The Courtly Consort Suite in German-Speaking Europe, 1650-1706 - Robertson, Michael (London New York Routledge, 2009)
Music and Dance at the German Courts -- National Style and the Transmission of Dance Music -- Defining the Suite -- Manuscript Sources of the Courtly Suite before 1682 -- Printed Editions by Court Composers before 1682 -- The German Lullists -- Unifying French and Italian Styles -- Vienna, the Imperial Court -- Conclusion and Case Studies
Robertson studied the organ with Robert Munns before going on to the Royal College of Music. After graduating, he also studied with the distinguished Dutch harpsichordist, Gustav Leonhardt. In addition to harpsichord recitals at venues around the country including the Wigmore Hall, where he made his debut in 1976, he has played at all the South Bank concert halls in London as well as the Barbican centre and St. John’s Smith Square. He has played the organ at cathedrals and abbey churches both in this country and mainland Europe. In 2004 at Leeds University, he gained a PhD following his study of German seventeenth-century consort suites. From the doctoral thesis came two books; The Courtly Consort Suite in German-Speaking Europe, 1650-1706 was published in 2009, followed in 2016 by Consort Suites and Dance Music by Town Musicians in German-Speaking Europe, 1648-1700.
Keywords: 17th Century (1601-1700); 18th Century (1701-1800); Suite; Music history; Court; National Style; Dance; History of dance; Ballet; Chamber music; Germany; Austria