Public Research Seminar: Dr Michael Robertson (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire)

What’s in a name: an assessment of the orchestral suite in German-speaking Europe during the time of J.S. Bach

The second half of the seventeenth century in the German lands saw two distinct traditions of consort-suite writing, the first coming from the courts, the second from the towns. By the start of the eighteenth century, the town tradition had all but died and the court tradition was largely dominated by the music of Lully and his German imitators. But just as so much in baroque music underwent radical change at the turn of the century, so the suite became a vehicle for many different styles and concepts. It is these changes that form the basis of our discussion today.

Following a career as organist, harpsichordist and teacher, gained a PhD on the subject of German seventeenth-century ensemble suites in 2004. From the doctoral thesis came two books, the first published in 2009 and the second in 2015. Both have been highly praised in the musical press. 2009 also saw the start of a fruitful collaboration with the German publishing house of Edition Walhall and this has included a new critical edition of Handel’s . From 2006 he held a research post at the University of Leeds, and he has recently been appointed Visiting Research Fellow in Baroque Music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.