English Baroque composer William Boyce became the Master of the King's Musick in 1756. Much of his purely instrumental music was written for theatrical works and odes for specific court occasions such as birthdays, funerals, and holidays. Thus, these substantial instrumental pieces, or "overtures," were relegated to relative obscurity. Boyce decided to have many of these published in two groups as Eight Symphonies in 1760, which became popular with the public, and Twelve Overtures in 1770, deemed to be stylistically outdated by the time of their publication. (During this period, the terms overtures and symphonies were interchangeable.) The Eight Symphonies are formally and harmonically conservative, and owe much to George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Melodically appealing and rhythmically vibrant, seven of the eight are in the three-movement form that originated from the three-part Italian opera} overture. By this time, composers from the Mannheim school, such as Johann W. A. Stamitz (1717-1757), were using the newer four-movement format that became the model for Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The majority of the movements are quite brief and in the two-part binary form (AB). Each section is based on similar material and fully repeated. The open-ended harmony of the A section leads to the B section and back again, making the form continuous. This important structural scheme of the Baroque led directly to the development of the sonata allegro form of the Classical era. In general, the winds play a subordinate role, merely doubling the strings.

Boyce originally wrote the Symphony No. 1 as an overture to his Ode for the New Year in 1756. It is typical of the late Baroque style: strong independent bass line, consistent mood or affect in each movement, a sense of ongoing or non-stop rhythmic motion, and persistent use of harmonic sequence. The first movement, Allegro, in binary form, is elegant and confident. The Moderato e dolce begins in minor with the repeat of the A section stated in the solo flute with bass and keyboard only, a slight nod to the older concerto grosso style. The B section follows suit in this sweetly melancholy movement. The final Allegro is in a boisterous triple meter in binary form. While Boyce was not an innovator, his freshly individual voice capped off an era in English music that had been dominated by the German Handel, and opened the door to the gallant style of another German, Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782).

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