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Durham E-Theses Elgar as post-Wagnerian: a study of Elgar's assimilation of Wagner's music and methodology Meadows, Laura . How to cite: Meadows, Laura . (2008) Elgar as post-Wagnerian: a study of Elgar's assimilation of Wagner's music and methodology, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2297/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ••~'Durham University PhD Thesis in Musicology The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. Elgar as Post-Wagnerian: A Study of Elgar's Assimilation of Wagner's Music and Methodology January 2008 Laura A. Meadows - 6 JUN 2008 ABSTRACT In this thesis I examine the relationship between the compositional method of Elgar and that of Wagner.. To some, this is a discourse that has always had an obvious answer: Elgar is a post-Wagnerian composer. However, this seems an inadequate response, for there has been very little analysis of exactly how Elgar was post-Wagnerian. It is this question- of how Elgar was post-Wagnerian- with which this thesis is primadly concerned. Evidence is presented that Elgar was, firstly, profoundly influenced by Wagner from an early age and this influence gradually infiltrated his compositional thoughts. Elgar's Wagnerism affected almost every facet ofhis compositional life and in this thesis three of these areas are dissected in detail: leitmotif manipulation, harmony and orchestration. In addition to this, the background to Elgar's Wagnerism is closely examined = how the movement became so influential in England in the 1880s, the level of contact Elgar had with Wagner's music during his most impressionable years and why Elgar succeeded in absorbing Wagner's musical language, when so many other British composers attempted to emulate his style and process yet fundamentally misunderstood it. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The last four years have been quite a journey = physically and mentally - and this thesis could not have been written without the support of some key people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Jeremy Dibble, for being a constant guide. His help in navigating this project has been invaluable and I feel enonnously privileged to have been able to come under his tutelage. Thanks must also go to Bennett Zon, Max Paddison and Mieko Kanno for providing me with useful ideas and giving me opportunities to publish my work. I have been very fortunate to have received help from many different people: special thanks must go Charles McGuire and Parick McCreless for being interested in my work and to The Elgar Society for their fmancial support. Thanks must also go to my wonderful parents, without whose generosity and love, this project would never have taken shape~ Their encouragement throughout my schooling and university career has never ceased and I thank them for making me realise that if you apply yourself hard enough, anything is possible. I am very lucky to have acquired some wonderful friends during my time at Durham and I am particularly grateful to Alison Carr and Lisa Woodward for putting up with me on the many occasions I moaned that things were not progressing in the way I wanted. Thanks also go to my pastoral tutor, Gillian Skinner, for providing me with useful career advice and a shoulder to cry on when things got too much! Lastly, I would like to thank my husband, Philip Meadows, for his constant devotion through what has been a busy four years for us both. By the time I graduate, we will have been married for six months and there is no single thought that makes me happier. I cannot wait to start our academic lives together and I am so glad that I chose to study at Durham because if I had not, we would not have met. CONTENTS Introduction: Prelude to Wagner and Elgar.......................................................... 1 Wagner's Reign ......... ··"'" ............................................................................ 1 A Debate oflndifference ............................................................................... 5 Academic Breakdown .......•.............. : .......................................................... 11 PART A: HISTORICAL CONTEXT ..................................•......................... 16 Chapter 1: Wagnerism in England ........................................................................... 17 1.0: Introduction ........................................................................................ !'? 1.1: Wagner's Presence ..•............................................................................... l:8 1.2: David Irvine ........................................................................................ 22 1.3: George Bernard Shaw ................................................................................2J 1.4: Rutland Boughton ........................................................................................25 1.5: Ernest Newman ...................................................................................29 1.6: William Ashton Ellis .................•...........•.............................................. .31 1.7: Edward Dannreuther ..........•...................................................................35 1.8: Conclusion ............................................................................................. 42 Chapter II: Elgar's Wagnerian Apprenticeship ....................................................47 2.0: Introduction .......................................................•............•...........•.........47 2.1: Early Music-Making ............................................................................48 2.2: Elgar's· 'University' Years ........................................................................... 50 2.3: Elgar's Passion for Wagner ..................... M.O ••••••• o.on ••••••••.••.••••••••.••.••.••••••• ·······.59 2.4: Elgar's 'Postgraduate' Years ........................................... ".............................. 62 2.5: Conclusion .......................................................................................65 Chapter Ill: The Influence of Wagner on Elgar's Contemporaries ............................67 3.0: Introduction ...................................................... ., ...................................67 3.1: Wagner and Sir Hubert Parry .......................................................................70 3.2: Wagner and Alexander Mackenzie ...•.......................................................79 3.3: Wagner and Rutland Boughton ..................•..........•................................... 84 3.4: Wagner and Sir Granville Bantock ......................................................•...90 3.5: Conclusion ..........................................................................................96 PART B: THE MUSIC ..............................................................•............... 1100 Chapter IV: Elgar's Creation ofMusic Dramas for the English ........................... 101 4.0: Introduction ···········································""·"'"··················· ... ·············· 101 4.1: What is a Wagnerian Leitmotif? ............................................................................... 105 4.2: Wagner's Leitmotivic Groups ................ , ...................•................., ........ 111 4.3: Elgar's Musical Borrowing ................................................................. 129 4.4: Going it Alone: Thematic Development in The Light ofLife ........................... 142 4.5: Epic Scale: Leitmotif Groupings in The Apostles ........................................... 158 4.6: Epic Scale: Leitmotif Groupings in The Kingdom...................................... 169 4.7: Conclusion .................................................................... , ......... , ..... 177 ChapterY: Elgar's UseofChromatic Harmony ..•............ ; ...............................J80 5.0: Introduction ....................................................................................... 183 5.1: Modem Chromatic Theory ...................................................................... 186 5.2: Elgar and The Tristan Chord ............................................................... 173 5.3: Theories of Global Chromaticism .......................................................... 198 5.4: Elgar's Global Tonal Structure .............................................................. 201 5.5: Conclusion ......................................................................................... 217 Chapter VI: Elgar's Symphonic orchestration................................................... 219 6.0: