Author: BUSBY (Thomas):
Title: A Complete Dictionary of Music. To which is prefixed, A Familiar Introduction to the First Principles of that Science.
Description: London: Printed for R. Phillips, No. 71. St. Paul's Church-Yard; Sold by T. Hurst, Paternoster-Row, and by All Book and Music Sellers [T. Davison, White-Friars], no date. 1794. FIRST EDITION. Small 8vo, 156 x 92 mms., pp. xxxiii [xxxiv advert for Busby's forthcoming "History of Music, From the Earliest Times, to the Year 1800"], folding leaf of music (included in collation) at page xx, unpaginated [296], water mark "1794" visible on lower margin of D4, bound in early 18th century half olive morocco, gilt spine, marbled boards; binding a little rubbed, but a very good copy, with the binder's ticket of Rider & Hall, Bookbinder's [sic], Slater Court, Castle Street, Liverpool, on the upper margin of the front paste-down end-paper. Busby (1755-1838) was an organist and composer, turned man of letters. This work, written with the assistance of Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) is one of his earlier ones, ODNB suggests that it was published "about 1801," and other references give the date as 1786, the ESTC gives it as "ca. 1794" (the paper is water-marked 1794) and lists no earlier editions. New Grove suggests 1783 - 86, when the work was issued in parts in The New Musical Magazine. In his Preface, however, Busy refers to this printing as the first edition, and the advert on p. [xxxiv] offers "Speedily will be published...A History of Music, From the earliest Times to the Year 1800," which suggests a date after 1800 for this edition. Several other editions followed in both England and America. Busby also was responsible for the first musical periodical in England, The Monthly Musical Journal (1800), though only four numbers were published. His other works include The Grammar of Music (1818); A History of Music (1819), largely compiled from Burney and Hawkins; and a translation of Lucretius. As a composer, his themes were often literary. He set Pope's Messiah to music, apparently with some success, and then turned his attention to setting to music Gray's Progress of Poetry, Pope's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, and a cantata from Ossian, but these were apparently never performed. He was considered something of a hack as a writer of music, and was more respected as a literary author.

Keywords: music dictionary prose


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