ABSTRACT
After Jacob, the man-of-letters, and Harris, the philosopher, Avison the musician joins our group. Like the others, Avison was by no means aware of belonging to a group which would eventually come to be identified with the turn to the so-called "ut musica poesis." He composed several sets of sonatas and concertos which gained popularity, and participated in the editing of the eight volumes of psalms by Marcello, a composer he adored. Apart from his musical activities, Avison had the reputation of "a man of great culture and polish," and like Mizler and Scheibe in Germany, he was surrounded by a small circle of musical amateurs who were devoted to his views. The Shaftesburian influence is also reflected in his reliance on a musical "inner sense", "taste" or "nature", as the ultimate judge of value. This philosophical legacy made him view the aesthetic in music as related to coherence, organicity and synthetic wholes.
