Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology

Vol. 7, December 2017

The Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi in

Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland
ANNABEL GOODMAN

The reception history of Antonio Vivaldi states that, despite his initial
widespread popularity, the composer’s music fell out of fashion in the
last years of his life only to be revived during the twentieth century.
This is, of course, a massive generalisation. The idea that Vivaldi’s
music fell out of popularity by the time of his death in 1741 is more a
reflection of the composer’s reception history in his native Venice
than of his reception across Europe, where his music continued to be
heard across French, German, and British cultures. Compared to the
composer’s presence in Italy, however, Vivaldi’s reception history in
these other European cultures has received less scholarly attention.
This is particularly the case for Vivaldi’s reception history in Britain
and Ireland.
Vivaldi’s musical presence and reception in Britain and Ireland can
be traced back to the eighteenth century, when the composer’s music
was at its most popular, not only in Britain and Ireland, but also
across Europe. However, despite Vivaldi’s music falling out of
performing repertoires in the nineteenth century, his name is still
mentioned in primary sources, namely British and Irish newspapers.
London was, of course, the heart and centre of British musical
culture during these times. Ireland, although not part of Great
Britain, was influenced by Britain musically, especially when it came to
Vivaldi. This is likely because Dublin could be considered a secondary
art music capital next to London, with many violinists — including
Francesco Geminiani and his student Matthew Debourg, an avid
player of Vivaldi’s concertos — travelling to both London and
Dublin.1 However, there were some clear cultural differences between
England and Ireland, with a notable disparity being Dublin’s smaller
cultural influence and size compared to London.
Studies on the presence of Vivaldi’s music in Britain and Ireland
have mostly focused on score dissemination. The most prominent
1
Michael Talbot, “The Golden Pippin and The Extraordinary Adventures in Britain
and Ireland of Vivaldi’s Concerto RV 519,” Studi Vivaldiani 10 (2010): 91.
4 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

scholar in these studies has been Michael Talbot. Talbot has also
taken the first steps of going beyond just dissemination and into
reception history, where of particular relevance is his article “The
Golden Pippin and the Extraordinary Adventures in Britain and Ireland
of Vivaldi’s Concerto RV 519.”2 This article provides the most
detailed published reception history of Vivaldi in eighteenth-century
Britain and Ireland, but also explores non-score based primary
sources such as newspaper articles and pamphlets from the
eighteenth century. However, Talbot mostly focuses on the
dissemination and reception of RV 519, with a particular focus on its
appearance in the English burletta, The Golden Pippin. As RV 519 was
by far the most popular work in Britain and Ireland, Talbot’s study
provides useful and important information on Vivaldi’s reception
history, however, there is also room for further research into sources
that do not specifically talk about RV 519. Similarly, Talbot’s work on
the Manchester sonatas, while informative, is specific to that set of
sonatas.3
When it comes to exploring Vivaldi’s reception history beyond
score dissemination, the writings of the eighteenth-century musician
Charles Burney tend to be given the most authority, although the
writings of Sir John Hawkins, Roger North, and Charles Avison have
also received some scholarly attention.4 However, there has been little
research that makes Burney or his contemporaries’ views on Vivaldi a
specific focus. This has meant that while dissemination in Britain has
received a fair amount of scholarly attention, non-score based sources
have received less attention, and the bigger picture, or the larger
context in which Vivaldi’s music was received, has yet to be fully
addressed by scholars. Additionally, while the primary sources that
scholars draw upon come from a variety of contexts, the impact and
significance of those differing contexts is largely overlooked in the
literature, as any distinction between a quote from Burney or a quote
from a satirical novel, is usually implied, but not clearly stated nor
explored in detail. Thus the reception history of Antonio Vivaldi’s

2
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin.”
3
Michael Talbot, “Vivaldi’s Manchester Sonatas,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical
Association 1 (1977): 20–29.
4
The most notable work that includes a discussion of these writers is Bella
Brover-Lubovsky, Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio Vivaldi (Bloomington and
Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2008), 10–15.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 5

music in eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland remains an under-

researched topic. As Vivaldi’s music was, in fact, reasonably well
known and popular in Britain and Ireland, and its reception differed
from other European cultures, a study of the composer in eighteenth-
century British culture is sorely needed.
In order to provide a detailed reception history, an analysis of a
range of primary sources will be helpful in gauging Vivaldi’s musical
presence and reception in Britain and Ireland. Such sources can be
categorised according to both their authors’ and audiences’ contexts,
fitting into two broad categories — “learned musicians” and “popular
entertainment.” By making such a distinction between primary
sources, one gains a more nuanced understanding of Vivaldi’s
reception in eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland. This is important,
as previous scholarship has largely ignored such nuance, with a
particular problem being the over-reliance on sources from learned
musicians, particularly the opinions of prominent figures such as
Burney. These learned opinions, however, only form one part of
Vivaldi’s reception history. Contrary to the negative opinions
displayed by Burney and Hawkins, Vivaldi was in fact reasonably
popular and well known in Britain, as evidenced by popular
entertainment sources, such as newspapers and various ephemera.
Thus, in addition to providing new and more in-depth research on
Vivaldi’s British reception history, the re-evaluation of how much
weight sources from learned musicians are given can be gained in the
analysis of such new sources, addressing issues of balance in current
scholarship in the process. What becomes clear from such a study is
that references to Vivaldi made in popular entertainment sources
suggest a different, more positive story of Vivaldi’s popularity than
that created by learned sources, while a more nuanced understanding
of reception is gained than when looking at dissemination alone.
Thus, unlike the composer’s reception in his native Italy, the picture
that emerges is one of Vivaldi’s name and music being continually
heard in Britain and Ireland beyond the composer’s initial popularity
in the early eighteenth century and death in 1741.

Dissemination
Before one can start exploring the primary sources of either the
popular entertainment or learned musicians categories, some
background information on the dissemination of scores in Britain
6 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

and Ireland is needed. Talbot has been the primary contributor to

research in this area, and the important points of Talbot’s work are as
follows.5 John Walsh was the biggest provider of Vivaldi’s music, first
publishing part of Op. 3 in 1714, although the full set would later
become available to English audiences. Op. 3 was the most popular
set of works in England, with RV 519, more commonly known at the
time as “Vivaldi’s Fifth” (as it was the fifth concerto contained within
Op. 3), being the most popular piece. This is a notable contrast with
the rest of Europe where, although Op. 3 was incredibly popular and
influential, the Fifth was not generally the most celebrated piece
within the collection. The reasons for the Fifth’s popularity are not
overly clear. Talbot suggests that the opening ritornello with octaves
would have sounded modern, which combined with the general
“vigour” of the style, would have been “a breath of fresh air” to
English audiences.6 Additionally, the higher register used by the solo
violin would have added a touch of virtuosity.7
Besides Op. 3, the Op. 2 sonatas were also circulated, as were two
“Cuckoo” concertos (RV 335 and RV 347), and parts of Op. 4. Some
of Vivaldi’s later concertos (Op. 6 onwards) were also available in
England, but were not nearly as common. Surprisingly, and in
contrast to the rest of Europe, Op. 8, including The Four Seasons, was
not widely circulated. Talbot explains this by arguing that by 1730,
Vivaldi was considered a “canonical” composer, meaning that while
his already known works (like Op. 3) continued to receive attention,
attempts by Walsh to introduce Vivaldi’s later works were
unsuccessful, as the composer was no longer thought of as “a
contemporary voice.”8 In addition to Talbot’s arguments, England’s
disapproval of illustrative and imitative music, particularly by the
learned musicians, may also explain the lack of The Four Seasons in
Britain and Ireland.
Vivaldi’s works for instruments other than violin were rarer in
Britain and Ireland, although some vocal works have been found

5
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin.”
6
Ibid., 94.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid., 90.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 7

there.9 However, while Vivaldi’s Fifth was a concerto written for two
solo violins, it could be found in various other transcriptions. The
work can easily be played with only one solo violin, without losing
much in the process.10 It was also played on other instruments besides
violin. John Parry performed the work on harp, and some of his harp
transcriptions can be found in Wales.11 There are also records of the
Irish bard Turlough Carolan playing the Fifth on his harp in Ireland,
to be discussed below. Additionally, keyboard transcriptions of the
Fifth also exist.12

Sources from Popular Entertainment

While research into score dissemination is an excellent foundation for
a reception history on any composer, a more nuanced understanding
of reception can be gained with the additional consideration of non-
score based sources. One such category of these kinds of sources is
popular entertainment sources.
Audiences of these types of sources include those who might
have read about Vivaldi’s place in Venetian music history in a
newspaper’s “miscellaneous” section, or those who heard his Fifth
performed at a London theatre. It also includes a number of what
might best be described as “anecdotal” references to Vivaldi. The
passing mention of Vivaldi’s name, whether it be in a novel or a
satirical pamphlet, demonstrates a certain familiarity with Vivaldi, and
particularly his Fifth, within the popular consciousness, or at least
within audiences interested in Italian art music.
In 1776, author Francis Fleming wrote in his comedic novel, The
Life and Extraordinary Adventures, the Perils and Critical Escapes, of Timothy
Ginnadrake, that Child of Chequer'd Fortune, the following passage:

The old gentleman finding he had a genius for music, engaged

a famous musician, one Dubourg, to teach him; The 5th
Concerto of Vivaldi was often performed on the stage at the

9
Tiedge Tanenbaum Faun and Michael Talbot, “The Berkley Castle Manuscript:
Arias and Cantatas by Vivaldi and his Italian Contemporaries,” Studi Vivaldiani 3
(2003): 33–88.
10
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin,” 93.
11
Ibid., 98.
12
Ibid., 98–99.
8 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

theatre by Tim’s master with great applause, as it was thought

at that time it was not in the power of any human being, to
execute a piece of music more difficult. This excited great
emulation in our hero, who usually got up at four o’clock in
the morning to practice the 5th of Vivaldi; he continued to do
this for five months successively, besides what he did at other
times, so that he did not upon an average play less than eight
hours every day.13

As this example is from a comedic novel, it is thus quite

hyperbolic in its descriptions. Nevertheless, it still serves as an
excellent starting point for exploring Vivaldi’s reception history
through anecdotal sources. Firstly, the novel’s date of publication is
1776. Although this was 35 years after the death of Vivaldi in 1741, it
is but one example of Vivaldi’s popularity in England in the years
beyond the composer’s death. Of course, Fleming’s account of the
Fifth refers to performances taking place in the past, not the present,
of the novel’s publication. Thus, it does not tell us whether Vivaldi
was still being performed in 1776. However, that Vivaldi’s name,
along with his Fifth, were mentioned in this anecdote, as well as being
continually mentioned in the sources throughout this section, most
often without explanation of who the composer and his music was,
suggests that Vivaldi remained in the popular consciousness of
British culture well after Op. 3 first became available in England.
The second important thing to note about Fleming’s description is
its focus on the time and skill required to learn Vivaldi’s Fifth. Again,
this is of course a hyperbolic description from a satirical novel.
However, it does highlight Vivaldi’s association with virtuosity. This
association was discussed in the previous section, in relation to the
learned circles, where Vivaldi’s music was portrayed negatively as
being characterised by virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity, and often
at the cost of the work’s musicality. In Fleming’s description, as well
as the sources to be discussed below, virtuosity is portrayed matter-of-
factly, if not praised.

