In eighteenth-century Britain, many aristocrats studied music, participated as amateurs in musical clubs, and patronized London’s burgeoning concert life. Richard Fitzwilliam, Seventh Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion and Thorncastle (1745-1816), was one such patron and amateur. Fitzwilliam shaped his activities – participation, patronage, and collecting – in a unique way that illustrates his specialized tastes and interests. While as an amateur musician he sang in the Noblemen’s and Gentlemen’s Catch Club (the premiere social club dedicated to musical performance), he rose to the highest level of patronage by spearheading the Handel Commemoration Festival of 1784 and serving for many years as a Director of the Concert of Antient Music, the most prestigious concert series in Georgian Britain. His lasting legacy, however, was his bequest to Cambridge University of his extensive collection of art, books and music, as well as sufficient funds to establish the Fitzwilliam Museum. At the time of his death, Fitzwilliam’s collection of music was the best in the land, save that in the Royal Library. Thus, his collection is ideally suited for examination as proof of his activities, taste and connoisseurship. Moreover, the music in Fitzwilliam’s collection shows his participation in the contemporary musicological debate, evidenced by his …

The problem of absolute or positive pitch has been studied by a considerable number of researchers. This cannot be said, however, for the problem of the element of tempo, or the normal speed of the true beat in music. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that absolute pitch can be measured quite accurately, for it is dependent upon the anatomy and physiology of the ear. On the other hand, a means whereby the innate pulse in music can be externalized so as to be capable of exact expression and measure in number, presents a challenge to those interested in further investigation of this phenomenon.

The music of Bach becomes much more understandable through an examination of the composers who work before him. An examination of the music of the pre-Bach composers proves it to be amazingly fresh and vital, and it was in this field that Back sought inspiration.