British Music and the French Revolution

Dr Paul Rices' new book British Music and the French Revolution is an important, impressive and thorough-going study of music and theatre in England in the last decated of the 18th century. the French Revolution, with its political and social upheavals inspired British librettists and composers to fashion musical dramas dealing with the French Revolution, which served as a spring-board for dozens of musical/theatrical works. Remarkably little has been written about the relationship of...
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Dr Paul Rices' new book British Music and the French Revolution is an important, impressive and thorough-going study of music and theatre in England in the last decated of the 18th century. the French Revolution, with its political and social upheavals inspired British librettists and composers to fashion musical dramas dealing with the French Revolution, which served as a spring-board for dozens of musical/theatrical works. Remarkably little has been written about the relationship of the French performing arts and the French Revolution. British Music and the French Revolution is the first study to examine the analogous relationship in Britain. Given that this period in British history shaped the destiny of the country for much fo the 19th century, the study is long overdue. The Book examines a little-known repertoire of theatrical and concert materials, and it does so within a complete social and political context. In his study, Dr Rice reveals the complex relationship between the needs of politics and hte creative energies of composers, playwrights and theatrical singers and actors. Dr Rice's study significantly expands our understanding of the relationship between the performing arts and government during the crises of war, and reveals how the government of PM William Pitt used the media to 'instruct' audiences to receive new artistic works based on their patriotic content alone. At the same time, the study reveals the tremendous change in musical styles that took place in the Royal Theatres at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, moving from concert and operatic styles to those of popular songs and folksongs. All in all, this is an excellent book which Cambridge Scholars should be proud to publish. - Professor Erich Schwandt, School of Music, University of Victoria, Canada