13
Fleming, Francis, The Life and Extraordinary Adventures, the Perils and Critical
Escapes, of Timothy Ginnadrake, that Child of Chequer’d Fortune, volume I (Bath:
Crutwell, 1776).
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 9

The last thing of note in Fleming’s description is that it

specifically states that Vivaldi was popular in theatre, as performed by
Dubourg. The Dubourg in question is likely Matthew Dubourg, a
student of Geminiani who championed Vivaldi’s music in both
England and Ireland.14

Newspapers
Vivaldi’s place in Britain and Ireland can also be found in relation to
writings on other historical figures. This is particularly exemplified by
references to Vivaldi in newspapers in relation to Turlough Carolan,
who was an Irish harpist and composer. Blinded by smallpox at the
age of 18, Carolan was subsequently given a harp, leading him to
become a successful itinerant bard of the late seventeenth and early
eighteenth centuries. Carolan’s songs were of course reflective of
Irish harp music of the time, often taking the form of ballads or
other folk songs. However, the harpist also took an interest in Italian
composers, which “he preferred to all others: Vivaldi charmed him,
and with Corelli he was enraptured.”15 However, more than these
composers, Carolan apparently held Geminiani in even greater
esteem. Vivaldi’s influence on this particular Irish composer is,
however, of lesser importance to a reception history of Vivaldi, than
of how Vivaldi’s name gets caught up in the mythologising of
Carolan, the “last Irish bard.”16
In 1760, an anecdote on the history of Carolan first appeared in
London. It read:

Being once at the home of an Irish nobleman, where there

was a musician present who was eminent in the profession,
Carolan immediately challenged him to a trial of skill. To carry
the jest forward, his lordship persuaded the musician to accept
the challenge, and he accordingly played over the fifth
concerto of Vivaldi. Carolan, immediately taking his harp,
played over the whole piece after him, without missing a note,

14
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin,” 92.
15
The Gentleman’s Magazine. 1814. “Anecdotes of Carolan, the Irish Bard.” August,
1814, 121.
16
The Gentleman’s Magazine. 1760. “The History of Carolan, the Last Irish Bard.”
July, 1760, 413.
10 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

though he had never heard it before: which produced some

surprise; but their astonishment increased, when he assured
them he could make a concerto in the same taste himself,
which he instantly composed with such spirit and eloquence,
that it may compare (for we have it still) with the finest
compositions of Italy.17

That someone would choose to perform Vivaldi’s Fifth in a

contest of skill again attests to how Vivaldi’s music was associated
with virtuosity. This anecdote is also an example of Vivaldi’s Fifth
being heard in Ireland, and not just England.18 It should however, be
taken with a grain of salt, particularly since if Carolan was an admirer
of Vivaldi’s music, it is quite unlikely he would never have heard the
Fifth before this supposed encounter. That the anecdote would
appear first in a London publication shows the cross-cultural interests
between Britain and Ireland at the time. Although Ireland was not a
part of Great Britain during the eighteenth century, England and
Ireland shared a comparable culture of art music, with Dublin being a
similar but smaller musical hub to London. The original anecdote was
published anonymously, however was later published under Oliver
Goldsmith’s name. The anecdote was included in his third volume of
collected essays, entitled Essays and criticisms and published in London
in 1798.19
The significance of the above anecdote on Carolan lies with its
continual proliferation throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and
even twentieth centuries, although it seems to have occurred most
often in the nineteenth century. Although originating in England, the
anecdote could also be found in Ireland and Wales. The anecdote also
changed as it was reiterated, this process at times resulting in the
further mythologising of Carolan. The original anecdote only
specified that a Carolan challenged a “musician,” no hints are actually
given as to who this musician was. In fact, the anecdote does not even
specify that the musician was a violinist, or that Vivaldi’s Fifth was

17
Ibid.
18
Although the anecdote does not specify that the home of the Irish noble was
located in Ireland, one could still speculate that Vivaldi’s Fifth was known in
Ireland as the anecdote was later found in Irish publications (discussed below).
19
Oliver Goldsmith, Essays and Criticisms, volume 3 (London: J. Johnson, 1798),
23.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 11

played on a violin. Given that it is known that several different

transcriptions for several different instruments of Vivaldi’s Fifth
existed in Britain and Ireland around this time, it is entirely possible
(assuming there is some grain of truth to the anecdote at all) that the
musician in the anecdote was not a violinist at all. Other renditions of
the anecdote, however, do give further details. The Welsh newspaper
The Cambrian in 1887 writes that Carolan was challenged by “a famous
Italian Violinist.”20 Other sources go further, identifying the musician
as Geminiani. This can be seen in The Musical Times and Singing Class
Circular in 1885, two years before The Cambrian.21 The prescence of
Geminiani can also be traced further back to The Dublin Saturday
Magazine in their 1867 reiteration, which states “at the house of an
Irish nobleman, where Geminiani was present, Carolan challenged
that composer to a trial of skill.”22 Talbot argues that it is unlikely that
Geminiani was the musician in question, as it is unlikely that
Geminiani would have liked, never mind chosen to play, Vivaldi’s
Fifth.23 However, Talbot also cites a similar anecdote of Carolan by
Joseph Walker which claims that Carolan never met Geminiani.24 It
should be noted that this is in contradiction with Carolan scholar
Gráinne Yeats, who writes that Carolan “greatly admired Geminiani,
whom he most certainly met in Dublin.”25 Regardless, Talbot is
probably right in assuming that Geminiani was not the musician
present in the anecdote, given Geminiani’s likely distaste towards
Vivaldi, and lack of evidence to support the newspaper’s claim.
Interestingly, The Cambrian felt the need to clarify that Carolan was
“a blind Irish harper and composer,” but not give any such
clarifications on who Vivaldi was. This is easily explained by a limited
space in the newspaper’s miscellaneous section, and the anecdote was
after all about Carolan, not Vivaldi. However, it is worth mentioning
as Vivaldi was rarely performed during the nineteenth century, and

