Thomas Arne

- no royal Patronage or a church post
Career built exclusively on commercial success (eg. Garden concerts - in London)
First National composer: basis of his output was either in native genres or international styles (Italian, French, German - adapted to English) fusion of styles able to do ‘cover versions’ of earlier styles displaying his own connoisseurship (ventriloquising past/present styles) difficult to pigeonhole him started in playhouse, moved to pleasure Gardens known as unpleasant and arrogant person used his sister and wife to promote his career (both singers)

Why forgotten?

Most of his music is lost compositions for theatre - music was sometimes kept by musicians themselves but a lot of the time was stored in the playhouses, which usually ended up burning down, music = LOST or held privately by various people and therefore lost through generations lots of music in early print - but corrupt sources: compare manuscripts in libraries with original sources - things missing/changed due to either mistakes or because of ‘dumbing down’ for society.

genres he composed for: biggest pieces were masks, or ballad operas (ornate music), hybrid genres which no one would considering watching/listening to today earliest hit - burleqsue
“Roasmund” - most successful opera

was a catholic, and therefore could hold no public office biggest employer of music = C.O.E, already huge problems

Charles Burney’s “A general history of music’
‘musical snob’ completely omitted playhouse music, strange considering he composed and played for historiography (the study of how history was written) of musicology (and music editions): England considered ‘das land ohne Musik’, English composers thought inferior to continental composers

*listen to: trio