Clarinet performance 1760-1810: Venues, audience attendance and reception

Crisp, C. J. (2019) Clarinet performance 1760-1810: Venues, audience attendance and reception. In: 35th Annual Music in Eighteenth-Century Britain, 29 Nov 2019, The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Newspaper sources provide a rich archive of concert activity in 18th century London. Especially useful are those advertisements offering evidence of clarinet performance in London at a time when the instrument was growing in popularity and becoming increasingly accepted within concert performances.

Many advertisements confirm the venues and the names of clarinettists involved in these concert performances and contemporary reviews reveal how clarinet performance was perceived and received by audiences.

This paper focuses on reviews which provide indications of audience attendance and reception to clarinet performance, offering insights into how these performances were received by contemporary audiences. Particularly revealing are those reviews which indicate how many people were present in the audience and, in some rare cases, who they were.

Contemporary reviews of clarinet performance also highlight wider themes present in 18th-century London concert life. These include the intense competition between venues offering concerts, events and other entertainments; the incentives offered by some venues; the power of individual performers to attract an audience; audience etiquette and the way in which performances were received.

Through this paper I will explore research questions such as:
• Which venues featured performances given by clarinettists?
• What can contemporary reviews reveal about audience attendance at these performances?
• How did audiences receive and perceive 18th-century clarinet performance?
• To what extent do these reviews highlight wider themes in 18th-century London concert life?

Publication Type: Conference or Workshop Items (Paper)
Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > M Music
M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music
Divisions: Academic Areas > Conservatoire
Event Title: 35th Annual Music in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Event Location: The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
Event Dates: 29 Nov 2019
Depositing User: Catherine Crisp
Date Deposited: 17 Jul 2020 13:28
Last Modified: 17 Jul 2020 13:28
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/5259

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