A Brief Survey of English Comic Opera 1750-1800

Author(s): Michael Winesanker

Source: Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, No. 11/12/13, (Sep., 1948), pp. 74-75
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/829302
Accessed: 27/06/2008 17:21

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 74 BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICALSOCIETY

figures taken from the writings of well-known composers in musical

history.] 1

A Brief Survey of English Comic Opera 1750-I800

Michael Winesanker(T)
(APRIL 27, 1946, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY)
BROADLY the eighteenth century in the history of the English
SPEAKING,
musical stage can be arbitrarilydivided into two: the first half pro-
ducing the ballad opera, the second half creating the comic opera.
Again, broadly speaking,the basic differencebetween these two cate-
gories can be outlined as follows: Ballad opera, on the whole, was a
compilationof familiartunes set to new words with only the occasional
original composition. Comic opera, in its better productions, was in
some part at least new composed,with the usual supplementof well-
known tunes and songs. In addition,with reference to the actual per-
formance of these works in the evolution of the English theatre, the
ballad opera was produced by actors who could sing only tolerably
well. The comic opera was performedby singerswhose acting ability
was, as a rule, questionable.Despite these differences,basicallythe two
categories embrace the same structure, consisting of light, pleasing
themes,usually based on some aspect of every-day life, with a number
of gay tunes, strung on a thread of scintillatingdialogue.
The frequentperformanceof musicalpieces andtheir overwhelming
success with audiencesnecessitatedthe creation of the post of theatre
composer.Part of the duties of such a position was to select, compile
and arrangetunes, as well as provide original compositions,for the
libretti chosen by the managers.Thomas Arne was the first official
theatre composer in the period under consideration. Others were
Thomas Linley, Sr., Samuel Arnold, William Shield and Stephen
Storace.I have come acrossthe namesof approximatelytwo-score Eng-
lish theatrical composers, as well as about 2000 musical works, ranging
from a piece with just a song or two to the through-composedscore
includingaccompaniedrecitative.
Generally, the latter eighteenth century must be described as a
pasticcio age-a hodge-podge of both music and plot. A piece was
rarely the product of any one composer.Even less frequently was all
the music written specificallyfor the occasion.An exampleof this habit
of compilationand of borrowingfrom continentalsourcesis The Maid
of the Mill, Covent Garden, I765. SamuelArnold, the composer,who
For further details see the author's The Problem of Musical Expression, a
study in the field of aesthetics.
 TEXAS CHAPTER 75
received credit for the work, contributed only four songs out of a total
of thirty-seven, the remaining thirty-three being derived from the
works of nineteen foreign composers. The only other English com-
poser of the piece was the Earl of Kelly who wrote the overture.
Despite a measure of variation in length and structure in these
musical dramas, some characteristics appear common to the great ma-
jority. A prologue was optional, but an overture was invariable. An
interesting development in the overture of this period is the trend to-
ward genuine sonata form, which a composer like Shield displayed in
the overture to his opera, Rosina, and which Stephen Storace almost
always used in his musical plays. The actual business of the comic
opera proceeded in a succession of short, staccato scenes, several such
scenes to an act, several songs to a scene. The dialogue was usually in
prose, punctuated at frequent intervals by songs, duets, trios, choruses,
dances. There are, however, some scattered instances of dialogue in
recitative. A focal point in these musical presentations was the en-
semble-a trio, a quartet, or the entire cast. It was in these ensemble
numbers that Storace made his finest contribution to English comic
opera.
The composer, constrained to write for a specific performer, at the
behest of the manager, and within the limits of a given libretto to meet
a required dead-line, could hardly have been a free agent; and, on the
whole, the general run of English theatrical music, intended for a fleet-
ing moment on the stage, was uninspired and uninspiring. Many of the
melodies display a distinct poverty of invention and the accompani-
ments to some of the songs betray a definite lack of technical training.
But, in the English comic opera of the period, among a mass of songs
that are mediocre to the point of being inferior, there existed a great
number of fine examples which deserve commendation. These compare
favourably with much of the music in similar productions on the con-
tinent and appear in the writings of William Shield, occasionally in
Samuel Arnold, Thomas Arne, Thomas Linley and certainly in the
operas of Stephen Storace.

The Predecessorsof the Sonatada Chiesa

Homer Ulrich (T)

(APRIL 27, 1946, SOUTHERNMETHODIST UNIVERSITY)

EARLY IN THEsixteenth century the chanson in France reached a new
high in popularity. Originally a four-voice vocal contrapuntal piece, it
was arranged for voice and lute, voice and instruments, and lute or
keyboard instrument alone. Migrating to Italy, and there called canzona,