Jonathan P. Wainwright. Musical Patronage in Seventeenth-Century England: Christopher, First Baron Hatton (1605-1670). Aldershot, Hants: Scolar Press, 1997. 470 pp. ISBN 1-85928-278-4 (hardcover)

Abstract

Jonathan P. Wainwright. Musical Patronage in Seventeenth-Century England: Christopher, First Baron Hatton (1605-1670). Aldershot, Hants: Scolar Press, 1997. 470 pp. ISBN 1-85928-278-4 (hardcover). Although much attention has been paid to the French influence on musical life at the Restoration Court, it was not the only, nor even the most important influence on English music of the seventeenth century. Underpinning much English baroque music, and indeed, even much French music from the period, are Italian methods. Jonathan Wainwright attempts to rectify the oversight of Italian influences by examining the operation and structure of seventeenth-century English musical patronage in the form of a case study of the activities of Christopher, First Baron Hatton (1605-70). Hatton owned one of the most substantial and important music collections in seventeenth-century England. The collection, much of which still survives today at Christ Church in Oxford, has important implications for understanding musical life during the Civil War at the Oxford Court (1642-46) and provides an excellent example of the extent of the dissemination and influence of Italian music in England during this period. Patronage in the seventeenth century was, by its nature, relatively vague and undefined. Few musicians held permanent positions for musical purposes alone. They did not hold jobs per se, but rather they had relationships and ties to patrons with indefinite terms of responsibilities and remuneration. Impetus for a work often could come from either patron or musician; in many cases the musician offered his work as a gift to the patron and was rewarded with a gratuity, which often took the form of items or benefits other than money. A patron was frequently an enabler rather than an activator and thus, to a large degree, Wainwright often reveals Hatton to have only a loose involvement with the activities of his musicians and copyists. Of course patronage was of vital importance to English musicians in the seventeenth century. Musicians could not operate as independent individuals and were almost entirely reliant on institutional or noble patronage. The career advancement of musicians was dependent on the assistance of a well-placed and amenable patron or sponsor. One needs only to study the plethora of flattering dedications in musical productions of the period in order to apprehend the debt musicians owed to royal or noble patrons and to understand the important place of the patron-client relationship in the overall cultural milieu of the seventeenth century. The most significant patron was, of course, the monarch, and the subject of court patronage during this period has been the subject of a number of significant studies such as Arthur Ashbee's Records of English Court Music (Snodland, 1986-91), and Peter Holman's Four and Twenty Fiddlers: The Violin at the English Court, 1540-1690 (Oxford, 1993), among others. Wainwright, however, chooses not to delve into a great amount of detail regarding the general nature of patronage during this period, preferring instead to concentrate his efforts on the biographical details and conditions surrounding only the patronage of, and musical activities surrounding, Baron Hatton. As such, the book, though it will prove a well-researched and informative resource to some, is relatively limited in its scope and is less of a general survey of patronage in seventeenth-century England than implied in the title. Wainwright divides his book into two large sections. The first section is devoted to the biography and context surrounding Hatton, his music collection, and his most important musicians and copyists. The second section, representing somewhat more than half of the book, presents a meticulous inventory of some of the most significant surviving manuscripts from the collection. This catalogue represents an important reference tool for those interested in English manuscripts and their dissemination during this period. …