction)