The generations after Shakespeare saw many composers create or arrange incidental music and song settings for his plays.
Among the most notable were Thomas Morley, Henry Purcell, Matthew Locke, Thomas Arne, William Linley, Sir Henry Bishop, and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Felix Mendelssohn’s overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826) was a descriptive piece intended for concert performance, though he later added incidental music for a production of the play in 1843.
[2] The Shakespearian music of the 19th century was more often associated with the opera house or concert hall than with productions of the plays.
Vaughan Williams was engaged to write incidental music at Stratford between 1912 and 1913.