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Brilliant Classics

Turner: 6 Lessons for Harpsichord (1756)

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Details

Composer
Elizabeth Turner
Artist
Costanza Leuzzi
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Mar 21, 2025
Catalog #
BRI97319
UPC
5028421973197

About

On the English musical landscape of the second half of the 18th century, the name Elizabeth Turner stands out as a rare example of a female musician flourishing on British soil. She was successful singer on London's stages between about 1740 and 1756, as well as a composer and harpsichordist. Few of her biographical details have come down to us: her date of birth is unknown, and her year of death (1756) is inferred from reports in English newspapers of the time. The number and dates of printed references to her singing (the earliest is from March 1744) suggests a premature passing that interrupted an acclaimed vocal career. Rivalled only by her fellow singer-composer and contemporary Elisabetta de Gambarini (1731-1765, a Londoner of Italian descent), Elizabeth Turner alternated her activity on the stage with composition, publishing two volumes. The first, Twelve Songs, With Symphonies and a Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord (London, 1750), is a collection of English folk songs; the second, A Collection of Songs With Symphonies and a Thorough Bass. With Six Lessons for the Harpsichord (London, 1756), places 19 songs on texts by British poets alongside 6 lessons for harpsichord. The 'Lessons' genre was one very much in vogue in mid-18th-century England, as evidenced by Purcell's A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinnet (1696), the aforementioned Gambarini's Six Sets of Lessons for the Harpsichord (1748), and Thomas Arne's VIII Sonatas or Lessons for the Harpsichord (1756). Turner's Six Harpsichord Lessons here receive their first complete recording. Each is divided into several movements, in the manner of a sonata. The style is often similar to that of the companion songs in her volume, whose melodies refer distinctly to the models of the tradition (from Purcell down to Boyce, via Thomas Arne and Maurice Greene). This is music intended for refined and cultured amateur performers, whose performances were moments of social conviviality where playing constituted pure pleasure. Yet in a society, such as England's, that relegated the role of women in music to the horizon of amusement, entertainment and domestic pastime, the figure of Elizabeth Turner emerges with disruptive and revolutionary force. Her sort of revolution is not one that demands a paradigm shift, it does not aspire to break the mould, it does not have a vocation for destruction: it is a gentle revolution, made up of elegance and grace, and precisely in it's gentleness it calls out to be heard, an invitation we cannot decline. Other information: - Recorded March 2024 in Silvelle (Italy) - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Maddalena Bonechi, as well as a note from the performer and her biography - Costanza Leuzzi plays a French double-manual harpsichord (anon. , after Pascal Taskin; renovated 2020, Andrea Di Maio) tuned to the Young II temperament at a=415 - Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics. Com - Elizabeth Turner's (?-1756) Six Lessons for Harpsichord, published in 1756, the year of her death, is a significant contribution to 18th-century keyboard music, reflecting the stylistic characteristics of the time. Little is known about Turner herself, but her work stands as one of the few harpsichord collections by a female composer during that era, making it a valuable historical artifact. The Six Lessons are structured as suites, each consisting of multiple short movements, such as minuets, and gigues, which were popular dance forms in Baroque music. - Turner's compositions exhibit a blend of French and Italian influences, which were prevalent in English harpsichord music of the period. The pieces are characterized by their elegant melodic lines and ornamentation, typical of the French style, alongside rhythmic vitality that hints at Italian practices. The works are accessible for amateur performers, suggesting they were intended for domestic music-making rather than professional concert settings. - The Six Lessons offer insight into the musical tastes and domestic entertainment practices of 18th-century England, particularly for women, who were often encouraged to learn keyboard instruments. Turner's work is a rare example of a published female composer in a male-dominated field. - Costanza Leuzzi, a pupil of Roberto Loreggian, wrote a dissertation on the life and work of Elizabeth Turner. With the purpose of giving new life to Turner's music, Costanza also founded an ensemble of young musicians and gives concerts where she combines the musical performance and the storytelling of the English composer's life. - The interest in unknown authors and forgotten musical literature is the main focus of Costanza's musical career, which aims to share lost masterpieces that deserve to be rediscovered in our time.

Tracklist 23 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro 03:48
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    03:48
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  2. 2 II. Scotaza moderato 03:01
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Scotaza moderato
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  3. 3 III. Tambourine allegro 01:27
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Tambourine allegro
    Duration
    01:27
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  4. 4 IV. Minuetto allegro 01:52
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Minuetto allegro
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  5. 5 I. [Andante] 05:04
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. [Andante]
    Duration
    05:04
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  6. 6 II. Andante affettuoso 02:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Andante affettuoso
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  7. 7 III. Gavotta allegro with 6 variations 07:07
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Gavotta allegro with 6 variations
    Duration
    07:07
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  8. 8 I. [Allegretto] 03:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. [Allegretto]
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  9. 9 II. Minuetto affettuoso 01:46
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Minuetto affettuoso
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  10. 10 III. Giga 01:22
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Giga
    Duration
    01:22
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  11. 11 IV. March 01:14
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. March
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  12. 12 I. [Allegro moderato] 04:43
    Track
    12
    Title
    I. [Allegro moderato]
    Duration
    04:43
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  13. 13 II. Courante 01:30
    Track
    13
    Title
    II. Courante
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  14. 14 III. Aria tempo di minuetto con gusto 01:50
    Track
    14
    Title
    III. Aria tempo di minuetto con gusto
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  15. 15 IV. [Giga] 01:25
    Track
    15
    Title
    IV. [Giga]
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  16. 16 I. [Andantino] 03:55
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. [Andantino]
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  17. 17 II. Andante 03:06
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  18. 18 III. Aria 01:41
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Aria
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  19. 19 IV. Savoyard 01:01
    Track
    19
    Title
    IV. Savoyard
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  20. 20 V. Minuetto con gusto 01:08
    Track
    20
    Title
    V. Minuetto con gusto
    Duration
    01:08
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  21. 21 I. [Andante] 04:23
    Track
    21
    Title
    I. [Andante]
    Duration
    04:23
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  22. 22 II. Minuetto andante, with 6 variations 04:24
    Track
    22
    Title
    II. Minuetto andante, with 6 variations
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi
  23. 23 III. Giga: Allegro 01:01
    Track
    23
    Title
    III. Giga: Allegro
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Elizabeth Turner
    Performer
    Costanza Leuzzi