University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press
Pages: 644
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-1-61149-436-5 • Hardback • December 2012 • $176.00 • (£137.00)
978-1-61149-544-7 • Paperback • December 2014 • $90.99 • (£70.00)
978-1-61149-437-2 • eBook • December 2012 • $86.00 • (£66.00)
Todd Gilman is librarian for literature in English at Yale University Library.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Musical Examples
Polemical Introduction
Chapter 1: Young Thomas Augustine Arne
Chapter 2: Drury Lane 1735-40
Chapter 3: From Cliveden to Dublin
Chapter 4: Young Charles Burney
Chapter 5: Drury Lane 1744-50
Chapter 6: Divisions and Difficulties
Chapter 7: Dublin Encore
Chapter 8: The Brent; or, English Syren
Chapter 9: Harmony in an Uproar
Chapter 10: Arne’s Orbit
Chapter 11: The Great Stratford Jubilee
Chapter 12: Arne’s Last Operas
Chapter 13: Poor Devil of a Crotchet Monger
Chapter 14: Decline and Death
Appendix 1: Letters between Arne and Garrick
Appendix 2: Arne’s Will
Bibliography
Gilman, a Yale librarian, considers Arne's current musical reputation to be unjustly diminished compared with Handel's and aims to correct the imbalance. Certainly he makes a good case for Arne's importance. Arne was active in the theaters of London and Dublin in the mid-18th century, composing songs and English operas with varying degrees of success and interacting significantly with the London theatrical world, which included his wife (a singer), his sister (an actress), and such well-known figures as David Garrick and Charles Burney--and, less often, Handel. The chronology of Arne's activities is extremely thorough and well documented, covering his entire career. The factual material is dense and reads more easily covering short spans of time than as an overall narrative. Several books on Arne have already been published, but Gilman's is by far the most thorough. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty
— Choice Reviews
Make no mistake, a full-length monograph dedicated to Thomas Augustine Arne is long overdue. ... It is a noble gesture to include so much music in the book. ... The book is generally well written and adequately referenced. There is much interesting information (e.g. the story of Arne’s uncle Richard, who disappeared in 1735 apparently to avoid standing trial for his part in a brutal gang rape (p. 61)) and it is useful to have it synthesized in one place.
— Music & Letters
Dr. Gilman's book is a superb, in-depth study of a much neglected English master. It's packed with information, terrific music examples and fascinating quotes from Arne's contemporaries. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, may not know who wrote Rule Britannia but this work will set him right.
— Nicholas McGegan