Thesis submission ID 327 | created
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Susan O Regan, Public Concerts in the Musical Life of Cork 1754-1840
Volumes, pp.: 2 (Vol 1. 342pp, Vol. 2 342pp) Wordcount: 100,000
Supervisor(s): Dr Ita Beausang
Repository (hard copy): Cork School of Music Library
General specialism: Musicology
Abstract:
This dissertation contextualises public concerts that were held in Cork city from 1754 to 1840. A calendar of concerts, consisting of details of 489 publicised events, provides a database for the research. These have been collated from available sources, principally from local newspapers which commenced publication in 1753. The development of concert life in Cork during the eighteenth century was part of a wider context in which provincial cities throughout the British Isles underwent a physical and social transformation that emphasised the provision of leisure facilities for the growing middle class population. Entertainment centred on the theatre and the assembly rooms, where music already had a clearly-defined role for a class seeking social status.
Concerts were linked to charity, to education and to the commercial market, which escalated in the early nineteenth century. The flourishing of public interest in music at this time is indicated by a survey of press advertisements for tuition, and the supply of music and musical instruments. Central to musical life during the eighteenth century were the city’s churches, where musical expertise and participation were fostered among the choir members. The churches provided both context and location for performances in support of local charities. Performing spaces for secular concerts were created by the adaptation of a number of existing venues for concert use.
The performers at concerts were drawn from a number of backgrounds, which included the local church choirs, the military bands, amateur musical societies, in addition to the professional world associated with theatre and concert life of the larger cities of London and Dublin, from where musicians undertook provincial tours during the off-season. A critical narrative of the concerts demonstrates the inter-relatedness of these elements, and how prevailing local, national and international forces impacted on the concert life of the city.
A survey of writing on music in the Cork newspapers, principally in the form of reviews, provides valuable perspectives on audience and venues, and on some of the underlying assumptions, aspirations and dispositions of this concert-going society. A survey of concert repertoire identifies changing tastes and practices during this period, and provides evidence for the increasing incorporation of native Irish melodies in both vocal and instrumental performance.
Susan O Regan, Public Concerts in the Musical Life of Cork 1754-1840
PhD, Cork Institute of Technology, School of Music, 2008
Volumes, pp.: 2 (Vol 1. 342pp, Vol. 2 342pp) Wordcount: 100,000
Supervisor(s): Dr Ita Beausang
Repository (hard copy): Cork School of Music Library
General specialism: Musicology
Abstract:
This dissertation contextualises public concerts that were held in Cork city from 1754 to 1840. A calendar of concerts, consisting of details of 489 publicised events, provides a database for the research. These have been collated from available sources, principally from local newspapers which commenced publication in 1753. The development of concert life in Cork during the eighteenth century was part of a wider context in which provincial cities throughout the British Isles underwent a physical and social transformation that emphasised the provision of leisure facilities for the growing middle class population. Entertainment centred on the theatre and the assembly rooms, where music already had a clearly-defined role for a class seeking social status.
Concerts were linked to charity, to education and to the commercial market, which escalated in the early nineteenth century. The flourishing of public interest in music at this time is indicated by a survey of press advertisements for tuition, and the supply of music and musical instruments. Central to musical life during the eighteenth century were the city’s churches, where musical expertise and participation were fostered among the choir members. The churches provided both context and location for performances in support of local charities. Performing spaces for secular concerts were created by the adaptation of a number of existing venues for concert use.
The performers at concerts were drawn from a number of backgrounds, which included the local church choirs, the military bands, amateur musical societies, in addition to the professional world associated with theatre and concert life of the larger cities of London and Dublin, from where musicians undertook provincial tours during the off-season. A critical narrative of the concerts demonstrates the inter-relatedness of these elements, and how prevailing local, national and international forces impacted on the concert life of the city.
A survey of writing on music in the Cork newspapers, principally in the form of reviews, provides valuable perspectives on audience and venues, and on some of the underlying assumptions, aspirations and dispositions of this concert-going society. A survey of concert repertoire identifies changing tastes and practices during this period, and provides evidence for the increasing incorporation of native Irish melodies in both vocal and instrumental performance.
Thesis submission ID 327