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Thomas Alexander Erskine (6th Earl of Kelly): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXVIII (The Maid of the Mill)

On 28 August 1770, the General Evening Post carried an advertisement for “NEW MUSIC Just published” by Robert Bremner (1725–1789). The listing included “Periodical Overture, No. 28, composed by the Earl of Kelly for the Maid of the Mill.” The advertisement did not use the “This Day is Published” language that was Bremner’s custom when an issue was first released, so it is likely that Periodical Overture No. 28 had been in print for several weeks or months. In any event, it was to be Bremner’s last collaboration with his longtime colleague Thomas Alexander Erskine (1732–1781), the sixth Earl of Kelly (see Periodical Overtures Nos. 13, 17, and 25).

Thomas Alexander Erskine (6th Earl of Kelly (1732-1781) The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XXVIII

Key: B-flat | Movements: 3 (1) Allegro (2) Adagio ma non troppo (3) Minuet Duration: 8:56 Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 violins, viola, basso Originally published by Robert Bremner, London, 1770 (RISM E.778)

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The Periodical Overture No. 28 was not a new work when it appeared in Bremner’s series. In fact, it is likely that some of its purchasers had already heard it performed, since it had been composed five years earlier to serve as the overture for the pasticcio comedy The Maid of the Mill. Playwright Isaac Bickerstaffe (1733–1812) based the libretto on a very loose adaptation of Samuel Richardson’s popular novel Pamela. Like most British pasticcios of the day, the majority of the music was borrowed from earlier operatic works, but six pieces were newly composed for The Maid of the Mill: four songs by Samuel Arnold (1740–1802), an aria by Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782) (see Periodical Overtures Nos. 1, and 15), and the overture by Lord Kelly. The Maid of the Mill was the season’s chief success after its 31 January 1765 premiere at London’s Covent Garden Theatre. It then enjoyed several revivals in London, ranging clear up to the early nineteenth century. The pasticcio also traveled quite widely, with productions appearing in New York in 1769, St. Petersburg in 1772, and Jamaica in 1779.

Erskine’s overture for The Maid of the Mill enjoyed a life of its own as well. As was the case with his three earlier symphonies published by Bremner, Periodical Overture No. 28 enjoyed numerous performances in meetings of the Edinburgh Musical Society. Scholar Jenny Burchell has tabulated ten documented performances: one in 1771, two a decade later in 1781, and then seven that followed the earl’s death: two in 1782, three in 1783, and single presentations in 1784 and 1786. In a curious bit of programming, The Maid of the Mill overture was even used to precede selections from Handel’s Messiah in at least one concert, although this “unsuitable” pairing did arouse protest. The minister Charles Davy felt these “inconsistencies” were the result of a director lacking “true taste and judgement.” More evidence for the overture’s popularity was the keyboard arrangement that was published in The Piano-Forte Magazine in 1798, more than thirty years after the pasticcio’s premiere. The sustained interest in Erskine’s contribution supported the contemporary view that his music merited “vast applause” and that it was “an outstanding attraction for upper-class visitors to Edinburgh.”

From the Preface to the printed edition: Erskine’s overture amply reflects his Mannheim training with Johann Stamitz (see Periodical Overtures Nos. 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12). The B-flat major “Allegro,” in common time, opens with three hammer blows that are repeated a third higher in the second measure. Interestingly, Kelly may have influenced J. C. Bach in turn, since Bach uses the same two opening bars almost exactly at the start of his Symphony in B-flat, Op. 9/21, no. 1 (1773). After this robust, forte opening, the first theme drops in volume to prepare for a four-measure wind showcase (m. 13). Fans of Stamitz’s music would recognize the Mannheim crescendo (m. 17) that then bridges the first and second themes of the sonata form. The crescendo passage is filled with “crushed” motifs of two thirty-second notes rising to a dotted eighth, supported throughout by steady “drum 8ths.” The quieter second theme (m. 41) relaxes the intensity by using longer note values as well. The development (m. 52) opens with a motif from the first theme, and again spotlights the winds (m. 68), made more dramatic by the use of the minor mode and by short injections of the “crushed” motif in the strings and bassoon. There is a clear drive to the recapitulation (m. 84), which repeats the nuances of the exposition, including its many moments of chromaticism.

The central movement—a lyrical common-time “Adagio ma non troppo” in the dominant key of F major—loosely conforms to the binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata,” diagrammed as || a/I b/V a(’)/V b/I ||.[1] The horns are tacet, but Erskine continues to employ the oboes and bassoons in addition to the strings. In fact, the second period (m. 7) of the first theme showcases the oboes, followed by some delightful echo effects between the winds and strings. The oboes also introduce the second theme (m. 16), featuring a quick rise and a slower fall, and peppered with trills.

In several of the preceding Periodical Overtures, Bremner had created three-movement symphonies by eliminating minuets from his continental sources. In the case of The Maid of the Mill overture, however, Erskine’s third movement is a minuet, so Bremner retained it in this publication. Although it returns to the symphony’s B-flat tonal center and is in the customary  meter, Erskine does not use the standard minuet-and-trio form. Instead, the finale is crafted as a conventional five-part rondo (A B A C A). The refrain is a graceful rising line, starting piano but repeating at forte. The first episode (m. 17) has a descending contour and plays with juxtaposed eighth notes and triplets. After the return of the refrain (m. 25), the C episode (m. 41) ushers in some increased drama by its use of a minor mode and an extended woodwind feature. After a brief moment of imitative polyphony, Erskine shifts the focus to short motifs. Another Mannheim crescendo (m. 54) adds to the episode’s intensity, but the mood lightens with the last return of A (m. 65). Overall, Erskine’s effective creativity may explain this overture’s long-term popularity; it also illustrates the “genius for composition” credited to Erskine by Burney.[2] Almost two hundred years later, British scholar Charles Cudworth reiterated that viewpoint, arguing that “after the middle of the century, the Earl of Kelly was undeniably our most gifted symphonist.”[3]

Alyson McLamore

[1] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

[2] Burney, A General History of Music From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period (1789), 1018.

