William Boyce - Symphonies Op.2, nos. 5&1, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Ronald Thomas (conductor)
1.Symphony in D Major, Op.2, No.5 - Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Allegro Assai - Tempi Di Gavotta - Tempo Di Minuetto – 00:00
2. Symphony in B Flat Major, Op.2, No. 1 - Allegro - Moderato E Dolce – Allegro – 07:23

William Boyce (11 September 1711 – 7 February 1779) was an English composer and organist.
“Boyce was undoubtedly the English musical sucessor to Purcell; yet he is not well known today, and only a small collection of his works is available to us now. How is it then that he could be considered the greatest English musical talent of the eighteenth century? In order to understand better it is necessary to look at the musical position of England at that time.
The musical scene in England in the first half of the eighteenth century, that is to say during the reigns of George I & II of Hanover, was dominated by one man - Handel. Thus Handel found himself in the unique and powerful position of being the "only" composer to whom the King, and therefore the nobility and all people of power and consequence, would listen. This lack of encouragement for English musicians, of whom many were talented, had its effect. The opportunities available to composers of England were sadly limiteed, and the country was inundated with foreign musicians determined to make their 'fame and fortune' there.
Boyce was born into such a background and received his early musical education as a chorister of St. Pauls Cathedral. It was later, after taking up various positions as organist in London churches, culminating as one of the organists of the Chapel Royal, that Boyce gained his reputation as a composer. Despite the fact that he was suffering from increasing deafness he moved on to the theatre achieving much wider fame than he had previously received. As a theatrical composer his true genius is revealed. Unfortunately much of his work was not published and is now lost. The published orchestral music, consisting of twelve overtures and the eight symphonies, was adapted from his theatre music (masques and incidental music). Because of their origins, perhaps the symphonies would have been more aptly named "sinfonias", as the original Italian "sinfonia" was an overture or "between -acts" music. Boyce's use of old forms could justify his critics who maintained he was "old fashioned", for at the time in which he was writing, European developments were moving towards the classical world. However, Boyce is not without great originality and imagination. This can be best seen in these symphonies by his choice and organisation of the movements. The first five symphonies are similar in character and style to Italian overture form which consists of a fast first movement followed by a slower one and concluding with a faster one again. However, apart from the first symphony which conforms perfectly to this formula, the others vary in their surprising choice of movements. It is the last movements of the symphonies that Boyce reveals his particular talent regarding orchestrated dance movements. The fifth symphony concludes with "minuetto", it revealing Boyce's penchant for popular dance music of the day.” (by Linnhe Robertson)

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