Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/148598 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
WZB Discussion Paper No. SP II 2016-311
Publisher: 
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), Berlin
Abstract: 
The December 1776 issue of the "Gentleman's Magazine," flagship of British periodicals, features an item unique in the history of 18th-century music: the "Scale to Measure the Merits of Musicians." It comprises an evaluative chart of two-dozen composers, marking the first quantitative assessment of musical skill. This paper explicates the chart's structure and content, traces its methodology to the founder of modern art criticism Roger de Piles, proposes Charles Burney as its likely author, and places it in the context of a rising music historiography in Britain.
Subjects: 
Music
quantification
Handel
Roger de Piles
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.