Tambourine Allegro by Elizabeth Turner

Elizabeth Turner was an 18th-century singer and composer in England popular in her time, but of whom little is known today. Even the exact year of her birth is unknown. Yet, Elizabeth came to be known as one of the leading sopranos in London. Records of her performances date back to 1744 and show that Turner performed in many of the most prestigious venues alongside the top singers of the day. In addition to her singing, Elizabeth Turner was also one of the very first Englishwomen composers to be published. Although other manuscripts have been found, only one work is known to have achieved publication. Published in 1756, “A Collection of Songs with Symphonies and a Thorough Bass with Six Lessons for the Harpsichord” was a substantial work! The song collection included nineteen songs, all written clearly in the English tradition.

The Six Lessons for Harpsichord explore different techniques of keyboard performance as well as being lively and full of character. The Tambourine Allegro is the third movement of the first of Turner’s harpsichord lessons. This score was transcribed from the original score, available at imslp.org.