[3] Cudworth, “The English Symphonists of the Eighteenth Century,” 48.

Thomas Arne: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXVII (The Guardian Outwitted)

 

With the twenty-seventh issue of the Periodical Overtures, announced in early April 1770, publisher Robert Bremner (1725–1789) [1] did something he had never done before: he printed a symphony by an English composer, Thomas Augustine Arne (1717–1778). True, the Scot Thomas Alexander Erskine (the Earl of Kelly) had been featured three times up to this point, contributing Periodical Overtures Nos. 13, 17, and 25. Arne, however, appeared only this one time in the series, and while Erskine would figure once again—in fact, in the subsequent issue, Periodical Overture No. 28—no other British composers were represented in the sixty-one symphonies.

The inclusion of Arne’s piece was itself a bit surprising, even though Arne had been a long-standing and prominent musical figure in Great Britain. When his comic opera The Guardian Outwitted premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on 12 December 1764, it lasted only six nights.[2] Ironically, a string of critiques—some in prose, and some as satirical odes—were published over the next several weeks, persisting much longer than the opera itself.[3] Despite the production’s relatively brief run, Bremner published a vocal score (with Arne’s dedication to Queen Charlotte) early in 1765, containing songs and duets along with a keyboard arrangement of the overture.[4] It was that same overture—some five years later—that would comprise Periodical Overture No. 27.

Thomas Arne (1717-1789) The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XXVII

Key: G | Movements: 3 (1) Con Spirito (2) Andante Larghetto (3) Andante Amoroso Duration: 5:43 Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 flutes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 violins, viola, basso Originally published by Robert Bremner, London, 1770 (RISM A.1834)

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From the Preface to the printed edition: It is easy to argue that the overture of The Guardian Outwitted is a very fine introductory piece for listeners who are new to Arne. He demonstrates his awareness of changing trends in theater overtures, since he incorporates several of the structural elements of stand-alone concert symphonies, such as the shift from G major in the outer movements to the parallel minor for the central “Andante Larghetto.” Like members of the Mannheim school, he gives significant attention to the winds; he also expands the ensemble from Bremner’s customary “eight parts” by requiring flutes in the finale and a pair of bassoons throughout.

The opening “Con Spirito” seems to reflect a composer who was straddling the divide between the Ancients (those who valued the traditions of Baroque music) and the Moderns (fans of the newest compositional trends). This first movement presents a blend of older overture conventions with newer symphonic techniques, such as its proto-sonata-rondo form. Arne’s first theme is full of sudden contrasts: it opens with a full-ensemble hammer-blow and then immediately shifts to delicate, piano, staccato notes in the upper strings; the full group re-enters at a forte for six measures until returning to the opening material. This time, though, the six-measure passage is expanded to eight bars, and it transitions to the dominant minor for the movement’s lyrical second theme at measure 19. This theme—with its “real harmonic character”—features the oboes, who play conjunct pairs of notes in alternation with small flurries of sixteenths in the violins.[5] After this brief four-bar passage, the full ensemble returns to the first theme at measure 23, now in the dominant major. Arne does not repeat the exposition; instead, the first theme launches the development at measure 31, while it is the second theme that heralds the return to the tonic G (m. 60), but again, in the parallel minor. Four measures later, the first theme solidifies the sense of closure with its robust scoring in G major.

In contrast to the numerous modern features of the first movement, the tiny ten-measure “Andante Larghetto” resembles the slow “bridge” transitions between movements in Baroque structures such as concertos and trio sonatas. It differs significantly from the keyboard reduction in the older vocal score, and it is unknown which version more accurately represents the overture actually performed in Covent Garden. In any event, the simpler rhythmic passages in the Periodical Overture provide a clearer showcase for the orchestral timbral effects. The oboes take the lead, while the strings play pizzicato until the final two bars. The movement culminates with a fermata in measure 8 that suggests an opportunity for a brief cadenza (and which was specified in the keyboard version). The oboes then fall silent and the strings play an arco half-cadence, pausing on D major before an implied attacca into the finale.

The “Andante Amoroso” does not evoke the “gigue” finales heard in the majority of Bremner’s Periodical Overtures. Instead, it suggests a different, more sedate dance, such as a minuet or even a Ländler. It contains three themes in an a-a-b-a-c-b-c-a pattern. While the quiet first theme (a) puts an emphasis on beat 2 with its opening quarter-note/half-note rhythms and prevalent rinforzandi, it starts to introduce Scotch snaps in measure 5, and these quickly prove to be a dominant feature throughout the finale. The first violin often bypasses steps four and seven in the scale (as in, for example, measure 5), giving those passages a pentatonic flavour. The b theme (m. 17) then features the Scotch snap in almost every bar, while the c motif (m. 32) reduces but does not eliminate the distinctive folk rhythm. All through the movement, the strings and woodwinds are showcased in alternation. Moreover, the bassoon takes on an independent role—the first extended example of this type of scoring to appear in Bremner’s series. The overall effect is charming; it is also an ample illustration of Arne’s “God-gifted” melodic expertise.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Bremner’s birth year differs from the “c.1713” currently listed in most published sources; it is based on information from Scottish baptismal records that was kindly conveyed to us by Rudolf Rasch.

[2] “London Stage Event: 12 December 1764 at Covent Garden,” London Stage Database, accessed April 8, 2026, https://londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu/event.php?id=32448.

