| Abstract |
The English invented the idea of the musical classics. Eighteenth-century England was the first place where old musical works were performed regularly and reverentially, and where a collective notion of such works--'ancient music'--first appeared. This is the first book to explore the formation of musical 'classics' in regard to repertory and social context. It examines the performance of old music in eighteenth-century England, from the interest in music of the Elizabethan period at the beginning of the century, through the performance of works by Henry Purcell, Arcangelo Corelli, and other English and Italian composers, and the development of festivals that featured choral-orchestral works of Purcell and Handel. It concludes with the establishment of the Concert of Antient Music in 1776, where the traditions of performing old works came together as a self-conscious canon focused upon the work of Handel. The book examines closely the political and social reasons for these developments. In addition, it shows how they laid the groundwork for the classical-music tradition of the nineteenth century. |
