The Musical World of Charles Avison

This book, the first to look at Avison's music in depth, examines the influences on Avison and the circumstances around the composition of his music. It draws heavily upon his important treatise, An Essay on Musical Expression, and other writings, to look at how closely he adheres to his musical aesthetics.

Simon D. I. Fleming is a Durham-based teacher, organist, and musicologist who previously taught in the Music Department at Durham University, UK. His research focuses on music in eighteenth-century Britain, with a particular focus on the north of England. He has published articles in The Musical Times, The Consort, Early Music, The Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, and Eighteenth- Century Music, and he has spoken at numerous conferences. More recently, he has been working on the topic of music subscription lists and has edited, with Martin Perkins, Music by Subscription: Composers and Their Networks in the British Music-Publishing Trade, 1676-1820 (Routledge, 2022). Together they established the Dataset of Subscribers to Eighteenth-Century Music Publications in Britain and Ireland (musicsubscribers.co.uk). He is currently working on a second edited volume, The Music Trade across Britain, 1650-1800, in partnership with Stephanie Carter. Simon's extensive collection of early printed and manuscript music is held by Durham University's Palace Green Library.

1. Introduction 2. Avison in Newcastle and London 3. Earliest Works: The Opus 1 Trio Sonatas of 1737 4. The First Concertos, 1740-47 5. Reworkings and the Scarlatti Concertos of 1744 6. Avison's Vocal Music 7. William Hayes and the Concertos Opus 3 and 4 8. New Directions: The Accompanied Keyboard Sonatas Opus 5, 7, and 8 9. Looking forwards: The Opus 6 Concertos of 1758 and Twenty Six Concertos ... in Score 10. Looking Backwards: The Late Concertos, 1765-69 11. The Reception of Avison's Music During his Lifetime 12. The Afterlife of Avison's Music and his Reputation as a Musician 13. Concluding Thoughts