[3] P.C. Roscoe, “Arne and ‘The Guardian Outwitted,” Music & Letters 24, no. 4 (Oct. 1943): 239–244.

[4] British Library, G.230.(2).

[5] Richard Platt, “Thomas Augustine Arne, 1710–1778,” in The Symphony and Overture in Great Britain: Twenty Works, ed. Richard Platt, Susan Kirakowska, David Johnson, and Thomas McIntosh, Series E, Volume I of The Symphony, 1720–1840 (New York: Garland, 1984), lxvi.

Jacob Herschel: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXVI

In the first twenty-five issues of the Periodical Overtures, publisher Robert Bremner (c.1725–1789) had issued a small handful of works by composers living in (or visiting) Great Britain. This direct contact had certainly been the case with the inaugural symphony by Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), and Bach—still resident in London—had been represented again (less happily) by Periodical Overture No. 15. Bremner’s personal acquaintance with Thomas Alexander Erskine (1732–1781), the sixth Earl of Kelly, clearly had led to the publication of Periodical Overtures Nos. 13, 17, and the most recent issue, No. 25, which appeared in June 1769. It seems quite possible that Bremner also had contracted in person for the right to publish the twenty-sixth symphony in the series, since its composer—Jacob Herschel (1734–1792)—is known to have spent various periods of time in London during a two-year stay in England; in fact, his sojourn in Great Britain did not end until late July 1769, while Bremner’s print was issued just four months later.

Jacob Herschel (1734-1792) The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XXVI

Key: C | Movements: 3 (1) Allegro con brio (2) Andante molto più tosto Allegretto (3) Presto Duration: 7:42 Scoring: 2 violins, viola, basso, 2 oboes, 2 horns Originally published by Robert Bremner, London, 1769 (RISM H.5194)

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From the Preface to the printed edition: As the sole published symphonic music by (Jacob) Herschel—and perhaps the first music of any sort by Herschel in modern edition—Periodical Overture No. 26 presents a very fine calling card. The first movement lives up to its “Allegro con brio” designation with a bold premier coup d’archet in which the full ensemble plays a two-measure unison triadic figure to cement the tonic C major. After these hammerstrokes and several rising and falling scalar lines, the first violins perform an extended descending sequential pattern, supported by measured tremolos and “drum 8ths” in the lower strings. In measure 17, Herschel launches the first of several playful passages in which the first violins rapidly repeat a single pitch at a piano dynamic for two bars before crescendoing to forte. During that quiet passage, however, the violins are interrupted multiple times by the rest of the ensemble who interject quick forte appoggiaturas. After a similar interplay starting at measure 28 (now in G major), the movement takes an unexpected turn to the dominant minor to launch the “B” section (m. 38) of the movement’s ternary form. During this mostly piano passage, Herschel again startles listeners with subito interjections of an ensemble fortissimo (m. 45, m. 53). At measure 74, a return of the dynamic interchange first heard in measure 17 is our cue that a reprise of the “A” section is near, and the opening hammerstrokes make their reappearance at measure 91.

The second movement of Periodical Overture No. 26 mixes conventional and unconventional elements. The drop to a slower tempo and the omission of the winds are both expected, but the “Andante molto più tosto Allegretto” designation is unusually detailed. The change, harmonically, to F major—the subdominant of C major—is a standard transition, but the repetition scheme of ||: a :||: b a :|| c a || is a bit unexpected, expanding what initially seems to be an ordinary rounded-binary structure into a form that might be best described as a rondo. Herschel sets each melody apart, opening the refrain (a) with a five-note ascent (with a bit of chromaticism) that then gradually works its way downward above a busily “seesaw” pattern in Violin II. The b episode, in F’s dominant key, C major, descends more directly, first in sequential three-note groups, and then in a longer scale. The c episode—in d minor—shifts to much longer (and louder) quarter-note values in most of the ensemble; their four-note descents expand on the three-note descents of b.

Herschel’s sense of humour seems to be in evidence yet again in the “Presto,” written in a gigue-like meter. As in the first movement, the full ensemble bounces its way through a rising C major arpeggio as a premier coup d’archet—but when the ensemble catches its collective breath on the fourth beat of the measure, the violins quickly fill the silence with racing eighth notes. This lively gimmick is repeated in the second bar and again at many points during the movement. The finale employs two main melodies, a and b, that progress through the tonic and dominant harmonies in an || a/I b/V a/V b/I || pattern. James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy have labeled this structure as a “Type 2 Sonata”; Herschel’s version does not contain the repetition that often divides the form in half.1 In contrast to the a theme with its opening disjunct bounciness, the b melody (m. 11 and m. 50) starts with rising and falling conjunct eighth notes that are occasionally interrupted by a large upward leap. Herschel also interjects short “block-chord” passages, such as measure 16—rather like the c episode in the slow movement—that underpin an effervescent melody in the first violin. In contrast to the flexible dynamics during the preceding movements, the finale sustains a robust forte or fortissimo throughout. Altogether, Periodical Overture No. 26 gives listeners an exhilarating—but regrettably rare—illustration of Herschel’s ample capabilities.

Alyson McLamore

1 James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

 

Thomas Alexander Erskine (Earl of Kelly): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXV

After a longish gap, perhaps of more than a year, Robert Bremner (c.1713–1789) resumed publication of the Periodical Overtures by issuing No. 25 on 10 June 1769. The composer was Thomas Alexander Erskine (1732–1781), the sixth Earl of Kelly, and this was the third time that Bremner had featured a composition by his long-time Scottish colleague (explore the earlier overtures XIII and XVII). Interestingly, the very first work by Erskine to appear in the series (Periodical Overture No. XIII) had also been issued after a long hiatus; perhaps Bremner felt that offering a work by a British citizen, instead of one of the many foreign composers who had contributed the majority of the overtures, might “kick-start” the renewed series with more energy. In any event, with the release of Periodical Overture No. 25, Bremner’s “Opera Quinta” was underway.

 

Thomas Alexander Erskine (Earl of Kelly) (1732-1781) The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XXV

Key: D | Movements: 3 (1) Allegro assai (2) Andante (3) Presto Duration: 15:28 Scoring: 2 violins, viola, basso, 2 oboes, 2 horns Originally published by Robert Bremner, London, 1769 (RISM E.777)

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From the Preface to the printed edition: Unlike the other three symphonies by Erskine that appeared in the series, purchasers of Periodical Overture No. 25 received the advertised eight-part scoring—with no extra woodwind parts. The symphony also reflected many of the Mannheim traits that Erskine had helped introduce to the British public. The three-movement work opens with a common-time “Allegro assai” in ternary form. The first A section is peppered with oscillating sixteenth notes and it proceeds through a rising stepwise sequence. It is supported initially by “drum 8ths” and, later, measured tremolos. It is possible to see the influence of Erskine’s teacher Stamitz in the central B section (m. 37), which showcases the oboes playing an arpeggiated theme saturated with the short-long rhythms that were even then called “Scots [now Scotch] snaps.”1 A particularly dramatic passage begins at measure 53, which uses an extended Mannheim crescendo and a long stretch of minor mode to lead back to the return of A in measure 86.

The central movement—a graceful “Andante” in the dominant key of A major—conforms to the binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata,” diagrammed as ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :||.2 Interestingly, the second theme ends with another string of Scotch snaps (m. 34 and onward), creating a bit of a cyclic connection between the first two movements of this symphony.

Erskine returns to D major for a lively “Presto” finale. Although it employs a sonata-form structure, many of its features are gigue-like, such as the 6/8 time, the bouncy melodies, and the regular four-bar phrases. The first theme features the full orchestra rising and falling in a robust premier coup d’archet passage, while the second theme reduces the ensemble to just the two violin parts and a piano dynamic level. The first violins play a disjunct line in longer note values, supported by a steadily moving series of eighth notes in the second violins. Although Erskine uses the recognizable opening motif from the first theme to launch the development (m. 65), he varies the tone colour by featuring the oboes and then the horns—another touch that his teacher Stamitz would have appreciated. As is true in all the “Lord Kelly” selections published by Bremner, Periodical Overture No. 25 illustrates the “genius for composition” credited to Erskine by Burney.3 It certainly supports the British scholar Charles Cudworth’s view that “after the middle of the century, the Earl of Kelly was undeniably our most gifted symphonist.”4

Alyson McLamore

1 Charles Burney, A General History of Music From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period (1789), Vol. II, ed. by Frank Mercer (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1935]), 858.

2 James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.

3 Burney, A General History of Music From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period (1789), 1018.

4 Cudworth, “The English Symphonists of the Eighteenth Century,” 48.

Francesco Pasquale Ricci: The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXIV

With Periodical Overture No. 24, Robert Bremner returned to Francesco Pasquale Ricci (1732–1817) after a five-year gap — the longest between appearances by a single composer in the series to that point. The choice was probably deliberate: Ricci’s earlier overture (No. 2) had shown staying power, and his familiar name made him an apt choice to close “Opera Quarta,” Bremner’s only all-Italian set. The connection between composer and publisher may well have been personal: Ricci spent time in London in the spring of 1767, and it is possible that the introduction came through Johann Christian Bach, with whom Ricci had shared the patronage of Count Agostino Litta in Milan. The B♭ major symphony may even have originated in the musical academy that Ricci directed there, bringing amateurs and professionals together in performance.

 

Francesco Pasquale Ricci (1732–1817) The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – No. XXIV Key: B♭ | Movements: 3 – (1) Con spirito (2) Maestoso (3) Allegro Duration: 14:31 Scoring: 2 violins, viola, basso, 2 oboes, 2 horns Originally published by Robert Bremner, London, c.1768 RISM R.127

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From the Preface to the printed edition: The first movement of the B♭ major symphony lives up to its “Con spirito” designation from the start, opening with a bold coup d’archet of an ascending dotted-rhythm pattern for the entire ensemble. “Drum 8ths” sustain the excitement when the dynamic level drops to piano in the eighth bar. Although the meter is a less-common , the structure is an uncomplicated sonata form. The animated first theme is followed by a more delicate second subject at measure 25 in the expected key of F major. Like the quieter second phrase of the first theme, it, too, is supported by steady drum 8ths, and the violins add measured tremolos as they approach the development (m. 41). The sudden transition in measure 41 to a one-on-a-part string ensemble supporting a fairly elaborate Violin I solo gives the passage a concerto-like intensity. The development’s harmonic wanderings are compounded by constant subito shifts between piano and forte, and the passage ends with an exhilarating downward scale into the recapitulation at measure 65, when the full ensemble rejoins at last. The first theme is virtually unchanged during its reappearance, and after yielding to the second theme in measure 96, the first theme’s opening coup d’archet wraps up the movement in measure 115.

