This project explores this thriving context through the investigation of the musical interests, activities and networks of members of the provincial population in eighteenth-century Yorkshire. By the second half of the eighteenth century, professional music-making was increasingly brought to provincial public venues such as assembly rooms, parish churches and theatres. Its growing popularity went in hand with the vast quantity of music composed and published with amateurs in mind. One of the principal ways in which people experienced music was through domestic music-making.
Plumb) meant recreational activities became readily available to the middle and professional classes in provincial towns and cities. The ‘urban renaissance’ (Peter Borsay) and ‘commercialisation of leisure’ (J. Music was a pleasurable leisure and communal activity pursued by many from across the social spectrum. The British provinces enjoyed a vibrant musical culture in the eighteenth century.
