AVISON (CHARLES): - An Essay on Musical Expression.
London: Printed for C. Davis..., 1752. FIRST EDITION. Small 8vo, pp. [viii], 138, Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked, with raised bands between gilt rules, red morocco label. A very good copy. Charles Avison (1709 - 1770) made his early reputation in Newcastle, chiefly as an organist, but he also accepted posts in Dublin, Edinburgh, and London. However, it was the above book which marked out his real genius, though it did not excite universal approbation. In some sense the work is a collective one, since Avison had help from Dr. John ("Estimate") Brown, William Mason, John Jortin, among others. Charles Burney thought that it was the first of its kind to be written in English, and it is almost certainly the most serious attempt to treat the aesthetics of music systematically and philosophically in British intellectual discourse.
GBP 660.00GBP [Appr.: EURO 751.25 US$ 1027.62 | JP¥ 91860] Booknumber: 4758is offered by:
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