Thesis (Ph.D) - Cork School of Music, Cork Institute of Technology, 2008.

Bibliography: p. 329-342.

This dissertation contextualises public concerts that were held in Cork city from 1754 to 1840. A calendar of concerts, consisting of details of 489 publicised events, provides a database for the research. These have been collated from available sources, principally from local newspapers which commenced publication in 1753. The development of concert life in Cork during the eighteenth century was part of a wider context in which provincial cities throughout the British Isles underwent a physical and social transformation that emphasised the provision of leisure facilities for the growing middle class population. Entertainment centred on the theatre and the assembly rooms, where music already had a clearly-defined role for a class seeking social status. In examining the details of public concert presentation from 1754 to 1840, this study throws light on numerous aspects of the city's past which relate to social life, the music trade, public charities and the links with the wider professional musician circles of Dublin and London. A survey of writing on music in the Cork newspapers, principally in the form of reviews, provides valuable perspectives on audience and venues, and on some of the underlying assumptions, aspirations and dispositions of this concert-going society. A survey of concert repertoire identifies changing tastes and practices during this period, and provides evidence for the increasing incorporation of native Irish melodies in both vocal and instrumental performance.