The Boughton House Music is the collection of manuscript and printed music brought together by the family of the Dukes of Buccleuch. Its main interest lies in its exceptionally large collection of printed opera scores, and in the strong representation of Scottish music it contains. It is one of the most significant music collections still in private ownership. Brother and sister team Liz and Peter Cowdrey have performed this programme at Boughton House and elsewhere, in the spirit of the family music making which inspired the gathering together of the collection.
Trad. Scottish
The East Nook of Fife from A Curious collection of Scots tunes. : With variations, for the violin. With a bass for the violincello or harpsichord. Printed and sold by R. Bremner, at the Harp & Hautboy, Edinburgh.
Bonny Christy James Oswald, A Collection of Curious Scots Tunes, for a
violin, flute or harpsichord, 1760.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
A song from the Double Dealer (Congreve) from a volume of miscellaneous music belonging to Alexander Napier 1788
Giuseppe Agus (1722-1800)
Sonata no 3 from Six Solos for a violin with a thorough bass for the harpsichord. Op.1
Giuseppe Agus was born into a musical family in Cagliari, and was sent to study the violin in Naples at the age of eight. By 1750 he had settled in London, composing prolifically in the fashionable 'galante' style of his friend J.C.Bach.
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in D Minor from (a) Libro de XII Sonatas modernas para clavicordio, London, 1752. (b) XLII Suites de Pieces pour le clavecin, Vol 1.
Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples and settled in Rome with his father the composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Domenico became a famous harpsichordist in Italy, where he met Handel in 1708; in a competition they were adjudged equal on the harpsichord, and Handel was considered better on the organ. After a spell in London Scarlatti worked in Lisbon from 1720, Seville from 1729 and Madrid from 1733 until he died. He composed more than 500 harpsichord sonatas, many influenced by the folk tunes and dance rhythms of Spain.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Non me Dirai con Labbro from Ptolomeo from Sonatas or Chamber Aires for a German Flute Violin or Harpsichord…collected out of all the late operas
Handel was born in Halle in central Germany. His father intended him for a career in law, but his first opera was produced in Hamburg before he was 20.
After four years in Italy he moved to London, where he composed some 40 Italian operas and fulfilled royal commissions such as four anthems for the coronation of George II. From the mid 1730s he responded to changing tastes by shifting his main focus to the composition of English Oratorios.
Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Sonata op 5 no 6 from XII Solos for a violin with…harpsichord
Corelli was born in Fusignano, Italy, a generation before Handel and Scarlatti. He studied in Bologna, moving to Rome in the 1670s. He is regarded as the founder of modern violin technique, and his extensive concert tours throughout Europe did much to popularize the instrument. His students included Vivaldi.
Emanuele Barbella (1718-1777)
Alla Veneziana from Six Solos for a Violin
Barbella was born to a musical family in Naples. He probably visited London in the 1760s, and Burney the famous biographer was impressed by the “rare eccentricity” of his Italian folkore inspired works, and asked him for biography; Barbella's self assessment was blunt-after listing his esteemed teachers from the school of Tartini he wrote "Non per questo, Barbella e un vero asino che non sa niente". The public evidently disagreed, as ten collections of his solos and sonatas were published in London and Paris.
INTERVAL
A Gentleman (attrib. David Foulis 1710-1773)
Sonata 1, movement 1 from Six Solos for the Violin with a bass for a violoncello or harpsichord. Inscribed to the Hon. Francis Charteris of Amisfield.
These six sonatas appeared anonymously as Six Solos for the Violin 'Composed by a Gentleman', but copies of this rare publication are ascribed to Foulis, an Edinburgh physician. They are dedicated to Francis Charteris of Amisfield, who like Foulis was a member of the Edinburgh Musical Society.
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Sonata Op. II no 3 from Six Sonatas for piano, with an accompaniment for a German flute or violin
Clementi spent most of his life in England, achieving fame as composer, pianist, impresario, teacher, publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. As a talented boy in Rome he was discovered by an English aristocrat, who educated him for seven years on his estate in Dorset. He settled in London at the age of 21, frequently touring Europe, where he was generally held in high esteem. In 1781 that he engaged in a piano competition with Mozart, who was unimpressed: "Clementi is a charlatan, like all Italians. He marks a piece presto but plays only allegro." Beethoven however was an admirer, giving him full publishing rights to his music in England.
