The Musical World of Charles Avison: Melodic Charm and the Powers of Harmony

This book explores the works and influence of the eighteenth-century British composer Charles Avison. Although he spent most of his life in the northern town of Newcastle upon Tyne, Avison went on to have a marked impact on the musical life of Britain during the second half of the eighteenth century. His concertos become part of the national concert repertory, while his critical treatise, An Essay on Musical Expression, shaped debates about musical aesthetics. This book provides the first sustained examination of Avison’s musical works and compositional techniques, and it traces how his music not only drew on influences from European composers but also reworked them and in turn, influenced others.

Considering Avison’s musical compositions, the circumstances around their composition and dissemination, and their place in music history, the author confronts preconceptions about the quality of Avison’s music, reveals new dimensions of his work as a composer, and demonstrates the enduring popularity and impact of his music. The author also draws on Avison’s writings to consider how closely he adheres to his own musical aesthetics. Reassessing Avison’s contribution to British music history, this study makes the case for understanding him as an important figure in the development and spread of musical styles across eighteenth-century England.

Simon D. I. Fleming is a Durham-based teacher, organist, and musicologist who previously taught in the Music Department at Durham University, UK. His research focuses on music in eighteenth-century Britain, with a particular focus on the north of England. He has published articles in The Musical Times, The Consort, Early Music, The Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, and Eighteenth- Century Music, and he has spoken at numerous conferences. More recently, he has been working on the topic of music subscription lists and has edited, with Martin Perkins, Music by Subscription: Composers and Their Networks in the British Music-Publishing Trade, 1676–1820 (Routledge, 2022). Together they established the Dataset of Subscribers to Eighteenth-Century Music Publications in Britain and Ireland (musicsubscribers.co.uk). He is currently working on a second edited volume, The Music Trade across Britain, 1650–1800, in partnership with Stephanie Carter. Simon’s extensive collection of early printed and manuscript music is held by Durham University’s Palace Green Library.