20
The Cambrian. 1887. “Anecdote of Carolan.” December 2, 1887.
21
The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. 1885. “Carolan, the Last of the
Bards.” December 1, 1885.
22
The Dublin Saturday Magazine. 1867. “Anecdote of Carolan.” August 1, 1867.
23
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin,” 97–98.
24
Ibid., 98.
25
Gráinne Yeats, “Carolan,” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Accessed 10
October 2017,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/04978.
12 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

one assumes that the average newspaper reader would not know who
Vivaldi was, making the lack of clarification somewhat curious.
Although, if one was in Wales and so inclined, one could attend a free
lecture on “Violins and Violinists” illustrated by “selections from
Corelli, Vivaldi, Tartini, Viotti, Maysider, De Beriot, &c” by Mr. J.
Squire in 1884.26 The lecture was apparently so popular that “the
interest in the subject itself, and, still more, perhaps, the high-class
executant ability of Mr. and Mrs. Squire on the violin and pianoforte,
attracted an unusually large crowd. The theatre was soon filled in
every part, and some overflowing hundreds of persons were
disappointed of a hearing.”27 Those disappointed of a hearing,
however, would be able to attend a second lecture on the same topic a
fortnight later. As this lecture took place only a few years prior to the
anecdote of Carolan appearing in Welsh newspapers, perhaps it is
possible that there was at least some small amount of familiarity with
Vivaldi’s name in nineteenth-century Wales.
The anecdote even made its way into twentieth-century history
books, specifically Grattan Flood’s A History of Irish Music, first
published in 1905 Dublin.28 Flood, however, claims that the anecdote
must be wrong, believing that Carolan never met Geminiani due to
O’Conor’s account.29 He also adds an additional account from
O’Conor, which claims instead that “Geminiani, who resided for
some years in Dublin, heard of the fame of O’Carolan, and
determined to test his abilities. He selected a difficult Italian concerto
and made certain changes in it, “so that no one but an acute judge
could detect them.”30 Geminiani apparently then sent the “mutilated”
version to Carolan, who was then able to fix Geminiani’s changes,
impressing Geminiani in the process.
If there is any truth to this anecdote on Carolan, it is likely hidden
behind several layers of embellishment and mythologising.
Regardless, the anecdote is one of very few examples of Vivaldi’s
name being mentioned beyond the eighteenth century in any country,
not just Britain and Ireland, before the composer’s modern revival.

26
The Cambrian. 1884. “Royal Institution Lecture.” February 29, 1884, 5.
27
Ibid.
28
Grattan Flood, A History of Irish Music (Dublin: Browne and Nolan, 1905), 234.
29
Flood, A History of Irish Music, 234.
30
Ibid., 234.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 13

Additionally, the anecdote suggests Vivaldi’s music had an influence

over at least one Irish composer, and shows that the Fifth made its
way from England to Ireland. Wherever and whenever this anecdote
was retold, an association between Vivaldi’s Fifth and musical skill
was created, as well as an association with an Irish harpist and
composer.

Theatre
There are two documents which refer to Vivaldi being played in
between acts at English theatres, both dating from around the middle
of the century. William Cook’s The Elements of Dramatic Criticism,
reads:

In one article, indeed, it must be confessed, the Grecian model

has greatly the advantage; its chorus, during an interval, not
only preserves alive the impression made upon the audience,
but also prepares their hearts for successive impressions; in
our theatres, on the contrary, the audience, at the end of every
act, carried away by a jig of Vivaldi’s, or a concerto of
Giardini’s, lose every warm impression relative to the piece,
and begin again cool and unconcerned, as at the
commencement of the representation.31

The author then goes on to argue that music appearing between the
acts is acceptable, but only if that music connects the passions of the
first act to the passions of the second, so that the flow of passions is
not interrupted.
A similar passage can also be found in Thomas Francklin’s A
Dissertation on Antient Tragedy:

To be convinced of our injustice and absurdity, let us suppose

Sophocles, or Euripides, transported from the shades of
Elysium, and entering one of our own noisy theatres, between
the acts; the audience engaged with bowing or talking to each
other, and the music entertaining them with a jig of Vivaldi, or
the roast beef of old England, how they would be surprised in

31
William Cook, The elements of dramatic criticism (London: G. Kearsly, 1775), 97–
98.
14 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

a few minutes to find that all this disorder, riot and confusion,
was in the midst of a most pathetic and interesting tragedy,
and the warmest passions of the human heart were broken in
upon and enfeebled by this strange and unnatural
interruption.32

In both these examples, one finds but anecdotal references to

Vivaldi, rather than any solid criticisms against the composer or his
music. Both Cook and Francklin refer to a “jig” of Vivaldi, which
could have been taken from an Op. 2 Sonata. In these excerpts, Cook
and Francklin take offence to Vivaldi being played between acts, as
the character of this music distracts from the character and emotions
of the staged drama. Thus Vivaldi is an inappropriate choice in this
context, although as these references might suggest, perhaps a
reasonably common one. Neither author is necessarily, or at least not
directly, saying Vivaldi is bad music, however Francklin’s relegating of
Vivaldi to the “disorder, riot and confusion” in direct comparison to
the “most pathetic and interesting” drama suggest Vivaldi is perhaps
not as good nor valuable as an Ancient Greek tragedy, or at least the
choruses played during intervals of such tragedies, but in fact
“enfeebles” such art. Similarly, Cook’s claim that the audience is
“carried away” by Vivaldi suggests something of a different nature to
the dramas he is describing, and is perhaps somewhat similar to
North’s much earlier descriptions of Vivaldi as being uncivilised, as it
only appeals to those inclined to be “hurryed away by caprice.”33 As
both Cook and Francklin’s excerpts are remarkably similar in idea, it is
entirely possible that the latter read and imitated the ideas in the
former’s writing. Nevertheless, the way in which both sources choose
Vivaldi as a prime example of music performed between acts, does at
least suggest that Vivaldi might have been a popular choice for
entertaining English theatre audiences in between the main dramas.
As well as being performed between acts, Vivaldi’s music also
made an appearance in at least one theatre work itself. The Golden
Pippin, an English burletta, featured an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Fifth.
32
Thomas Francklin, A dissertation on ancient tragedy (London: published privately,
1760), 21–22.
33
Roger North, Roger North on Music: Being a Selection of his Essays written during the
years c. 1695–1728, transcribed and edited by John Wilson (London: Novello,
1959), 293.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 15

