1st Edition

The Musical World of Charles Avison Melodic Charm and the Powers of Harmony

By Simon D.I. Fleming Copyright 2025
308 Pages 69 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

308 Pages 69 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

308 Pages 69 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

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... Read more

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 Concertosin 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

Biography

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.