Joseph Mazzinghi (1765-1844)
no 14 and no 26 (Kamarinskaya) from The Generous Slave from Favourite Opera Dances for the year 1790…for the Piano-Forte, flute or violin
Mazzinghi was born in London into an ancient Corsican family. His father was a wine merchant and also a published composer. Joseph held the post of composer and director of music at the Italian opera in London from 1785 to 1792, and composed many operas and sonatas.
Peter Cowdrey (1963-)
Prelude and Chinese Aria from The Mad Duchess (2011)
The Mad Duchess is a one act opera which was premiered at Boughton House in November 2011 by Opera Unlimited, with Joan Rodgers in the title role.
The plot concerns the building of Boughton House; in 1690 Ralph Montagu, then ambassador to Versailles, launched his ambitious project to create his own version of the French Palace. He ran out of money and looked around for a rich wife. The Duchess of Albemarle was the richest woman in England, but had sworn never to marry again unless to the Emperor of China. Montagu dressed in Chinese silks, wooed and won her. He finished Boughton House with his wife's money. Thereafter she lived in complete seclusion in a house in Bermondsey, surrounded by chinoiserie, and outlived her husband by many years.
Was the Duchess mad? In her own lifetime plays were written on the subject. Her father thought she was not mad but "consumed by the folly of her own ambition". Her doctor urged him to pity her, rather than condemn her. In any case, was it not equally mad of Montagu to try to recreate Versailles in Kettering?
The premiere of The Mad Duchess was a gala fundraiser for Maggies Cancer Care Centres, and raised over £30,000.
WL Beloe (1819- 1897)
Briar Bush White Rose Schottisches from Dalkeith Palace Waltzes Dedicated by permission to HG Dutchess of Buccleuch’s Daughters, the Ladies Victoria, Margaret & Mary Scott, Published London by Letchford
Beloe was a violinist and violin maker at Coldstream, making Stradivari and Guarneri models and some cellos for the amateur market.
Trad. Scottish
The East Nook of Fife from A Curious collection of Scots tunes. : With variations, for the violin. With a bass for the violincello or harpsichord. Printed and sold by R. Bremner, at the Harp & Hautboy, Edinburgh.
Bonny Christy James Oswald, A Collection of Curious Scots Tunes, for a
violin, flute or harpsichord, 1760.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
A song from the Double Dealer (Congreve) from a volume of miscellaneous music belonging to Alexander Napier 1788
Giuseppe Agus (1722-1800)
Sonata no 3 from Six Solos for a violin with a thorough bass for the harpsichord. Op.1
Giuseppe Agus was born into a musical family in Cagliari, and was sent to study the violin in Naples at the age of eight. By 1750 he had settled in London, composing prolifically in the fashionable 'galante' style of his friend J.C.Bach.
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in D Minor from (a) Libro de XII Sonatas modernas para clavicordio, London, 1752. (b) XLII Suites de Pieces pour le clavecin, Vol 1.
Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples and settled in Rome with his father the composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Domenico became a famous harpsichordist in Italy, where he met Handel in 1708; in a competition they were adjudged equal on the harpsichord, and Handel was considered better on the organ. After a spell in London Scarlatti worked in Lisbon from 1720, Seville from 1729 and Madrid from 1733 until he died. He composed more than 500 harpsichord sonatas, many influenced by the folk tunes and dance rhythms of Spain.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Non me Dirai con Labbro from Ptolomeo from Sonatas or Chamber Aires for a German Flute Violin or Harpsichord…collected out of all the late operas
Handel was born in Halle in central Germany. His father intended him for a career in law, but his first opera was produced in Hamburg before he was 20.
After four years in Italy he moved to London, where he composed some 40 Italian operas and fulfilled royal commissions such as four anthems for the coronation of George II. From the mid 1730s he responded to changing tastes by shifting his main focus to the composition of English Oratorios.
Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Sonata op 5 no 6 from XII Solos for a violin with…harpsichord
Corelli was born in Fusignano, Italy, a generation before Handel and Scarlatti. He studied in Bologna, moving to Rome in the 1670s. He is regarded as the founder of modern violin technique, and his extensive concert tours throughout Europe did much to popularize the instrument. His students included Vivaldi.
Emanuele Barbella (1718-1777)
Alla Veneziana from Six Solos for a Violin
Barbella was born to a musical family in Naples. He probably visited London in the 1760s, and Burney the famous biographer was impressed by the “rare eccentricity” of his Italian folkore inspired works, and asked him for biography; Barbella's self assessment was blunt-after listing his esteemed teachers from the school of Tartini he wrote "Non per questo, Barbella e un vero asino che non sa niente". The public evidently disagreed, as ten collections of his solos and sonatas were published in London and Paris.
INTERVAL
A Gentleman (attrib. David Foulis 1710-1773)
Sonata 1, movement 1 from Six Solos for the Violin with a bass for a violoncello or harpsichord. Inscribed to the Hon. Francis Charteris of Amisfield.
These six sonatas appeared anonymously as Six Solos for the Violin 'Composed by a Gentleman', but copies of this rare publication are ascribed to Foulis, an Edinburgh physician. They are dedicated to Francis Charteris of Amisfield, who like Foulis was a member of the Edinburgh Musical Society.
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Sonata Op. II no 3 from Six Sonatas for piano, with an accompaniment for a German flute or violin
Clementi spent most of his life in England, achieving fame as composer, pianist, impresario, teacher, publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. As a talented boy in Rome he was discovered by an English aristocrat, who educated him for seven years on his estate in Dorset. He settled in London at the age of 21, frequently touring Europe, where he was generally held in high esteem. In 1781 that he engaged in a piano competition with Mozart, who was unimpressed: "Clementi is a charlatan, like all Italians. He marks a piece presto but plays only allegro." Beethoven however was an admirer, giving him full publishing rights to his music in England.
Joseph Mazzinghi (1765-1844)
no 14 and no 26 (Kamarinskaya) from The Generous Slave from Favourite Opera Dances for the year 1790…for the Piano-Forte, flute or violin
Mazzinghi was born in London into an ancient Corsican family. His father was a wine merchant and also a published composer. Joseph held the post of composer and director of music at the Italian opera in London from 1785 to 1792, and composed many operas and sonatas.
Peter Cowdrey (1963-)
Prelude and Chinese Aria from The Mad Duchess (2011)
The Mad Duchess is a one act opera which was premiered at Boughton House in November 2011 by Opera Unlimited, with Joan Rodgers in the title role.
The plot concerns the building of Boughton House; in 1690 Ralph Montagu, then ambassador to Versailles, launched his ambitious project to create his own version of the French Palace. He ran out of money and looked around for a rich wife. The Duchess of Albemarle was the richest woman in England, but had sworn never to marry again unless to the Emperor of China. Montagu dressed in Chinese silks, wooed and won her. He finished Boughton House with his wife's money. Thereafter she lived in complete seclusion in a house in Bermondsey, surrounded by chinoiserie, and outlived her husband by many years.
Was the Duchess mad? In her own lifetime plays were written on the subject. Her father thought she was not mad but "consumed by the folly of her own ambition". Her doctor urged him to pity her, rather than condemn her. In any case, was it not equally mad of Montagu to try to recreate Versailles in Kettering?
The premiere of The Mad Duchess was a gala fundraiser for Maggies Cancer Care Centres, and raised over £30,000.
WL Beloe (1819- 1897)
Briar Bush White Rose Schottisches from Dalkeith Palace Waltzes Dedicated by permission to HG Dutchess of Buccleuch’s Daughters, the Ladies Victoria, Margaret & Mary Scott, Published London by Letchford
Beloe was a violinist and violin maker at Coldstream, making Stradivari and Guarneri models and some cellos for the amateur market.
