NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

CHAPTER THREE
THE CONSPICUOUS WORTHIES
Henry Purcell’s death in 1695, brought to an end what is generally referred to
as the first great period of English music. After that date English music is said to
have receded into the doldrums and nothing of any great event happened until
the arrival of Handel in 1710. His impact was so great on the English music
scene as to almost render its native composers extinct. His total output would
equal that of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all put together. His arrival on the
London music scene also gave rise to considerable rivalry between him and
other successful Italian composers active in the capital at the time, which is
beautifully summed up in an epigram written by the Lancashire poet, John
Byrom: -
“Some say, compared with Buononcini,
That Mynheer Handel’s but a ninny;
Others aver that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a candle;
Strange all this difference should be
‘Twixt Tweedeldum and Tweedeldee!”
London was the centre of musical life and at the heart of it, following the death of
Queen Anne, was the Hanoverian King, George I, whom Handel had deserted to
come to England. Later, however, after he had made his peace with the
monarch, it is said of the king, whose English was poor, that he enjoyed Handel’s
company because they could converse in German. Handel’s reign coincided with
what is commonly referred to as the period of Baroque in English musical
composition; a decorative form favoured particularly by concerto composers of
the time. Baroque, from the French meaning bizarre, or as Dr Charles Burney
(1726-1814) the eminent music historian preferred, after visiting Germany in
1773, ‘coarse and uncouth’. The worst excesses of the style, however, were
never accepted in England. This period also saw a great influx of foreign
musicians and a random survey taken at the time showed that half the
composers active in London were foreigners, mainly from Italy, but also from four
other countries. Thomas Arne (1710-1788) and William Boyce (1710-1779) are
regarded today as the most outstanding English composers of this era. Arne
showed some originality in the composition of his concerti and is remembered
today mainly for his Shakespearean songs and the fact he composed Rule
Britannia. The fame of Boyce, who is generally regarded as the better of the two,
rests largely on his three volumes of Cathedral Music. In their day both of these
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