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Lewis Granom : his significance for the flute in the eighteenth century

An article in the London Daily Advertiser, April 6 1752 makes reference to ‘Mr. Granom, whose expression in composition can only be equalled by his fire as a performer’. This quotation testifies to the extremely high regard in which the flute player Lewis Granom was held as both composer and performer, as well as implying that he was known to the music-loving public. This contrasts markedly with the lack of mention in modern musical literature. Only Hugh Arthur Scott, in his article ‘London Concerts from 1700 to 1750’, Musical Quarterly, 24/2 (1938), 194–209 (p. 204), provides a hint of Granom’s standing in musical circles: ‘A star which rose about the same time [1719], and shone for many years afterwards, was Lewis Granom, the famous flautist, who gave a long series of concerts at Hickford’s in 1729’. This suggests that Granom should be better known, both for his compositions and for his contribution to flute pedagogy. His treatise, Plain and Easy Instructions for Playing on the German Flute (London: T. Bennett, 1766), was the first dedicated to the flute by a named English author. This thesis remedies this notable historical oversight with an examination of his life, his pedagogical work (particularly his treatise) and an analysis of his flute sonatas together with their relevant performance practice in the light of the various international influences found therein. It restores Lewis Granom to his rightful place as a significant composer and performer in the context of mid eighteenth-century English music.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:577930
Date January 2013
CreatorsCrown, Helen
PublisherCardiff University
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://orca.cf.ac.uk/50783/

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