The string-only slow movement of Periodical Overture No 24 is unusual in its true “Maestoso” qualities. The unison violins present the stately opening F-major arpeggiated melody for two measures before being echoed by the lower strings in the dominant harmony of C (again in octave unison). This imitative polyphony acknowledges the “learned” approach, which differs markedly from the “grazioso” style of the middle movements in many of Bremner’s symphonies. Like the first movement, the meter is again triple, and the structure is again sonata form, although without repeats. Similar to the development in the “Con spirito,” Ricci reduces the scoring to solo strings repeatedly during the course of the movement, with the first instance occurring in measure five. The second theme (m. 17) is much more conjunct, including a brief chromatic ascent (m. 20), and the exposition concludes with another short but regal passage of dotted rhythms (m. 26) that arpeggiate the C major harmony. The development (m. 29) immediately shifts to the dominant minor, but it is not long until the unison first theme re-enters (m. 41). Another passage in c minor (m. 52) serves as the bridge to the reappearance of the second theme, now in the tonic F major, and—after a fermata (m. 65), which suggests Ricci may have envisioned an opportunity for a brief first-violin cadenza—the dotted rhythms return in measure 66 to conclude the movement.

Ricci changes the mood entirely in the bouncy finale. The lively “Allegro,” back in B-flat major, is yet another sonata form. Its lilting first theme features the rising-and-falling Bebung gesture that was named by scholars who observed its use by composers of the Mannheim school, but which is also widely found in Italian orchestral music of the time. Drum 8ths and measured tremolos add to the zeal of the energetic melody, and their support continues on into the second theme (m. 23). This contrasting melody plays with frequent dynamic contrasts and is somewhat more disjunct than the first theme. Just as in the first movement, the development showcases another extended passage of one-on-a-part string scoring (m. 35). Again, one player propels the whole passage; after two unadorned dotted-half notes, the first violinist embarks on a nearly continuous string of sixteenth notes to drive back to the recapitulation and the return of the tutti (m. 51). The bridge between the first and second themes (m. 71) is underpinned by a six-measure F pedal tone in the basso and horn parts. The second theme’s dynamic contrasts resume in measure 81, while four measures of sustained B♭ major harmony are an emphatic conclusion to the movement as well as to the overall symphony.

Alyson McLamore

Niccolò Piccinni (Piccini): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXIII

With The Periodical Overture No. XXIII, Robert Bremner issued the last of four works by Niccolò Piccinni (1728–1800) that he included in the long-running Periodical Overture series. Until this issue, Bremner had never featured the same composer four times in a row. However, all four of the Piccinni overtures were published within “Opera Quarta,” Bremner’s only all-Italian set during the twenty years of his enterprise. As Piccinni was one of the most performed opera composers in 1760s London, it explains why Bremner published four of his overtures in quick succession.

Periodical Overture No. XXIII shares many basic characteristics with the other three symphonies by Piccinni that Bremner published. All of them conform to an (unmodified) three-movement, fast-slow-fast structure, and they all employ solely the advertised eight-part ensemble of two violins, viola, basso, two oboes, and two horns. In addition, Piccinni uses the same tempo indication—“Allegro spiritoso”—for the first movements in all four symphonies. Nevertheless, the opening movement of Periodical Overture No. 23 offers some uncommon features as well. It is set in  3/4 metre, a time signature found in only eight of The Periodical Overtures’ first movements. Curiously, some manuscript copies of the oratorio version—La morte di Abele—employed  6/8 metre instead, presenting the same melodies but grouping their eighth notes differently.[1]

The form of the first movement was much more typical of the overall Periodical Overtures. It is a straightforward sonata form (without repeats), comprised of two distinct melodies. The first of its themes employs six-bar phrases that gradually ascend through arpeggiations of the tonic F major harmony for four bars before cascading downward rapidly for two measures. The lower strings provide a steady “drum 8ths” support throughout. Alternating bars of measured tremolos in the violins coincide with the long transition (m. 15) to the dominant. The second theme (m. 30) moves primarily downward, and it showcases rapid on-the-beat turns that create a “Scotch snap” effect.

Four emphatic chords—followed by a beat of silence for the full ensemble (m. 44–45)—signal the arrival at the development, which introduces several striking contrasts. It drops instantly to a piano dynamic level and it also omits the wind instruments for its entire duration of twenty-two measures. It also begins in the dominant’s parallel minor, creating quite a bit of drama on multiple fronts. The recapitulation (m. 68) shakes off all those features and returns to F major and the first theme in a robust forte for the full ensemble. A tonic version of the second theme is ushered in at measure 89, although the first theme will seize the spotlight a final time at measure 100. Piccinni then blends motifs from both of the themes in alternation as he approaches the cadence and the concluding set of four strong chords.

The central “Andantino” creates a very different atmosphere. Like the first movement’s development passage, the winds are tacet. The rondo structure alternates between two tonal centers—B-flat major (the first movement’s subdominant) and its own dominant (F major). The A refrain is filled with thirty-second notes and Scotch snaps with numerous short silences; its dynamic changes between piano and forte are abrupt and frequent. The first episode (m. 11) initially resembles the refrain, but B then moves on to some brief scales. The refrain reappears, largely unaltered, at m. 16, again in B-flat major. The C episode modulates back to F major once more (m. 22). Although C is also rhythmically dense with frequent rests, it is much more disjunct in character, and it remains at piano for a much longer stretch. Measure 27 then pulls us back to where we began, reestablishing B-flat major and reiterating the A refrain once again.

The closing “Allegro” movement’s form is a pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy label a “Type 1 Sonata.”[2] This pattern is sometimes called a sonatina; it is, essentially, a sonata form without development. It has much in common with the finales of the other Piccini works in Bremner’s series: it is full of bouncy energy in  meter that evokes a gigue. (Periodical Overture No. 22 employed  instead, but to similar effect.) The modulation from the tonic F major to the dominant C major is straightforward, but Piccinni keeps us guessing in many places with his use of irregular phrase lengths. Although the first theme (m. 1) and the second theme (m. 17) have much in common rhythmically, many of their phrases move in opposite directions. The recapitulation reestablishes F major at measure 39, and it reconciles the second theme to that harmony at measure 56. Heads are likely to nod along during the rollicking ending, and the appealing qualities of this sinfonia make it understandable why Piccinni chose to deploy it multiple times.

