Music for St Cecilia's Day: From Purcell to Handel [Book Review]

Abstract

How did a third-century saint and virgin martyr come to be associated with secular celebrations of music in early modern Europe? This is a puzzle that historians of music, religion, and culture have yet to solve, and, indeed, one that haunts the latest and most extensive foray into the poetry and music written to celebrate St. Cecilia's Day in England. Music for St Cecilia's Day explores the lifecycle—the diffusion and development, the structures, and significance—of the Cecilian performances that marked the final decades of Stuart rule. Beginning with the first known entertainment (a feast featuring the musical setting of an ode, hosted by the Musical Society of London on November 22, 1683) and arriving nearly 400 pages later at Handel's august concert settings of Dryden's Cecilian odes (1736 and 1739), this study reconstructs the performance history of St. Cecilia's Day celebrations, with equal attention to the texts and textures of...

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