Description
Book SynopsisA study of the ways in which topics of English history were central to conceptions of English identity, musical and otherwise, during the Victorian and Edwardian periods This study explores the ways in which topics of English history were central to conceptions of English identity, musical and otherwise, during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Its focus is on the masque, an early modern English musico-dramatic genre that was reinvented during the Victorian period as a vehicle for nationalistic, historically inflected popular entertainments. The masque operated as an "invented tradition", in the sense theorized by EricHobsbawm, and was used to connect the modern nation of Britain to its historical past. As conceptions of national identity became increasingly dependent on the image of "Merrie England" located in the English Renaissance and in the folk traditions of the countryside, genres such as the masque that were integrally connected to these ideological constructions became important ways in which national identity was represented. This in turn had profound ramifications for the ideologies of the English Musical Renaissance and its construction of a national musical idiom at the turn of the twentieth century. DEBORAH HECKERT is a Lecturer at Stony Brook University and has taughtat the University of Virginia, Utah State University, and Brooklyn College-CUNY.
Trade ReviewInteresting and valuable. * FOLK MUSIC JOURNAL *
A strong addition to this already fruitful series...at the heart of the study is an original exploration of a genre that has received little scholarly attention...a useful study for music and theatre students, musicologists, and historical performers who are keen to broaden their knowledge of the English revivalist movement. * BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR VICTORIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER *
[S]erves as a valuable case study of how cultural products can reflect the broader concerns of their times . . . will be most useful for specialists since Heckert's writing style is geared towards scholars of musicology, modern British history, and cultural history. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsVaughan Williams, Stratford's masque and the wellsprings of England's music 'With revel dance and song': The Musical Image of History in the Victorian Masque The Past speaks in English: Historiography and the Masque Revival Making the Commonwealth a Harmony: The Masque, the Folk Revival and Pageant Culture 'The Heroic Past and the Earth his Mother': The Reticence of Reception and the Burden of Imperialism 'A typically English institution': The Masque after the First World War Appendix One: Chronology of Masque Compositions during the 19th century Appendix Two: Chronology of Masque Historiography prior to 1930 Appendix Three: Chronology of British Masque Compositions, 1901-1950 Appendix Four: Review of Pan's Anniversary from the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, 28 April, 1905 Bibliography
