Two Important New Sources for the Music of Charles Avison

Abstract

Two workbooks by Charles Avison, the leading English concerto composer of the eighteenth century, have recently been discovered. Consisting of more than 600 pages that have been unknown and unavailable to scholars for over two centuries, the workbooks contain a wealth of fascinating material, including autograph manuscripts for a number of Avison's best-known works, revisions and variant readings for other pieces by the composer, compositions for which the workbooks represent the unique source, copies of music by other composers (particularly Francesco Geminiani), and even drawings by children. The workbooks offer new perspectives on Avison's compositional process and his role in the development of the orchestral concerto in the eighteenth century, add a number of new compositions to the Avison repertory, provide graphic confirmation of the influence of the Italian style on his music, and significantly enhance our understanding of Avison's contributions to instrumental composition in England during the latter part of the eighteenth century.