David Kilpatrick wrote: > > But Oswald was very much into Hanoverian London fashion - so even if it > wasn't firmly re-established, he would surely have been writing for > fairly trendy drawing-room musicians playing the latest Continental > instruments.
Hmmm... good point > > Was Oswald a court musician at this date or did it come later? No, that was six years later. > > When I listen to Rob's recording of Oswald's Divertimentos for the > guittar, I think he was sneaking Scottish themes into what sounds like > European music. I don't know the Airs for seasons you mention but I'd > like to see them, wouldn't be surprised to find Scottish origins visible > again! Definitely. The whole collection consists of no less than 48 short suites (12 for each season) - more than a hundred pieces all in all - for violin or flute and figured bass. The spring suites all show very distinctive Scottish roots - some of the tunes wouldn't sound out of place in a modern Scottish session. Thoughout summer, autumn and winter he gradually moves towards a more elaborate continental style but he never completely leaves the Scottish style. It's a pity those pieces aren't better known today. Some are admittably quite dull and often way too sweet for most tastes, but there are some real gems there too. Here's an example: X:1 T:Giga T:The Narcissus, 2nd movement (violin/flute part) C:James Oswald S:James Oswald: Airs for the Spring (1755) Z:Transcribed by Frank Nordberg - http://www.musicaviva.com R:Jig Q:6/8 L:1/8 K:G "^Vivace"d|TB>AG dBG|(A/B/c)A G2A|TB>AG dBG|eAA A2B| c(e/f/g) dcB|ABG E2g/a/|bag Te2d|egg g2:| |:a|Tf>ed dBA|ABd d2e|fga abc'|bgb a2b| c'ac' bgb|afa gfe|d2e dBG|FAB cBA| TB>AG dBG|(A/B/c)A G2A|TB>AG dBG|aAA A2B| cec dBG|ABG E2g/a/|bag Te2d|egg g2:| Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://www.tablatvre.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