Alyson McLamore

Purchase the score and performance materials: https://repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de/product/piccinni-piccini-niccolo-4/

All audio previews for this series (Nos. I–XXII on Bandcamp; XXIII onwards on YouTube): https://www.barnabypriest.com/editing-arranging/1169742-the-periodical-overtures-in-8-parts/ https://barnabypriest.bandcamp.com/music

Notes:

[1] https://rism.online/sources/400012152.

[2] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 345–6.

Niccolò Piccinni (Piccini): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXII

The twenty-second instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, continues Bremner’s publication of overtures written by Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. In this case, the third by Niccolo Piccinni was originally published as the Overture to Le Contadine Bizzare an opera buffa by the Italian composer whose music was extremely popular in London during this period.

All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

The Periodical Overture No. 22 is scored for the ubiquitous eight-part ensemble of two violins, viola, basso, two oboes, and two horns, and it conforms to a typical fast-slow-fast tempo plan. The first movement, “Allegro spiritoso,” launches the G major symphony with a brisk upward thirty-second note anacrusis that continues with an ascending arpeggiation in common time. Almost immediately, Piccinni plays with dramatic dynamic contrasts while the upper strings play scalar patterns above resolute “drum 8ths.” After a modulation to the dominant D major, the scoring drops to solely violins and viola (m. 33), who present a piano second theme that also ascends by means of an undulating motif. A crescendo at measure 41 drives to the end of the exposition (m. 46). It is followed immediately by a recapitulation in G of the first theme, since the movement’s form is a pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy label a “Type 1 Sonata.”[1] This pattern is sometimes called a sonatina; it is, essentially, a sonata form without development. When the second theme reappears (m. 64), it initially returns to D major, but it is soon pulled back to G major and cascades of descending scales then conclude the movement.

Piccinni’s “Andante con molto” movement certainly seems well-suited for the “refined” audience because of its shift to the parallel minor, sudden dynamic contrasts, and a scoring that is reduced to strings alone. It, too, is structured as a sonatina, with a first theme filled with rising-and-falling sixteenth-note arches. The second theme (m. 21), in G minor’s relative major, B-flat, uses longer-value eighth notes to pull the direction downward. G minor and the first theme reappear in measure 42, while the descending theme takes over in measure 58.

As had been true in Piccinni’s Periodical Overture No. 20, there is no real break between the end of the slow movement and the attacca start of the “Allegro” finale. It restores the harmony to the opening G major, and it again uses the sonatina structure. “Gallery” auditors would have appreciated the gigue-like characteristics of its disjunct opening theme in  time. Relentless drum 8ths return in the accompaniment, subsiding only at the arrival of the second theme (m. 22). Here, the winds drop out, the dynamic level is reduced to piano, and the violins seem “stuck” on a repetitive three-note group of rising pitches in the dominant D major. At last (m. 26), the upper strings break free to play measured tremolos above resumed drum 8ths. The drive of this section prepares for the recapitulation of the first theme (m. 38). The same scoring and dynamic changes recur for the reprise of the second theme (m. 59), while the vigorous tremolos and drum 8ths (m. 93) produce a compelling final flourish.

Alyson McLamore

[1] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 345–6.

Niccolò Piccinni (Piccini): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXI

With this, the twenty-first instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we continue Bremner’s publication of  overtures written by Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

There is some uncertainty about the dating of Periodical Overture No. 21. In his seminal study of the series, David Wyn Jones cites a 24 September 1767 advertisement in The Public Advertiser.[1] However, that issue of the newspaper does not seem to contain any advertising at all by Bremner. Moreover, in an advertisement published three days earlier—on 21 September—Bremner lists the previous symphony, No. 20, as “just published,” with no mention of an upcoming No. 21.[2] It seems unlikely that Bremner would have issued two overtures in the same month, so it is more probable that the second symphony by Piccinni was introduced in October, November, or very early December. It is true that the first advertisement to mention Periodical Overture No. 21—which was published in the 8 December–10 December issue of The St. James’s Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post—lists the overture (with other works) under the stock heading “New Music. This Day were published. . . .”[3] However, Bremner’s third symphony by Piccinni was announced only two weeks later—on 22 December—so it is possibly the case that Bremner had released No. 21 quite a bit earlier than 8 December and had not bothered to revise the language of the advertisement.

Although Periodical Overture No. 21 seems to have achieved only a tiny fraction of the popularity of its immediate predecessor, it did demonstrate a certain amount of staying power. Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented two performances that took place in concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society in 1783, sixteen years after the symphony was published: one occurred on 2 May and the second on 16 June. Two years later, it was presented again, during a 24 June performance.[4]

The structural similarities between Periodical Overture No. 21 and the subsequent two Piccinni works, which both are known to have come from operas, are additional arguments for No. 21 having had a theatrical origin as well. It is in three movements, with the first marked as “Allegro spiritoso,” the identical tempo marking that is used for the opening in all four of Piccinni’s works in the Periodical Overture series. This F major work is structured as a sonata form without repeats, although it is “Haydnesque” in its re-use of the common-time, upward-zigzag first theme in the second tonal area of C major (m. 27). During the theme’s first appearance (m. 1), it is supported by a murky bass (m. 7) and then “drum 8ths” (m. 12). The bridge between the two harmonic areas, starting in measure 16, is peppered with subito contrasts between piano and forte, and the same is true for the development, which starts in measure 36 after three quick hammer blows mark the end of the exposition. Here, though, the contrasts are even greater, shifting suddenly between pianissimo and fortissimo. The opening theme returns at measure 46 and is reiterated at measure 62, driving to a final set of hammer blows in measure 70.

