Memoirs of Musick

The first print edition (1846) of North's Memoirs of Musick (1728) covers music history from Ancient Greece to Corelli.

The Hon. Roger North (1651?–1734) was a lawyer and a skilled amateur musician. Memoirs of Musick, the final part of his Musicall Grammarian (1728) covers music history from Ancient Greece to Corelli. This 1846 edition includes a short biography of North and extensive explanatory notes to the text.Roger North (1651?–1734) was a successful lawyer and skilled amateur musician who became Attorney General to James II. After the 1688 Revolution he retired from public life and devoted his time to writing on a wide range of topics. Memoirs of Musick originally formed the final section of North's 1728 treatise on music theory, The Musicall Grammarian. It covers aspects of music history (or 'historico-critcall scrapps' as North calls them) from Ancient Greece to Corelli, and includes a substantial account of John Jenkins, who taught North the viol. Charles Burney quoted from the Memoirs in his General History of Music (1776–1789), but this 1846 edition by the musicologist Edward Rimbault was the first time they appeared in print. The book includes an introduction on the manuscript of the Memoirs (now in Hereford Cathedral Library), a short biography of North and extensive explanatory notes to the text.