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Charles Burney

The Present State of Music in France and Italy (2nd, corrected edition)

London: T. Becket and Co., 1773

Naples
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it, or that he had not a very distinguish-
ing ear.

" Music, says this author, is in a par-
" ticular manner the triumph of the
" Neapolitans; it seems as if the tym-
" panum in this country was more bra-
" ced, more harmonical, and more sono-
" rous, than in the rest of Europe; the
" whole nation is vocal, every gesture
" and inflexion of voice of the inhabi-
" tants, and even their prosody of syl-
" lables in conversation, breathe har-
" mony and music. Hence Naples is
" the principal source of Italian music,
" of great composers, and of excellent
" operas *."
* Voyage du'n François, Tom. 6. The inaccu-
racy with which M. de la L. speaks about music
and musicians, runs through his work. He
places Corelli and Galuppi among the Neapolitan
Composers; whereas it is well known that Co-
relli was of the Roman school, and he himself
says in another place (Tom. 5.) that Galuppi was
of the Venetian.
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