Did baroque composers expect you to "bring out" the voices in their pieces, the way today's critics seem to enjoy in players?

Question

So, I recently had a, sadly, way too short conversation with a pianist on the train. According to the guy, in the 17th and 18th century polyphonic keyboard works were *not* played in such a way that the individual voices would be emphasized, but rather in a way so that they would "blend in".With the music in front of him/her the listener would be able to admire the mastery of the composer in building the piece out of the individual voices.These days, though, critics seem to appreciate a pianist's ability in "bringing out" the voices.I hear that *all* the time whenever Gould enters the conversation. So, is it true that, in fact, the most appreciated players of baroque music of the 20th and 21st centuries would not have met the tastes of the time?

Answer 1

I have read repeated remarks by famous composers of those periods that refer to "balance" in the music. As the melody is the most important part, it would stand to reason that they were bringing it out. However, if referring to keyboard instruments of the day, they were incapable of doing so.