The ‘Early Music' or 'Historical Performance Practice' movement strives for a historically appropriate style of performance on the basis of surviving scores, treatises, instruments and other contemporary evidence. While, to begin with, it mainly concentrated on performing repertoire from Renaissance and Baroque, today the movement has spread to include Classical and Romantic repertoires. Although,
initially, the movement was small and clearly distinct from the conventional classical music scene, some early-music conventions have been widely accepted and absorbed by the mainstream classical music market during the last two decades. However, in the same process musicians have lost interest in research and experiment and formed a mainstream of historically informed performance practice, which heavily relies on established clichés of 'historical' practices. The ensemble Musica Poetica swims against this tide and strives to renew the radicalism of the movement's first decades. The guiding principle ruling the aesthetics and concept of music in the 17th and 18th century, especially in Germany, was that the goal of music is "to sway the hearts and spirits of individuals into various dispositions" (Joachim Burmeister, Musica Poetica, Rostock, 1606). Boysen is convinced that the best possible understanding of the music from this time and its different styles, as well as a high technical standard of playing, will lead to convincing and stirring performances. Thus, Boysen combines results from his own research and experiments with interesting repertoire and a distinct musicality. Audience response during and after live performances, and the number of very positive reviews of Musica Poetica's work seem to confirm Boysen's belief that critical research of historical sources, analysis of the works and adequate rehearsal periods are not simply boring theory exercises, but rather help to communicate with the audience.