The work, written by Kane O’Hara and featuring music from a range
of mostly Italian composers, was first conceived of in 1771, and
made its debut in 1773 on the London stage. The reason for the delay
between conception, writing, and premiere was that although the
opera was made ready for the 1771–72 season, it was at first rejected
for its inappropriate content, particularly its crude language and poor
portrayal of royalty.34 Even after O’Hara revised the opera’s content,
The Golden Pippin was met with a negative reception, almost inciting
riots on its second performance, due to its bad language, and possibly
other factors such as its short length and poor plot.35
Vivaldi’s Fifth appears in the final chorus of The Golden Pippin. In
the chorus, the six main characters bicker, and as such, Vivaldi’s
concerto is turned into a Sestetto featuring a solo violin with
accompanying continuo which more or less plays Vivaldi’s original
first movement, while vocal parts are overlaid onto the work,
interjecting but also complementing its original tune. The score,
which is known today from its simplified version published by
Longman and Lukey, has already been reproduced and analysed by
Talbot.36 He suggests that Vivaldi’s Fifth appeared in The Golden Pippin
as a way for violinist John Abraham Fisher to display his skills as a
musician within the opera.37 While this is a perfectly plausible
explanation, it is also possible, assuming Cook and Francklin’s
accounts are reflective of a general trend rather than a specific
occurrence, that Vivaldi’s Fifth might have been a familiar piece for
theatre audiences, or perhaps even a crowd pleaser, hence its inclusion
in The Golden Pippin.
Vivaldi’s Fifth also makes an appearance in an English satirical
pamphlet entitled Fitz-Giggo.38 Such pamphlets and other similar
ephemera were cheaply produced and never intended to be valued or
survive through the centuries. However, some pamphlets still exist in

34
Talbot, “The Golden Pippin,” 106.
35
Ibid., 106.
36
Ibid., 112–23.
37
Ibid., 110.
38
Fitz-giggo, a new english uproar; with the way to make him; or, A new overture upon the old
score. [England: Sold by E. Sumpter, Print and Bookseller, at the Bible and Crown,
three doors from Shoe-Lane, Fleet-Street, 1763]. Although mentioned in a
footnote by Talbot (Talbot, “The Golden Pippin,” 107), Fitz-Giggo seems to have
not be researched in any published form.
16 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

archives, and can provide valuable information on the opinions of

their authors, which presumably reflected the ideas of those who
bought such ephemera. Ephemeral pamphlets often contained the
words of ballads, with the instructions to sing the text to the tune of
a well-known song. These were often known as broadsides. The Fitz-
Giggo pamphlet at first resembles such a broadside, however, on closer
inspection, the satirical nature of the pamphlet becomes apparent. It
appears to advertise “The New English Uproar” Fitz-Giggo, and as
broadsides of the time typically did, gives a number of verses to be
sung to the tunes of airs from Thomas Arne’s opera Artaxerxes. While
Artaxerxes was by and large a successful work, a performance on 24
February 1763 resulted in a riot.39 This riot had less to do with Arne’s
work than it did with the theatre’s refusal to allow half-price entry into
later acts, as it had previously allowed. This riot was headed by a man
named Fitzpatrick, who is likely the person the pamphlet refers to as
Fitz-Giggo. The other characters listed on the broadside are the
original cast members of Artaxerxes. The pamphlet itself was sold
and likely also published by Edward Sumpter, his shop located in
Fleet Street, London.40 Although there is no indication of date
printed on the sheet, it would most likely have been printed in 1763,
the year in which the riot occurred. This date also corresponds with
the opening of Sumpter’s shop on Fleet Street.
Interestingly, Vivaldi’s Fifth does not appear in Artaxerxes. This
raises the question of why the pamphlet would include an air clearly
stated to be sung to the tune of Vivaldi’s Fifth. Alongside “the first
air in the school of Anacreon,” possibly referring to the song by John
Stafford Smith which was a favourite in London amateur music clubs
and related to the now American national anthem, as well as the
ambiguously titled “Symphony by the Gods and Goddesses,” the
Fifth is the only piece mentioned that did not originally occur within
Artaxerxes, while Vivaldi is the only composer named on the sheet.
These three tunes all occur within the second act when Fitz-Giggo
enters, and are all sung by that same character. Thus, while Tenducci,

39
John A. Parkinson, “Artaxerxes,” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
accessed 4 February 2018,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/97815615
92630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000900216.
40
“Sumpter, Edwards,” British Book Trade Index, accessed 10 October 2017,
http://bbti.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/details/?traderid=67238.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 17

Beard, Miss Brent, and the other original Artaxerxes singers make use
of airs from Arne’s opera, Fitz-Giggo sings non-operatic tunes. This
perhaps suggests that Vivaldi’s Fifth, despite being of Italian origin,
was not associated with the higher brow Italian operas more
commonly performed in London. The words sung by Fitz-Giggo, to
the tune of Vivaldi’s Fifth, are as follows:

With a damn’d noise and thunder,

We’ll make him now submit;
Or else again we’ll plunder,
The Boxes and the Pit.41

The verse could easily fit with the ritornello of the Fifth’s first
movement. Additionally, the opening octaves of this ritornello would
perhaps have complemented Fitz-Giggo’s assertive personality as well
as reflected the aggressive nature of the text. Whatever the reason for
its inclusion, the fact that Vivaldi’s Fifth is mentioned at all suggests
that it was a common enough tune to be recognised by the pamphlet’s
buyers.
From the above sources, it is fair to say that Vivaldi’s Fifth was his
most well-known work in England. He was associated with rapidity
and skill, and was generally talked about positively or neutrally. As
Ireland had a similar culture of art music to England, with Dublin
being second to only London as a musical hub of this culture, it was
already reasonable to suspect that Vivaldi would be known in Ireland
as well as England. The anecdote of Carolan adds to the validity of
that suspicion. As well as being an example of how Vivaldi’s name
would have been encountered in newspapers of the time, the
anecdote implies that Vivaldi had an impact on Irish music, as
Carolan was influenced by his style, particularly in his concerto. That
the anecdote would travel into nineteenth-century Wales shows how
Vivaldi was reduced to a historical figure (in relation to another
historical figure) in the nineteenth century, rather than someone who
was performed, although this reduction was still yet a presence.

