Symphonies, op. 2
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
A leading English composer of the late Baroque, William Boyce (1711-1779) composed a considerable body of music for both the theater and the church. Following numerous successes with his masques and operas, he was invited by David Garrick to compose music for his Drury Lane theater, and for ten years, beginning in 1749, Boyce composed operas and theater music for Garrick. Although Boyce's instrumental music represents a relatively small portion of his total output, some of it was enormously successful. The eighteenth-century historian Charles Burney wrote that Boyce's trio sonatas were "longer and more generally purchased, performed and admired than any productions of the kind in this kingdom, except those of Corelli. They were not only in constant use, as Chamber Music, in private concerts, for which they were originally designed, but in our theatres as act-tunes, and public gardens as favourite pieces, during many years."
All eight of Boyce's symphonies were published together in 1760 as his opus 2. They are short works and generally simple in style and texture, but they have a freshness and vitality that make them wonderfully appealing. Not long before the publication of these pieces, Boyce was appointed to two posts that became his focus for the remainder of his career: Master of the King's Musick in 1755 and organist of the Royal Chapel in 1758. During this last period of his life, during which he devoted himself mainly to occasional and religious music, his work was less often heard in public and was less in fashion. Having gone deaf, he no longer kept up with the latest musical styles, and his music was superceded by the more modern works of Johann Christian Bach and others. During this time, Boyce developed his antiquarian interests, editing and publishing large volumes of English church music from the previous two centuries, a collection which did much to preserve that repertoire for future generations.
Boston Baroque Performances
Symphony in B-flat, Op. 2, No. 1
February 1, 1987
Northwest Bach Festival, Spokane, WA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
September 26, 1986
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor