Charles Burney (1726 1814), was the foremost music historian of his day. The General History, his most famous work, was published in four volumes between 1776 and 1789 and is still of great value today. Burney wanted to write something which would appeal to and inform the musician and the general reader. Research for the History was undertaken during two European tours, in 1770 and 1772, consulting original sources and meeting the great musicians of the time. The resultant work is engaging and elegantly written, offering the reader a fascinating view not only of Burney's own musical preferences and enthusiasms, but also a reflection of contemporary fashionable taste. All four volumes contain generous musical examples, quotations from original sources and an index. The second volume, published in 1782, covers the development of music from plainchant to the Reformation.

Although a well-connected music teacher by profession, Charles Burney (1726 1814) gained greatest recognition for his writings on music. First published in 1771, this work recounts the 1770 journey that Burney undertook as one of two research trips for his General History of Music (1776 89). Eager to meet key composers of the day and to hear the latest music, Burney arrived in Paris in mid-June, soon moving on to Italy, where he spent the majority of his time. Naples, long a centre of musical excellence and then the focus of the new galant style, received particular attention. The whole account provides an invaluable first-hand insight into European musical life in the eighteenth century. Burney's General History and the record of his second tour, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces (second edition, 1775), are also reissued in this series."

Although a well-connected music teacher by profession, Charles Burney (1726 1814) gained greatest recognition for his writings on music. In this 1773 work, reissued here in its 1775 second edition, Burney recounts the 1772 journey that he undertook as one of two research trips for his General History of Music (1776 89). Throughout his travels, he was welcomed by the leading musicians of the day and heard many performances of the latest music. The whole account provides an invaluable first-hand insight into European musical life in the eighteenth century. Burney's General History and The Present State of Music in France and Italy (1772), the record of his first tour, are also reissued in this series. Volume 1 includes his visits to Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt, and to Vienna where he spent considerable time with the librettist Metastasio and the composers Hasse and Gluck."

Although a well-connected music teacher by profession, Charles Burney (1726 1814) gained greatest recognition for his writings on music. In this 1773 work, reissued here in its 1775 second edition, Burney recounts the 1772 journey that he undertook as one of two research trips for his General History of Music (1776 89). Throughout his travels, he was welcomed by the leading musicians of the day and heard many performances of the latest music. The whole account provides an invaluable first-hand insight into European musical life in the eighteenth century. Burney's General History and The Present State of Music in France and Italy (1772), the record of his first tour, are also reissued in this series. Volume 2 includes his visit to Potsdam to hear Frederick the Great's flute playing, and to Hamburg where he was welcomed by C. P. E. Bach."

This three-volume biography, first published in 1796, recounts the colourful life of the popular Italian poet and librettist Pietro Trapassi (1698 1782), better known by his pseudonym Metastasio. Charles Burney (1726 1814), a British composer and the author of a celebrated four-volume History of Music published between 1776 and 1789, interweaves his own accounts of the poet's life with Metastasio's original letters translated into English. Metastasio's posthumously published correspondence with his friends and patrons provides the essential thread to understanding his complex life and affairs. The son of a shopkeeper, Metastasio was adopted as a young boy by the director of the Arcadian Academy, Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, who was charmed by the child's extraordinary talent for improvising poetry. Volume 1 covers Metastasio's life from his early childhood until 1751, including his musical debut in Rome after his tutor's death, and the beginning of his career in Vienna.

This three-volume biography, first published in 1796, recounts the colourful life of the popular Italian poet and librettist Pietro Trapassi (1698-1782), better known by his pseudonym Metastasio. Charles Burney (1726-1814), a British composer and the author of a celebrated four-volume History of Music published between 1776 and 1789, interweaves his own accounts of the poet's life with Metastasio's original letters translated into English. Metastasio's posthumously published correspondence with his friends and patrons provides the essential thread to understanding his complex life and affairs. The son of a shopkeeper, Metastasio was adopted as a young boy by the director of the Arcadian Academy, Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, who was charmed by the child's extraordinary talent for improvising poetry. Volume 2 covers Metastasio's successful Viennese career from 1751 to 1770, and includes the bulk of his correspondence with his friend the famous castrato Farinelli.

This three-volume biography, first published in 1796, recounts the colourful life of the popular Italian poet and librettist Pietro Trapassi (1698-1782), better known by his pseudonym Metastasio. Charles Burney (1726-1814), a British composer and the author of a celebrated four-volume History of Music published between 1776 and 1789, interweaves his own accounts of the poet's life with Metastasio's original letters translated into English. Metastasio's posthumously published correspondence with his friends and patrons provides the essential thread to understanding his complex life and affairs. The son of a shopkeeper, Metastasio was adopted as a young boy by the director of the Arcadian Academy, Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, who was charmed by the child's extraordinary talent for improvising poetry. Volume 3 covers Metastasio's life and correspondence from 1770 until his death. It includes notes on Metastasio's style as well as separate chronologies of his secular dramas and oratorios.

Charles Burney (1726 1814), was the foremost music historian of his day. The General History, his most famous work, was published in four volumes between 1776 and 1789 and is still of great value today. Burney wanted to write something which would appeal to and inform the musician and the general reader. Research for the History was undertaken during two European tours, in 1770 and 1772, consulting original sources and meeting the great musicians of the time. The resultant work is engaging and elegantly written, offering the reader a fascinating view not only of Burney's own musical preferences and enthusiasms, but also a reflection of contemporary fashionable taste. All four volumes contain generous musical examples, quotations from original sources and an index. The third volume, published 1789, considers European music to the end of the seventeenth century and English church music from the death of Purcell to Burney's time.

Charles Burney (1726 1814), was the foremost music historian of his day. The General History, his most famous work, was published in four volumes between 1776 and 1789 and is still of great value today. Burney wanted to write something which would appeal to and inform the musician and the general reader. Research for the History was undertaken during two European tours, in 1770 and 1772, consulting original sources and meeting the great musicians of the time. The resultant work is engaging and elegantly written, offering the reader a fascinating view not only of Burney's own musical preferences and enthusiasms, but also a reflection of contemporary fashionable taste. All four volumes contain generous musical examples, quotations from original sources and an index. The fourth volume, published 1789, is an account of the birth and development of opera and the contemporary music scene in England.

Charles Burney (1726 1814), was the foremost music historian of his day. The General History, his most famous work, was published in four volumes between 1776 and 1789 and is still of great value today. Burney wanted to write something which would appeal to and inform the musician and the general reader. Research for the History was undertaken during two European tours, in 1770 and 1772, consulting original sources and meeting the great musicians of the time. The resultant work is engaging and elegantly written, offering the reader a fascinating view not only of Burney's own musical preferences and enthusiasms, but also a reflection of contemporary fashionable taste. All four volumes contain generous musical examples, quotations from original sources and an index. Volume 1, originally published in 1776 (of which this is the revised edition of 1789) is devoted to the music of the ancient civilisations, in particular of Greece.