Substance of Several Courses of Lectures on Music
Read in the University of Oxford, and in the Metropolis

This 1831 work, based on popular lectures delivered in Oxford and London, includes a penetrating assessment of contemporary musical taste.

William Crotch (Author)

9781108065153, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2014

188 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.25 kg

An exceptional child prodigy at the keyboard, the organist and composer William Crotch (1775–1847) attracted the attention of both George III and Charles Burney, going on to become one of the most eminent musical figures of his day. Following a period of study in Cambridge, at the age of fifteen he was appointed organist at Christ Church, Oxford. At twenty-one he assumed the university's chair of music, a post he retained until his death. The first principal of the Royal Academy of Music between 1822 and 1832, Crotch is remembered today for his oratorio Palestine. The present work, which first appeared in 1831, made his expertise available to a wider audience. Based on popular lectures given in Oxford and London, the book includes a penetrating assessment of contemporary musical taste and a list of Crotch's sheet music. His Elements of Musical Composition (1812) is also reissued in this series.

1. Introductory
2. On the three styles of music
3. On musical expression
4. The rise, progress and decline of the art
5. The names of the most distinguished composers in various styles
6. On the present state of the public taste in this nation
Index of authors
Index to the names of composers
General index
List of publications by Dr Crotch.

Subject Areas: Music reviews & criticism [AVC]