English keyboard art from Robertsbridge Codex (c. 1325) to John Field. Illuminating coverage of organ, harpsichord, pianoforte, other instruments; works of Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, Tomkins, many others. Bibliography.

This title was first published in 2002: Burghley House, Stamford, was built between 1555 and 1587 for William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. The library there contains an extensive collection of manuscript and printed music dating from about 1650 to 1850, substantially formed during the latter part of the 18th century by the Ninth Earl of Exeter. The collection is given particular significance by the inclusion of several rare and in some cases apparently unique volumes. This catalogue examines the Burghley House music collection in the light of contemporary documentary evidence. The opening section describes the people who added to the collection and their musical enthusiasms. This approach brings the collection to life and also enables us to appreciate emergent trends in British music history of the period. With each entry fully described and the printed music referenced to RISM or CPM, this catalogue should form a valuable reference source for all scholars of British music from the 17th to the 19th century.

This book explores the works and influence of the eighteenth-century British composer Charles Avison. Although he spent most of his life in the northern town of Newcastle upon Tyne, Avison went on to have a marked impact on the musical life of Britain during the second half of the eighteenth century. His concertos become part of the national concert repertory, while his critical treatise, An Essay on Musical Expression, shaped debates about musical aesthetics. This book provides the first sustained examination of Avison’s musical works and compositional techniques, and it traces how his music not only drew on influences from European composers but also reworked them and in turn, influenced others. Considering Avison’s musical compositions, the circumstances around their composition and dissemination, and their place in music history, the author confronts preconceptions about the quality of Avison’s music, reveals new dimensions of his work as a composer, and demonstrates the enduring popularity and impact of his music. The author also draws on Avison’s writings to consider how closely he adheres to his own musical aesthetics. Reassessing Avison’s contribution to British music history, this study makes the case for understanding him as an important figure in the development and spread of musical styles across eighteenth-century England.