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William Lawes is arguably one of the finest English composers of the early seventeenth century. Born in Salisbury in 1602, he rose to prominence in the early 1630s; in 1635 he gained a prestigious post among the elite private musicians of Charles I (the 'Lutes, Viols and Voices'). With the outbreak of civil war in 1642, Lawes took arms in support of the king; he died during the Siege of Chester in September 1645. This book is divided into three sections. The first is a contextual examination of music at the court of Charles I, with specific reference to the arcane group of musicians known as the 'Lutes, Viols and Voices'; much of Lawes's surviving consort music appears to have been written for performance of this group. The remainder of the book deals with William Lawes the composer. The second section is a detailed study of Lawes's autograph sources: the first of its kind. It includes 62 black and white facsimile images, and complete inventories of all the autographs, and presents ground-breaking new research into Lawes's scribal hand, the sources and their functions, and new evidence for their chronology. The third section comprises six chapters on Lawes's consort music; in these chapters various topics are examined, such as chronology, Lawes's compositional process, and the relationship between Lawes's music and the court context from which it arose. This book will be of interest to scholars working on English music in the Early Modern period, but also to those interested in source studies, compositional process and the function of music in the Early Modern court.

Chamber music --- Music --- History and criticism --- Lawes, William, --- History and criticism. --- Criticism and interpretation. --- Charles I. --- Early Modern court. --- Early Modern period. --- English composer. --- English music. --- JOHN CUNNINGHAM. --- Lutes, Viols and Voices. --- Siege of Chester. --- William Lawes. --- civil war. --- compositional process. --- seventeenth century. --- source studies.

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The late nineteenth century was a propitious time for British composers. But while the demand from music publishers for their works grew substantially, the copyright and royalty terms were such that even successful composers could not achieve the levels of earnings enjoyed by other creative artists such as authors, painters and dramatists. However, in the early twentieth century, new sources of earnings emerged, notably performing fees, broadcasting fees and royalties from record sales. Unlike other leading contemporary British composers, who also held prestigious, salaried positions, Elgar was, by his own volition, a freelance composer who relied entirely on the precarious earnings from his works, supplemented by conducting fees and a brief tenure at Birmingham University. As a result, although Elgar achieved fame, status and recognition in his lifetime, both nationally and internationally, his earnings did not match the standard of living to which he aspired. This lack of money, exacerbated by too much expenditure, was a constant source of worry, complaint and frustration to Elgar, even though he had become a beneficiary from the new sources of income in the twentieth century. Elgar's Earnings investigates whether Elgar's complaints about a lack of money can be justified by the facts. Drawing on hitherto neglected primary sources, especially the Novello Business Archive, John Drysdale examines the relatively poor terms offered by music publishers to composers of serious music in general and Elgar in particular and explores the reasons why successful painters and authors, such as G. B. Shaw, could obtain much better terms. This comparative analysis enriches our understanding of the economic and social forces at work in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain and shows how Elgar, despite his insecure financial position, helped to establish the profession of the English composer, to the lasting benefit of future generations. JOHN DRYSDALE is a musicologist and former investment banker.

Music publishers --- Wages --- Compensation --- Departmental salaries --- Earnings --- Pay --- Remuneration --- Salaries --- Wage-fund --- Wage rates --- Working class --- Income --- Labor costs --- Compensation management --- Cost and standard of living --- Prices --- Publishers and publishing --- Composers. --- Elgar, Edward, --- Finance, Personal. --- Authors. --- Birmingham University. --- British composer. --- Broadcasting fees. --- Conducting fees. --- Copyright. --- Creative artists. --- Dramatists. --- Earnings. --- Economic forces. --- Elgar. --- English composer. --- Fame. --- Freelance composer. --- Income. --- John Drysdale. --- Money. --- Music publisher. --- Music publishers. --- Nineteenth century. --- Novello Business Archive. --- Painters. --- Performing fees. --- Professions. --- Recognition. --- Record sales. --- Royalty terms. --- Social forces. --- Standard of living. --- Status. --- Twentieth century.