The composer and the subscriber a case study from the 18th century SEARES, Margaret

RESUMEN: While it is common to find lists of subscribers in publications of 18th-century British music, there is relatively little written about how the subscription process worked and who was motivated to subscribe in advance to a publication, the quality of which they could not guarantee. Understanding the place of these subscribers helps to broaden our understanding of the social context within which composers were working and helps to shed light on the characteristics of the buying public of the day. This article seeks to explore the group of subscribers to James Nare's Eight Setts of Lessons for the Harpsichord (1747) as a means of developing such understandings. But firstly, it follows the history of one publication, by William Hayes, as an example of the process of subscription publishing, noting the role that the publisher played in advertising and garnering subscriptions for the composer. This article then moves to look in detail at Nare's subscription list and to trace the background of a number of the subscribers, while also considering the key social and profesional groupings to which the subscribers belong. Some suggestions as to how and why Nares went about soliciting the support of key individuals is also provided. Palabras clave: Nares, James (1715-1783); Hayes, William (1708-1777); edición musical; s. XVIII; Clavicordio; Música para clave; prensa musical; hemerografía; publicaciones periódicas.