The central movement moves to the contrasting subdominant key of B-flat major, and it is set in a not-terribly-slow “Andante grazioso”; all three of the other Piccinni symphonies also employ some version of “Andante” in their second movements. All four also reduce the ensemble to strings alone, although this is true for over half of the symphonies in Bremner’s series. Within the ternary form, Piccinni’s A melody works its way downward gradually. The B theme (m. 20) makes use of numerous suspensions and dramatic dynamic contrasts. When the A theme returns (m. 32), it also features many sudden and dramatic dynamic changes.

Piccinni is again consistent in his use of bouncy, gigue-like, compound-subdivision finales. Three of the four closing movements—including Periodical Overture No. 21—are in  time, and two of the other symphonies are marked “Allegro,” while one is labeled “Presto.” Periodical Overture No. 21 perhaps straddles the line by calling for “Allegro Presto.” Returning to the F major home key, it travels a lively journey through a sonata form, starting with strong, ascending block chords in the upper strings and winds. The second theme (m. 35) features busy rising-and-falling sixteenth notes. The development (m. 44) drops to a hushed piano dynamic and reduced scoring of violins and violas only, sustained for eighteen measures. A subito return to forte and a quick downward scale set the stage for the recapitulation (m. 64) and the reprise of the block chords. Piccinni may also be emulating a little bit of Haydnesque playfulness by tossing in a “false reprise” of the second theme’s busy motif in the “wrong” key of C major at measure 90. It reappears in a clear, forte F major at measure 101, propelling the overture to its final emphatic triple-stop chords in the violins—again a characteristic shared by all four of the Piccinni Periodical Overtures.

Alyson McLamore

[1] David Wyn Jones, “Robert Bremner and The Periodical Overture,” Soundings 7 (1978): 74.

[2] The Public Advertiser, 21 September 1767, p. 1.

[3] The St. James’s Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post, 8 December—10 December 1767, p. 2

[4] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 337, 344.

 

Niccolò Piccinni (Piccini): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XX (Overture to La buona figliuola)

With this, the twentieth instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we continue Bremner’s publication of  overtures written by Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

advertisement for publication of music by Piccinni

Announcement of the publication of Overture XX.

[The popularity of the publication of Piccinni’s overture to La buona figliuola as Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XX] is evident in the numerous keyboard arrangements published until the end of the century. A circa 1800 print by T. Williamson seems to be based directly on Bremner’s score for the full opera, since it is set in three movements with almost identical notation.[1] Others, such as the prints sold by James Aird (1785) or G. Walker (1800), were newly engraved.[2] The same is true for a 1785 arrangement made by Thomas Carter and published by John Preston, which was designed “for Two Performers on One Harpsichord or Piano Forte.”[3] A copy of Carter’s four-hand arrangement was in Jane Austen’s personal library, suggesting the ongoing appeal of the work on into the nineteenth century.[4]

It is interesting that Senex, [an anonymous] nineteenth-century magazine correspondent, had singled out Piccinni’s overture as the exemplar for the model mid-century symphony, since its second and third movements were usually performed without a break (contrary to Bremner’s three-movement structure in the keyboard reduction for his opera print). Still, Senex is correct about the overture’s other large-scale characteristics. The work is scored for the ubiquitous eight-part ensemble of two violins, viola, basso, two oboes, and two horns, and it conforms to a typical fast-slow-fast tempo plan.

The first movement, “Allegro spiritoso,” reflects Piccinni’s independence from the sonata-form domination that characterized the Mannheim compositions of the day. Its architecture is an energetic but overall rather simple ternary structure. The arpeggiated opening theme is succeeded by a second motif (m. 10) that features downbeat thirty-second-note flourishes, which is then followed by a variant of the opening arpeggiation (m. 20) in the dominant key of A major. Measured tremolos (m. 28) and a murky bass (m. 44) drive the movement toward its B section (m. 53). The dynamic level drops to piano while the violins play a lyrical theme that shares some resemblance to the measure 10 motif. Again, the build-up of tremolos and murky bass herald the shortened return (A’) of the first motif and the tonic D major (m. 84).

Piccinni uses several similar strategies for the “Andante” movement, including a ternary form. The movement opens in the parallel key of D minor, scored only for strings, and after a disjunct opening measure, the A melody descends an octave by means of staccato eighth notes. The central B section (m. 9) initially repeats the first theme—now in the relative key of F major—but when the key shifts to g minor (m. 17), a new motif appears. It is characterized by sudden piano—forte juxtapositions, and thus it contrasts with a third motif containing frequent eighth rests, coinciding with a modulation to A major (m. 29). This is, of course, the dominant of D minor, and thus prepares listeners for the return of the opening A material in measure 39. The dynamic level then increases, retreats, and increases again as the movement pushes—without pause—toward the “Presto” finale, where the overture’s initial D major tonality is restored and the winds rejoin the ensemble.

The finale retains the same  meter of the slow movement, and it again unfolds as a ternary form. This time, however, there is a clearer distinction between the themes for the A and B sections, although both are bouncy and gigue-like. The first motif moves initially in an ascending direction above “drum 8ths,” and it is set in a slightly higher register than the second theme (m. 49). The B material, in the dominant key of A major, has a primarily descending contour. The A theme and the home key of D major return in measure 63, and the lively movement concludes with a series of emphatic triple-stop chords.

[1] The British Library, g.443.p.(13).

[2] The British Library, g.1126.c.(3) and g.354.o.(2).

[3] The British Library, h.3290.aa.(4).

