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An Account of the Musical Performances in Westminster-Abbey, and the Pantheon, May and June 1784, in Commemoration of Handel
An Account of the Musical Performances in WestminsterAbbey and the Pantheon May and June 1784 in Commemoration of Handel Author:Charles Burney General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1785 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: INTRODUCTION. HOW this great idea was generated, cherifhed, and matured, will, probably, be a matter of curiofity to the public, as well as the manner in which it was executed. And having had the honour of attending many of the meetings of the Directors and Conductor, while the neceffary arrangements were under confideration, as well as opportunities of converting with them, fince, I mall ftate the principal fadts as accurately as pof- fible, from fuch authentic information as thefe favourable cir- cumftances have furnimed. In a converfation between lord vifcount Fitzwilliam, fir Wat- 'kin Williams Wynn, and Joah Bates, efquire, commiffioner of the Victualling-Office, the beginning of laft year, 1783, at the houfe of the latter, after remarking that the number of eminent mufical performers of all kinds, both vocal and instrumental, with which London abounded, was far greater than in any other city of Europe, it was lamented that there was no public periodical occafion for collecting and confolidating them into one band; by which means a performance might be exhibited on fo grand and magnificent a fcale as no other part of the world could equal. The birth and death of Handel naturally occurred to three fuch enthufiaftic admirers of that great mafter, and it was B 2 mimeimmediately recollected, that the next (now the prefent) year, would be a proper time for the introduction of fuch a cuftom : as it formed a complete century fince his birth, and an exadt quarter of a century fince his deceafev. The plan was foon after communicated to the governors of the Mulical Fund, who approved it, and promifed th...« less