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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2020
My purpose this afternoon is to trace the development of the three-movement symphony-overture in England during the eighteenth century, as composed by English composers and not by visiting foreigners, whose works will only be mentioned in so far as they contribute to our knowledge of the native style. I use the hyphenated expression ‘symphony-overture’ advisedly, as its two component terms were completely interchangeable throughout the whole period under review; both signified a piece of music, usually for a full band of players, which could be performed either before or during a theatrical representation, or as a separate item in a concert. Both words had long been familiar in this country; ‘symphony,’ a word of Greek derivation, seems to have been the older in English usage, although more familiar as a term referring to various instruments of the hurdy-gurdy class than to any specific kind of music.
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