A glee is a type of English part song composed during the Late Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods (roughly the Georgian era, taken together).
The respectable and artistic character of glees contrasts with the bawdiness of the many catches which continued to be composed and sung well into the early years of the 19th century.
Glees, although often in simple binary form, can also be extended pieces consisting of a number of short movements contrasted in key and tempo, including so-called word-painting.
The form was very flexible and text-driven and could therefore be a great deal more complex in terms of variety of texture and freedom of expression than that of the post-Mendelssohnian, Romantic part song which largely superseded the glee and was intended to be sung by choirs.
Several glee composers wrote pieces they described as madrigals, in imitation of the Renaissance style, the most famous being "Let me careless and unthoughtful lying" by Thomas Linley the Elder.
Webbe wrote the text as well as the music, and in it he faithfully traced the London Glee Club's history; for the first couple of years, the meetings circulated among members' homes.
Webbe's references to the gods of the Greek pantheon were part and parcel of the Georgian gentlemen's singing clubs' identification with the learning and leisure activities of the classical world.
These clubs comprised select groups of enthusiasts whose members and guests included well-known musicians, in particular organists and professional singing men from major churches in addition to the amateur gentlemen.