This present collection admirably shows the ingenious simplicity of Arne's writing, very much in the mid-eighteenth-century English pastoral school. At the beginning of 1751, when...

This present collection admirably shows the ingenious simplicity of Arne's writing, very much in the mid-eighteenth-century English pastoral school. At the beginning of 1751, when Thomas Arne published his 'Eight Overtures in 8 Parts', he had become the leading exponent of English dramatic music and the only Englishman who could offer Handel serious competition in the theatre. Arne's 'Eight Overtures' belongs to a tradition of making the instrumental introductions of vocal works available for concert use and divide into two types. Nos 1, 2,4,6,7 and 9 are examples of the older French type that was invented by Lully, was used in England from the 1680s onwards and is found in the majority of Handel's operas and oratorios. These overtures begin with dignified movements, often marked 'Largo' that have dotted rhythms, sharp dissonances to push the music along, and ornamental 'tirades' to create a sense of excitement. By contrast, overtures Nos 3 and 6 are really Italian sinfonias. This type of overture was developed in the early eighteenth century by Alessandro Scarlatti and his contemporaries, and usually consists of three movements: a bustling fast movement, a soulful slow movement and a minuet. As Arne's examples show, the Italian sinfonia was markedly more modern in musical style than the French overture. The final two overtures; 'Alfred' and 'Thomas and Sally', rarely recorded works, are also examples of the more modern Italian type.