After England's long-standing reputation for being "the land without music" for many years after the death of Purcell (a Baroque-era composer), it was up to the current generation of English composers including Vaughan-Williams, Holst, Elgar and Tippett to create new music that was truly British. And just as the French composers liked asserting their "Frenchness," these English composers liked asserting their "Englishness," with their compositions rife with nostalgia for the English countryside and laced with influences from and references to folk music and music written by older composers such as Purcell and Parry. A lot of these up-and-coming British composers were also involved in the war in some way or another (well, it was a World War, so pretty much everyone got involved in some way regardless or whether they were actually fighting or not) and this often had an impact on their compositions.
Let's have a bit of a closer look at these British composers: who they were, what they wrote, and what inspired them. First up is Edward Elgar, who had a lower middle class background, had no formal education and was not always received well, but this didn't stop him from playing violin and teaching music (though he didn't enjoy the latter job). During WWI, he was a special constable and later joined the Hampstead Volunteer Reserve. He wrote many well-known compositions such as the Enigma variations, the Cello Concerto and his Pomp and Circumstance Marches. Elgar's patriotism is evident in some of his works, particularly the latter marches, the first of which became Land of Hope and Glory. He also wrote some choral music, such as The Dream of Gerontius, an oratorio that was sometimes not received well because it was too serious and heavy or, as one Irish Protestant put it, "stinks of incense." Overall, though, he was successful enough to land him honorary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge and Yale and receive a knighthood. Yes, I would say he was pretty successful.
Next up on my list is Frederick Delius, who was born in England but lived in France for 45 years where he befriended the artists Gaugin and Munch. Kinda like how Handel was German but lived in England for a while. Delius also studied in Leipzig in 1886, where he befriended Grieg. (You'll find that a lot of these musicians and artists tend to know each other.) His musical style included a bit of everything, incorporating elements of French Impressionism, German post-Romanticism and the English pastoral feel into his works. In fact, Delius was sometimes considered a "water-colourist of music" due to his use of French Impressionist elements. He also wrote a variety of orchestral and choral works, including a non-religious mass called the Mass of Life and a secular requiem commemorating the WWI war dead. He died in 1934 while blind and paralysed by syphilis. In fact, this was the same year that Elgar died. And Holst. Hmm.
Gustav Holst was originally called Gustav von Holst but he dropped the "von" during WWI in order to sound less German. He was a trombonist, music teacher and director of schools in London, as well as a friend of Vaughan-Williams who, like Vaughan-Williams, was strongly influenced by English folk song. His most famous work is The Planets suite: the theme of Jupiter became the patriotic hymn I Vow to Thee My Country, while Mars, the Bringer of War served to portray the horrors of WWI, during which Holst had volunteered for the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in France. The Planets suite also influenced the musical scores of many film scores such as the scores of Star Wars and Harry Potter. As mentioned before, Holst died in 1934 after surgery for haemorrhagic gastritis (wow big words)- the same year that Elgar and Delius died.
Michael Tippett was a bit of a pacifist and was jailed for three months for refusing to fight in WWI. This didn't stop him from writing lots of English operas, cantatas and concertos, though. He also wrote an oratorio in three parts called A Child of Our Time about an incident involving a young Polish Jew who shot a diplomat.
Benjamin Britten was another very well-known English composer, though he wasn't just a composer: he also was a conductor and pianist, just like Rachmaninov. He was initially taught music by his mother before studying composition under Frank Bridge and attending the Royal College of Music. He wrote a wide variety of works: choral music, orchestral music, operas and songs. Many of his songs were for tenor voice because he was writing for his partner (yes, Britten was homosexual). Like Tippett, Britten was also a pacifist, and he was criticised for avoiding the call-up for WWII. (It also says in my notes here that he went to America between 1939 and 1942, so I'm guessing that that's how he avoided the call-up.) Back in England, Britten and his partner toured giving recitals, even performing for concentration camp survivors. The latter experience affected Britten for the rest of his life, but he never spoke about it until towards the end of his life. Britten wrote many well-loved works, such as the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and the War Requiem. Britten was awarded the Order of Merit in 1965, had heart surgery in 1973 and died three years later.
Next up is Vaughan-Williams, but I might talk about him in a different post, since this post seems to have dragged on for long enough. TTFN!
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