An Online Guide to
Classical Music and Composers

 Academy of Ancient Music

The Academy of Ancient Music was established in London in 1710, with the view of promoting the study and practice of vocal and instrumental harmony.  This institution had a fine musical library, and was aided by the performances of the gentlemen of the Chapel Royal and the choir of St Paul’s, with the boys belonging to each, and continued to flourish for many years.  About 1734 the academy became a seminary for the instruction of youth in the principias of music and the laws of harmony.  The Royal Academy of Music was formed for the performance of operas, composed by Handel, and conducted by him at the theatre in the Haymarket.  The subscription amounted to L. 50,000, and the king, besides subscribing L. 1000, allowed the society to assume the title Royal.  It consisted of a governor, deputy-governor and twenty directors.  A contest between Handel and Senesino, one of the performers, in which the directors took the part of the latter, occasioned the dissolution of the academy after it had existed with honour for more than nine years.  The present Royal Academy of Music dates from 1822, and was incorporated in 1830.  It instructs pupils of both sexes in music.

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