Philp, Mark. "Music and Movement in Britain, 1793–1815."

Philp, Mark. "Music and Movement in Britain, 1793–1815." Journal of British Studies 60, no. 2 (April 2021): 403-415.

URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-british-studies/article/music-and-movement-in-britain-17931815/3D4FD56705A28FBEFF69D76A3BC815D2 (Open Access)

Abstract:
The frequent references to the actors and events of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars in the titles of the dance tunes of the period raise the question of how we should understand their significance. This article argues that the practice is one of a number of examples of music and song shaping people's lived experience and behavior in ways that were rarely fully conscious. Drawing on a range of music collections, diaries, and journals, the article argues that we need to recognize how significant aural dimensions were in shaping people's predisposition to favor the status quo in this period of heightened political controversy.