XIV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2022

For the history of musical art and - more broadly - the musical culture of England, the 17th century turned out to be especially significant in many respects. As a result of the Renaissance, English music has accumulated a rich historical heritage: the traditions of polyphony dating back to the Middle Ages, Dunstable's high example for Europe, the flowering of madrigalist art in the 16th century, the rise of the virginalist school at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries - all these were major milestones on the path of the English musical culture.

About English composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. they speak little, write even less, and hardly ever play their music. But recently they are gradually beginning to be listened to, as evidenced by a fairly wide and constantly expanding range of audio recordings, reconstructions of musical publications of the 17th–18th centuries, and festival programs.

And just in the same historical conditions, the figure of a brilliant musician, Henry Purcell, came to the fore. Thus, in a crisis, a turning point, a pinnacle was reached in the development of English music, and to this day it has not yet been surpassed in its further movement. Purcell is a creative phenomenon of rare individual strength, and for England - quite exceptional. After Purcell, his country quickly and for a long time loses its importance in the field of musical creativity, but English composers do not stop their activities, and the concert and opera life of London widely attracts foreign artists.

Henry Purcell (1658-1695) was born in Westminster. His father was choir director at Westminster Abbey and a singer in the royal chapel. Since childhood, he received a lot of knowledge in the field of musical art.

Purcell's work is diverse and interesting in all its manifestations. He wrote hymns, instrumental music. He owns many musical and dramatic works.

Using the experience of Italian and French opera, he created one of the best monuments of English opera and theatrical art - the opera Dido and Aeneas. This work contains choral, dance episodes and is distinguished by its fantasticness and depth. Purcell in the opera showed deep lyricism, English folk melodies, and an unusual lyric-traged ending.

In the XVIII century The British Empire was the richest and most prosperous country in the world. London became the world's largest center of business activity and attracted active people from all over Europe. Musicians were no exception. In the first half of the XVIII century. major German and Italian musicians worked in London, such as Georg Friedrich Handel, Giovanni Bononcini, Francesco Geminiani, Johann Christoph (John Christopher) Pepusch. Britain continued to willingly accept bright musicians from continental Europe. Joseph Haydn, Johann Christian Bach, Carl Friedrich Abel, Muzio Clementi, Felix Mendelssohn were to some extent connected with London. These bright names over time eclipsed English composers.

But ideas about the absence of their own musicians in England or about their secondary role in the musical life of the country do not correspond to reality. In the art of music, the "national" cultural strategy was reflected, in particular, in the stability of the genre system. English composers in the XVIII century. wrote music mainly in “their own” genres, such as, for example, “masks” and “ballad opera”, anthemes and voluntaries, rooted in the Stuart and Tudor eras. Music was an integral part of the dramatic action. This music, which forms the bulk of the creative heritage of most English composers, was never intended "for export".

In English musical culture in the first half of the 18th century the activity of G. F. Handel played a major role. Handel lived in London for about 50 years (1710-1759). He easily adapted to the tastes and artistic demands of the English public, creating over 40 operas in the Italian style (performed by a London troupe in Italian). The German composer became at the center of the musical life in England. This was facilitated not only by the bright creative personality of Handel, his performing skills, but also by the energy of the organizer, the democratic orientation of his quest. Handel's influence was especially evident in choral music. In his oratorios, based on ancient, historical and biblical heroic stories ("Judas Maccabee", "Samson", "Israel in Egypt", etc.), for the first time in musical images the struggle for the freedom-loving ideals of mankind was embodied. The main role in them is entrusted to the choirs representing the people. Handel's oratorios summarized the traditions of English choral culture. At the same time, elements of operatic dramaturgy play an important role in these oratorios.

A strong blow to the dominance of Italian opera was delivered by The Beggar's Opera (London, 1728) by the English poet and playwright J. Gay and the German composer J. Pepusch, who lived in England. "The Beggar's Opera" - a parody of Italian opera and a vicious satire of the mores of English bourgeois society - was an expression of democratic opposition. It was a sensational success with a democratic audience and remained in the repertoire of the English theater for many years, undergoing various stage and musical adaptations. The "beggar's opera" gave rise to a new genre of the so-called "ballad opera", revived the traditions of folk performances by minstrels of the 15th century.

Among the most significant English composers of the 18th century are T. Arne,

W. Boyce. These composers, who created music for the dramatic theater and pleasure gardens of London, were gifted musicians, but their art lagged far behind the achievements of their contemporary great composers in Germany, Austria, Italy and France; therefore, foreign musicians were invited to England, they ordered operas, oratorios, symphonies. Among foreign composers of the 2nd half of the 18th century. J. K. Bach (son of J. S. Bach, who worked in England from 1762-82) made a significant contribution to English musical culture.

From 1767, the Italian pianist and composer M. Clementi, who is considered the head of the English clavier school, lived in London. An important event in English musical life was the arrival of J. Haydn (1791-92 and 1794-95), who wrote 12 symphonies in England ("London Symphonies") and made 187 adaptations of Scottish songs.

Musical life in England in the XVIII century. manifested itself mainly in the organization of large choral festivals, which brought together many amateur and professional singers to perform Handel's oratorios (since 1715). Since 1724, the so-called "Three Choir Festivals" (church) have been held in succession in Gloucester, Worcester, and Hereford. In 1784, the first Handel Festival took place in London (in Westminster Abbey, where the composer is buried).

There are concert and musical societies that influenced the further development of English music:

Academy of Early Music (since 1770) - the first concert society in London;

"Katch-club" (since 1761), uniting lovers of choral singing;

The largest "Royal Musical Society" (since 1762);

"Concerts of ancient music" (since 1776).

In connection with the increased interest in playing the harpsichord and later the piano (concerts of J.K. Bach, W.A. Mozart, M. Clementi), the production of keyboard instruments develops. In 1728, the J. Broadwood firm (the oldest in the world) was founded, which at first produced harpsichords, and from 1773, grand pianos; In 1760, J. Hill founded a firm that manufactured stringed instruments and bows (later Hill and Sons).

List of literature:

T. Livanova History of Western European music until 1789. - 1 ed. - M: Music, 1982

[Electronic resource] - Access mode. — URL: https://englandlife.ru/muzykalnaya-kultura-anglii);

V. Galatskaya Musical literature of foreign countries. - 1 ed. - M: Music, 1978. - 42-46 p.;

Dulat-Aleev V.R. John Stanley and English music of the middle of the 18th century (to the 300th anniversary of his birth) // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Art history. - 2012. - S. 1-2.;

[Electronic resource] - Access mode. — URL: https://studwood.net/575067/kulturologiya/literatura