41
Fitz-giggo, a new english uproar.
18 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

Sources from Learned Musicians

During the eighteenth century, there were many in England who
believed that good aesthetic taste belonged to the learned. Only the
well-educated (usually middle to upper class men with grammar
school educations) could distinguish between “good” and “bad”
music. Thus many musicians from learned circles took it upon
themselves to educate those with poorer tastes, as well as debate the
nuances of taste between themselves. Vivaldi’s music did not escape
the learned musicians’ attention, and despite (or perhaps precisely
because of) Vivaldi’s popularity in English theatres and homes, the
composer and violinist was largely criticised for being in poor taste.
The learned musicians took particular aim at Vivaldi’s rapidity as a
form of virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity, and were also against the
“frivolity” and “novelty” of his music, which will be discussed below.
While these sources all mention Vivaldi by name, it is important to
note that in many instances they were not just criticising Vivaldi, but
rather condemning him for being the exemplar of the Venetian style,
which they found to be in poor taste.
Sir John Hawkins and Charles Burney are perhaps the most
significant representations of these learned musicians, for their
influence both at their time of writing in the late eighteenth century,
and in modern musicology, where their histories are often relied upon
for discerning taste during that time. In addition to analysing the
writings of Burney and Hawkins for what they can tell us about
Vivaldi’s reception history, these sources can also be contrasted to the
popular entertainment sources discussed in the previous section. By
doing so, clear disparities arise between the two categories of sources.
The clearest difference is that of tone — while the popular
entertainment sources mostly portray Vivaldi in a positive light, the
learned musicians, in contrast, tend towards portraying him negatively.
This is most clearly evidenced with how the learned musicians
criticise Vivaldi’s rapidity, while in contrast the popular entertainment
sources clearly associated Vivaldi’s music with rapidity, but never
criticised that aspect of his music. Other characteristics mentioned
and criticised by the learned musicians, such as the novel and
frivolous nature of Vivaldi’s music, are not mentioned at all by the
popular entertainment sources, suggesting that there was a weaker
association between Vivaldi and frivolity and novelty in British culture
than what is initially suggested by the learned musicians. This might
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 19

be explained, at least partially, by the fact that while the Fifth was
clearly the most well-known of Vivaldi’s works in Britain and Ireland,
and also what most popular entertainment sources refer to (if they
refer to a specific piece), the learned musicians tend to use less
popular works as examples of poor taste.

Sir John Hawkins and Charles Burney

Sir John Hawkins, an English magistrate, author and amateur
musician, dedicated as little as less than half a page to Vivaldi in his
five-volume, large-scale history of music. Despite this, Hawkins’
portrayal of Vivaldi within A General History of the Science and Practice
of Music is crucial to Vivaldi’s reception history as it, alongside
Burney’s writings, are largely representative of learned musicians’
views.42 Hawkins’ A General History was one of the first of its kind in
England. It was both popular and influential at its time of
publication, and beyond its author’s death. Thus, it can tell one much
of Britain’s musical tastes during the mid-eighteenth century.
It took Hawkins sixteen years to write A General History, the
completed version not being published until 1776. At its time of
publication, Hawkins’ work was reasonably popular. However, A
General History would soon lose that initial popularity. This may have
been caused by negative reviews in the media that were likely initiated
and encouraged by Hawkins’ rival Charles Burney.43 The same year
Hawkins’ A General History first appeared, Burney published the first
volume of a similar history of music to Hawkins, making the two
direct competitors. Burney’s A General History of Music from the Earliest
Ages to the Present Period was an easier and more accessible work for the
average reader, giving it an edge over Hawkins’ work. The two
histories also differ in that Burney took more of an interest in
contemporary music, while Hawkins places greater value on earlier
music.
Despite Burney’s somewhat successful attempts at defamation,
Hawkins’ A General History were still widely known and discussed,
remaining popular enough to be reprinted in 1853 and 1857. The

42
Roger North, Charles Avison, and William Hayes are other important learned
musicians from the eighteenth century who wrote similar criticisms of Vivaldi.
43
Robert Stevenson, “‘The Rivals’ — Hawkins, Burney, and Boswell,” The
Musical Quarterly 36/1 (1950): 71–76.
20 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

books were also often cited in newspapers and other media during the
eighteenth century and beyond. Thus, Hawkins’ work has since been
a standard point of reference for reception histories, due to its wide
scope and large influence.
Hawkins was involved with several amateur music clubs over his
lifetime, which would influence his musical taste towards that of a
learned style. The most important of these clubs were the Academy
of Ancient Music and the Madrigal Society. Hawkins would also
become a member of the Ivy Lane Club and the Turk’s Head Club.
His membership in such clubs would allow him to become acquainted
with the music of the “Ancients.” The Ancients consisted of
composers from earlier periods, and included the likes of Giovanni
Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594) and Arcangelo Corelli (1653–
1713). Despite what its name might imply, a composer might only
have passed away a decade or so before being considered an Ancient.
These amateur clubs specialising in Ancient music would have been
filled with like-minded learned musicians with similar tastes to
Hawkins. Corelli’s concertos (as well as those composers who
followed Corelli’s model, such as Handel) would have been far more
familiar to its members than the Vivaldian model.
Hawkins’ writing on Vivaldi is brief and to the point, with his
criticisms outnumbering any positive remarks. Hawkins admits that
Vivaldi was a popular figure, singling out The Four Seasons as one of
the composer’s most well-known works, and even labels Vivaldi “a
celebrated composer for the violin, as also a great master of that
instrument.”44 That Hawkins would not only list but also give
attention to The Four Seasons demonstrates the author’s research
beyond his own familiarity and personal tastes, as Britain was one of
very few places where the work was not one of Vivaldi’s most well-
known outputs. However, Hawkins’ own British tastes soon become
apparent in his writing, as he condemns Vivaldi at several instances.
The Four Seasons “must appear very ridiculous” for their illustrative
nature, which Hawkins seems to hold little value for beyond novelty.45
Perhaps more wounding is Hawkins’ ability to criticise several of
Vivaldi’s most prominent traits in just one sentence:

44
John Hawkins, A General History of the Science and Practice of Music vol. 2 (London:
Payne and Son, 1776), 837.
45
Ibid.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 21

Indeed the peculiar characteristic of Vivaldi’s music, speaking

of his concertos … is, that it is wild and irregular; and in some
instances it seems to have been his study that it should be so;
some of his compositions are expressly entitled Extravaganzas,
as transgressing the bound of melody and modulation; as does
also that concerto of his in which the notes of the cuckoo’s
song are frittered into such minute divisions as in the author’s
time few but himself could express on any instrument
whatsoever.46

Hawkins disliked the “extravagances” of Vivaldi’s music. These

extravagances took the form of Vivaldi’s unusual — arguably
“unlearned” — harmonic practices, his imitation of nature
(specifically birdcalls in this example), and the virtuosic nature of his
concertos. Hawkins would then take these extravagances and argue
that “from this character of his compositions it will necessarily be
inferred that the harmony of them, and the artful contexture of the
parts, is their least merit.”47
To more clearly understand Hawkins’ criticisms, it is important to
note that Hawkins frowned upon extravagances in music beyond just
Vivaldi. His feelings on the matter first become clear not in relation to
a specific composer, but are rather brought up in his preliminary
discourse to the first volume of A General History. He writes:

Hence it is easy to account for the obtrusion of such

[virtuosic] compositions on the public ear as furnish
opportunities of displaying mere manual proficiency in the
artist; a solo or a concerto on the violin, the violoncello, the
hautboy, or some other such instrument, does this, and gives
scope for the exercise of a wild exuberant fancy which
distinguishes, or rather disgraces, the instrumental
performances of this day.48

In this instance, Hawkins criticises virtuosity for its tendency to draw

attention to the soloist and their “mere manual proficiency.” Hawkins

46
Ibid.
47
Ibid.
48
Ibid., vol. 1, xxxvi.
22 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

believed that such displays did not necessarily have to be musically

beautiful to entertain their audiences. He later uses the example of
extremities of register to demonstrate this. Hawkins thought that the
use of such registers made individual tones difficult to distinguish,
while “the mean tones of all instruments, as being the most sweet, are
to be preferred to those at either extremity of either voice or
instrument.”49 Thus, in the case of such music, the musically beautiful
(harmonic and melodic clarity) are distorted and sacrificed for the
sake of virtuosity.
Following this, Hawkins somewhat oddly chooses to criticise the
use of birdcalls in music, labelling them as further extravagances.
Apart from describing these birdcalls as “the imitation of tones
dissimilar to the violin, the flute … [and] the violoncello,” Hawkins
does not seem to justify his reasons for disliking such imitation.50 The
reason for his dislike may lie in a linking of extravagance with novelty,
and not just virtuosity.
Such extremities of register (the Tenth Concerto of opus 5
contains an, albeit optional, b’’’), imitation of birdcalls, and displays
of virtuosity are all sins Vivaldi is guilty of displaying. By Hawkins’
standards, Vivaldi’s compositions could be the very definition of
extravagance. It is perhaps not surprising then, that Hawkins thought
that Vivaldi “gave into a style which had little but novelty to
recommend it.”51
Burney is far less critical of Vivaldi compared to Hawkins. In a
similar vein to Hawkins, Burney introduces Vivaldi as “the most
popular composer for the violin [in Italy, during Vivaldi’s lifetime], as
well as player on that instrument,”52 although unlike Hawkins, Burney
continues with this more neutral depiction of Vivaldi. He is unique in
that he recognises Vivaldi’s place outside of instrumental, and
specifically violin, music. He acknowledges Vivaldi as a composer of
both cantatas and operas on numerous occasions.53 He is, however,
typical of eighteenth-century musicians in that he associates Vivaldi

49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
51
Ibid., vol. 2, 838.
52
Charles Burney, A general history of music, from the earliest ages to the present period. To
which is prefixed, a dissertation on the music of the ancients, vol. 3 (London: published
privately, 1776–89), 561.
53
Ibid., vol. 4, 77, 175, 178, 302, 362, 381, 535–36, 538, 573.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 23

with virtuosity, writing that “his pieces called Stravaganze, which

among flashy players, whose chief merit was rapid execution,
occupied the highest place of favour … If acute and rapid tones are
evils, Vivaldi has much of the sin to answer for.”54 As a violinist,
Vivaldi is described as “happening to be gifted with more fancy and
more hand than their neighbours, were thought insane; as friar Bacon,
for superior science, was thought a magician, and Galileo a heretic.”55
While Burney does mention Vivaldi’s association with skill in the
form of rapidity, he takes a less critical stance towards it than his
predecessors. Overall, he seems quite neutral towards Vivaldi.
An explanation for Burney’s lack of criticisms may be that he saw
Vivaldi as purely a historical figure. Considering that the limited
amount of space dedicated to Vivaldi (one paragraph on his violin
music, one paragraph on his cantatas, and a scattering of factual
details throughout the third and fourth volumes) is significantly less
than that dedicated to someone like Corelli, Burney likely did not
even consider Vivaldi a particularly prominent historical figure. As
one of Burney’s primary concerns was influencing good taste, and
informing the “unlearned” as to what constitutes good taste, he
would have been less concerned with criticising composers that he
saw as no longer influencing modern tastes. While still somewhat
known, Vivaldi’s music significantly declined in popularity during the
latter half of the eighteenth century, when Burney and Hawkins were
writing. As Hawkins was heavily invested in musical societies
specialising in Ancient music, he would have encountered Vivaldi
more often, and would have had an interest in slandering him.
Burney, on the other hand, was more concerned with contemporary
music, and thus would not have cared about what he viewed as an
inconsequential historical figure.
By reading what Hawkins and Burney have to say, one might
conclude that Vivaldi’s music was generally frowned upon for its
frivolous nature. The composer had a penchant for rapidity and
novelty, even imitation of non-musical sounds, which were all in bad
taste according to Hawkins. While Burney is less harsh, he allows little
written space on the composer, and talks more of Vivaldi in Italy
than England specifically, thus allowing modern scholars to infer that

54
Burney, A General History vol. 3, 561.
55
Ibid., 569.
24 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

Vivaldi was not popular in England. Additionally, popular

entertainment sources almost exclusively talk about Vivaldi’s Fifth, a
work which neither Hawkins nor Burney mention. While Vivaldi’s
“Cuckoo” concerto was somewhat known, the majority of Vivaldi’s
imitative works were not, including The Four Seasons, making Hawkin’s
criticisms on imitation redundant when analysing England’s most
well-known Vivaldian work, the Fifth.
If only the words of musicians from learned circles are taken into
account, Vivaldi’s reception through the eighteenth century in
England seems to be rather poor. He is viewed as an overly
extravagant composer and violinist, who wrote music only suited to
the most flamboyant of performers and most easily entertained of
audiences. However, the writings of Hawkins and Burney do not
represent the whole of Vivaldi’s English reception history. Despite
what they might have liked, these musicians and writers could not
stop music they considered in poor taste from becoming popular with
wider audiences. Thus, one should be careful in basing an English
reception history of Vivaldi solely on the opinions of these learned
circles, as some scholars have been inclined to do. Nevertheless,
analysing the views of these eighteenth-century writers still proves
useful in detailing how Vivaldi’s music played into larger debates in
musical aesthetics and in learned society.

Conclusion
While the histories and essays written by the learned musicians can
tell us much about Vivaldi’s British reception history, they only
represent one part of the composer’s reception. If one were to
consider only the opinions of the learned, they might get the
impression that Vivaldi had little value to British and Irish audiences.
However, popular entertainment sources demonstrate that Vivaldi
was more popular than the learned suggest. By analysing primary
sources from popular entertainment contexts, a more nuanced view
of Vivaldi’s reception is given, as a larger audience base is accounted
for. Thus, this reception history of Vivaldi in Britain and Ireland has
attempted not only to bring deeper and more detailed analysis to
primary sources than that of current scholarship, but also to help re-
evaluate the weight that should be given to the writings of learned
musicians when creating a British reception history.
 A. Goodman, Reception History of Antonio Vivaldi 25

The quest for a detailed reception history of Vivaldi in eighteenth-

century Britain and Ireland is far from complete. There are many
other types of sources which may tell us more about Vivaldi in
Britain and Ireland. Perhaps the most important of these are sources
on score accessibility and dissemination. While some collections of
music containing Vivaldi’s pieces have already been undertaken, many
primary sources still remain unaccounted for in Vivaldian scholarship.
This includes a significant amount of auction catalogues and music
sellers’ catalogues. Additionally, previous studies on score collections
tend to focus solely on the one collection, resulting in an assortment
of isolated studies within academia. Thus, a study which would collate
such research into a larger study on score availability and
dissemination would prove highly beneficial to Vivaldian scholarship.
Further study into score dissemination outside of England, in places
such as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, is also an area which requires
further research. With the digitisation of archival material becoming a
more frequent occurrence, more primary sources are becoming easily
accessible to scholars, which will hopefully allow continual additions
to knowledge on Vivaldi’s reception history, not only in Britain and
Ireland, but also across Europe and beyond.

ABSTRACT
The reception history of Antonio Vivaldi’s music in eighteenth-
century Britain and Ireland has been an under-researched topic within
Vivaldian scholarship. While some literature on the topic has been
written, studies seem to be scattered and fragmented — either overly
focused on a specific and niche topic, or overly generalised and acting
as background information in general books on the composer’s
biography or history. Furthermore, such literature tends to sideline
the context of its primary sources — whether these sources were
aimed at general audiences or professional composers. As Vivaldi’s
music was, in fact, reasonably well known and popular in Britain and
Ireland, and that its reception differed from other European cultures,
a study of the composer in eighteenth-century British culture is sorely
needed. This article aims to provide part of that reception history by
analysing a range of primary sources to gauge Vivaldi’s reception.
These sources are categorised according to both their authors’ and
audiences’ contexts, fitting into two broad categories — “learned
26 SUJM vol. 7, December 2017

musicians” and “popular entertainment.” What emerges is a contrast

in views between these types of sources; while learned musicians such
as Charles Burney and Sir John Hawkins heavily criticise Vivaldi’s
music for its frivolous nature, sources from newspapers, satirical
novels, and ephemera portray Vivaldi in a far more positive light.
Thus, a detailed reception history of Vivaldi’s music in Britain and
Ireland is one that would take the context of its primary sources into
account.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Annabel Goodman completed her Bachelor of Music (Musicology)
with Honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2017. Her
interests include Baroque music, reception history, and aesthetic
philosophy. This article is based off her Honours thesis, which she
completed under the supervision of Dr Alan Maddox.