Thursday music spot: Charles Avison, Concerto Grosso No 5

Charles Avison was an English composer born in Newcastle in 1709 (e.g. 14 years after the death of Henry Purcell)

He was a church organist at St John The Baptist Church in Newcastle and at St Nicholas's Church (later Newcastle Cathedral).

Although he spent most of his life in Newcastle he both studied and performed in London and elsewhere and became famous far beyond his native region of North-East England.  His works were disseminated widely and he received offers of employment not just in the capital, but also in York, Dublin, and Edinburgh.

He is best known today for composing twelve Concerti Grossi, of which this is the fifth, and for his Essay on Musical Expression, which is often described as the first music criticism published in English.


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