British music

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”
Ludving van Beethoven

British music as a unique style or a national tradition dates back to the 15th century, when it became distinct from a wider European style of music. Despite the lack of a large number of major composers born in England, British music has a rich history and has made a major impact on world music through the centuries.
Music always played an important role in British cultural life. Musical interests ranged from classical music and opera to pop music and rock music, which are extremely popular, especially among young people. The country`s great interest in classical music is reflected in the large audiences that attends concerts, opera and ballet. In spite of it there are also regular performances for lovers of folk music, brass band music, jazz, light music and choral music.

In the earliest periods, British music took the form of minstrelsy (ˊmɪnstrəlsɪ) поэ́зия, пе́сни менестре́лей, in which performers who were paid by the king played and sang, usually to mark important occasions.
The English were also known for "part singing," in which each performer sang a separate part of the song, rather than all performers singing together as was common in other European countries.

In the Middle Ages, music was associated primarily with the church; most British compositions that survived from this period were written for religious services. With the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, a new phenomenon of gained popularity in England, as the biblical texts psalm-singing were set to music and sung in Reformed churches and homes. Instrumental music, particularly for the lute by composers such as John Dowland, was also common during the Renaissance. At the end of the 17th century, Henry Purcell's compositions for the church, to celebrate events in the life of Queen Mary II and for the theater, were among the most important contributions to English music of the period.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695), a prominent British composer, lived in the 17th century. He was the founder of the British Opera. His opera “King Arthur” was very popular with spectators. The main idea of this opera was the struggle for the independence of Britain.

The German-born George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), who lived in England after 1712, is one of the most well-known English composers. Handel's operas were influential throughout the world. His Messiah (1742) had a particular influence on English music, as it became the inspiration for widespread amateur choral singing among the middle class.

George Handel (Georg Friedrich Händel) was born on February, 23rd, 1685 in a Saxon city of Halle (Halle). Since seven years actively was engaged in playing music, from nine — composer activity.
The first operas, "Amelia" and "Neron", Handel has written to 1705 . In 1707-1709 the composer travels and studies in Italy where to it the glory of the master of the Italian opera comes.
In the 1710 Handel goes to London, then in 1712 has for a short while returned to Hanover where has composed a number of vocal duets for the princess of Carolina (the future queen of Great Britain).
Since 1712 the composer almost constantly lives in England.

With 1720 on 1728 Handel holds a post of the director of Royal academy of music. On February, 13th, 1726 the composer obtains the British citizenship.
In 1720 and 1730 Handel continues to write many operas, and since 1740 basic place in its creativity occupy oratorios (most known of them — "Messiah").
In 1753 there comes a total blindness. Handel has died on April, 14th, 1759 in London. It is buried in Westminster abbey.
For the life Handel has written a creative heritage about 50 operas, 23 oratorios, set of church chorals, organ concerts, and also a number of products of entertaining character.

In the 19th century, the growth in sheet music publishing and the manufacturing of pianos further contributed to the traditions of amateur and popular music. The tradition of composing for the theater was carried on in Victorian England by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, whose popular comic operas, including The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado set the stage for the tradition of modern musical theater in England and the United States.

Between 1880 and 1887 the London Guildhall School of Music was established. The Royal College of Music, originating in a training school under Arthur Sullivan, was founded (1882-83) under Sir George Grove.The Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts, led by Sir Henry Wood were founded in 1895. The Promenade concerts are probably the most famous. They still continue today in the Royal Albert Hall. They take place every night for about three months in the summer, and the programmes include new and contemporary works, as well as classics. Among them are symphonies and other pieces of music composed by Benjamin Britten, the famous English musician.
promenade concert - концерт, во время которого публика может свободно ходить по залу, входить и выходить

In the middle of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten helped to keep the English operatic tradition strong, especially with his very popular and influential Peter Grimes. During this period, several important orchestras were founded, including the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic. British music festivals also started during this time and continue to be popular.
B. Britten is a well-known British composer (1913-1976). He has composed a large amount of music of all kinds, among them operas and choral works. His music is very expressive. One of his greatest works is the opera “Peter Grimes”. It’s an exciting story about a poor fisherman who was falsy accused and driven out of his native village.

In the earlier part of the 19th century the British singers Michael Kelly, Nancy Storace and John Braham were prominent and by their example sustained the international opera and oratorio works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart and their successors in the British arena.
The Irish composer and virtuoso pianist John Field (1782-1837) was highly influential in his style of playing, inventing the nocturne and he is thought to have been an inspiration to Schumann, Chopin and Liszt.

Perhaps the most important contributions of British music have come not from its classical composers but from its flourishing popular music culture. In the period between the two World Wars, Britain experienced a general rise in leisure time and culture that led to increased appreciation for popular music and a significant growth in its production and distribution. During these years, the development of radio and the gramophone also increased the spread of popular music in England. The music of brass bands and dance halls was especially popular, as was jazz. Performers like and Ray Noble performed and recorded prolifically and sold records in the millions of copies in the years after World War I.

In the early 1960s, British music reached its peak of popularity, success and influence. Beginning in 1960, the "British invasion" was an influx of British bands into the American music scene. Super groups, especially the Beatles and the Rolling Stones but many others as well, topped the American popular music charts and created sometimes hysterical reactions among fans when they arrived to play concerts in the United States.
The Rolling Stones

The "Beatlemania" that swept the United States during the Beatles' 1964 tour helped fuel the success of these bands. At the end of the 1960s, many American performers took up the styles -- in both sound and fashion -- that the Beatles and other English groups had made popular, continuing the influence of British culture on American popular music

English bands also dominated another important trend in late 20th-century popular music with the punk rock bands of the 1970s. Groups such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash produced music that was loud, fast and guitar-heavy. They set out to shock audiences with their attitudes and appearance and are often seen as giving voice to the economic and political struggles of 1970s England. British punk was, like the British pop music of the previous decade, a major influence on the American music scene. In the 1980s, a second British invasion hit the U.S. airwaves, led by the New Romantic, New Wave and Synth-Pop styles of groups such as A Flock of Seagulls, The Human League, Pet Shop Boys and, later, Depeche Mode and New Order.

Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success, with several musicals that have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government for services to Music, seven Tony Awards(and 40 nominations), three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006. Several of his songs, notably "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and "Memory" from Cats have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals. His company, the Really Useful Group, is one of the largest theatre operators in London.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is an English composer of musical theatre, the elder son of organist William Lloyd Webber and brother of the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber started composing at the age of six, and published his first piece at the age of nine.