[4] Patrick Piggott, The Innocent Diversion: A Study of Music in the Life and Writings of Jane Austen, The Clover Hill Editions (London: D. Cleverdon, 1979), 143.

Alyson McLamore

Gaetano Pugnani – The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XIX

With this, the nineteenth instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we begin the third set of six overtures published monthly between 1763 and 1783. The next six overtures are dedicated to Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

The earliest known advertisement for Periodical Overture No. 19 is dated 20 August 1767, and it contains the standard phrase “This Day is published” that Bremner used when each issue was newly released. He did repeat the identical verbiage in another advertisement two days later, so it is possible that the symphony had made its actual debut a few days before 20 August, with no earlier newspaper issues surviving today to document the fact. Still, it is certain that the work appeared during August 1767, and thus Bremner once again honored his pledge to publish only music that had not yet appeared in the British Isles.  …

Curiously, the version of the symphony published by Bremner differs in numerous respects from its Parisian predecessors (as well as from the subsequent Welcker edition, since that is a duplicate of the Oger/Maillet print). Some of the changes reflect Bremner’s customary practices: he added figured bass to the Basso part, which is not present in either French publication. As was often the case, Bremner eliminated the “Minuetto” movement that appeared in the Oger/Maillet edition; that movement is also absent from Bailleux’s Sinfonia Periodique. Indeed, it seems probable that Bremner used the Bailleux version as his source, since his Basso part matches the many pitch register differences that distinguish the two French parts, as well as the duration of the multi-measure rest in the first movement that starts at measure 43; Bailleux and Bremner give the basses ten measures of rest, while it is only nine bars in Oger/Maillet.

In other ways, however, Bremner differs fairly significantly from both of the French prints. The viola part is divisi in all three movements of Periodical Overture No. 19, whereas the Oger/Maillet version divides the violas solely in the Andante movement (which Bremner labels as “Adagio”). Moreover, the viola parts in that French edition are completely different than the parts in Bremner’s issue. Instead, Bremner’s Viola I melody is derived from the Bailleux print (which contains only a single, undivided part), and Bremner has crafted his own Viola II part, harmonizing it primarily in thirds with Viola I, along with occasional polyphonic interweavings.

An even more surprising change is Bremner’s simplification of the syncopated pulsation that Violin I plays at the opening of the work in both French editions. Instead of off-beat quarter notes (reinforced by Violin II starting in measure 6), Bremner has his violins play steady eighth notes. It is not clear why he made this change; was it intended to make it easier for less-skilled ensembles to perform? A need for simplification does not seem fully warranted, since there had been many other symphonies already published as Periodical Overtures that presented greater rhythmic challenges. The modification seems even stranger in light of the fact that Bremner retains the French off-beat notation during the recapitulation of the opening material (m. 114). The purpose for these alterations remains a mystery, but perhaps it was a justifiable decision, given the subsequent longevity of the work. Although Bremner published only this one symphony by Pugnani in the Periodical Overture series, it remained in the repertory for a long time. Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented at least five performances of Periodical Overture No. 19 at concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society, starting in 1769 and persisting for twenty years after it was published.[1]

Even with Bremner’s modifications, Pugnani’s ingenuity as a composer remains apparent. Rather than the bold coup d’archet openings of so many Mannheim composers, the start of Pugnani’s “Allegro assai” is a mysterious pianissimo. Only in the second bar, still at pianissimo, do the low strings present the simple rising-and-falling motif that comprises the first “melody” of this sonata form. Finally, in measure 19, a subito forte, reiterated triplets against “drum 8ths,” and the tutti ensemble combine to jolt the listeners. Three homorhythmic chords—played by the full ensemble—mark the end of the bridge (m. 42) and the start of the second theme (m. 43), which again starts quietly. This time, the first violins play little fragmentary motifs above the harmonic “carpeting” provided by the horns and lower strings. The theme ends with a striking series of whole-note chords (m. 62), drawing attention to the end of the exposition and the start of the development, which is filled with measured tremolos (m. 71). Three strong chords (m. 113) again articulate the structure, with the recapitulation beginning in the subsequent bar. This time, however, the low strings start their melody during the first measure of Violin I’s pulsations. Again, three emphatic chords (m. 135) herald the return of the second theme (m. 136), and the delicious whole-note chordal passage recurs in bar 155.

For the slightly melancholy “Adagio,” Pugnani shifts to the relative minor and eliminates the horns. Not only does this movement again open quietly, but it sustains the piano dynamic throughout, and all the string instruments are continuously muted. The movement is structured in three parts, each of which has a very similar rhythmic profile: a melodic line that emphasizes off-beat eighth notes against an on-the-beat accompaniment, often in a steady eighth-note/eighth-rest pattern. The second of the three sections, B, at measure 10, shifts to the mediant key, and a variant of the B material recurs at bar 29. The third section, C (m. 41), restores the movement to its opening C minor tonality, but does not reprise the melodic material heard at the start.

The strong emphasis on the downbeats and the bouncy contour of the melody during the closing “Allegro assai” reflect the gigue’s influence on this finale. The opening key of E-flat major is restored, and Pugnani employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an || a/I b/V  a/V b/I || structure.[2] A crescendo for the full ensemble (m. 37) points to the arrival of the second theme (m. 45) This melody is presented by the oboes, initially unaccompanied, but then joined by the tutti in bar 49. The first theme reappears in measure 66, and in the process of transitioning back from the dominant to the tonic, the oboes are given another solo feature (m. 84). They return to the spotlight a third time in bar 123, when the second theme is now played in E-flat major. Overall, the finale creates a strong contrast to the distinctive first and second movements, giving the audience a wide variety of musical experiences within a single work.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 312, 319, 337, 344, 347.

[2] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.