Musical Works of William Herschel

Sir William Herschel was one of the most famous astronomers. Among others he discovered Uranus. What is less known is that he was a musician in his younger years. He composed 24 symphonies, solo concertos for oboe, violin, viola and organ, chamber and church music.

William Herschel was certainly not a great composer, his works are kept quite simple. He loved the melody and hated the fugue, but he wrote graceful and melodic symphonies, which all consists of three movements.

So far none of his 24 symphonies or solo concertos have been published by a publisher. That's why I started to publish these works ready to play. The basis are copies of the handwritten score and set of parts. If you are interested in playing one of these works, please contact me.

Both the score and the set of parts of all works are available. If you have any special requests, please let me know, if possible I will try to fulfill them.

The Symphonies of William Herschel

Number	Mode	Instrumentation
1	g-major	Bassoon, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
2	d-major	Bassoon, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
3	c-major	2 Bassoons, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
4	d-minor	Bassoon, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
5	f-minor	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
6	b-flat-major	Bassoon, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
7	d-minor	Bassoon, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
8	c-minor	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
9	f-major	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
10	g-minor	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
11	f-minor	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
12	d-major	2 Oboe, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
13	d-major	2 Flutes, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
14	d-major	2 Flutes, 2 oboe, 2 french horns, (timpani,) strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
15	e-flat-major	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
16	e-flat-major	Strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
17	c-major	2 Oboe, 2 french horns, bassoon, (timpani,) strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
18	e-flat-major	2 Oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
19	c-minor	2 Oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
20	c-major	2 Flutes, 2 oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 french horns, timpani, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
21	b-minor	2 Flutes, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
22	a-minor	2 Oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
23	d-major	2 Flutes, 2 french horns, timpani, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
23	d-major	2 Flutes, 2 trumpet, 2 french horns, timpani, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score
24	c-major	2 Oboe, 2 french horns, strings and basso continuo	First Page of Score

Solo Concertos of William Herschel

Concerto for ...	Mode	Instrumentation
Organ No. 1	g-major	Organ and strings, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 french horns, in the 2nd movement additionally 2 trumpets and timpani	First Page of Score
Organ No. 2	d-major	Organ and strings	First Page of Score
Violin	d-major	Solo violin, 2 oboes, 2 french horns and strings	First Page of Score