The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School UNDER WAGNER’S SHADOW: DELIUS’S USE OF WAGNERIAN MODELS IN THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN ​ A Thesis in Music Theory and History by Timothy M. Farrand © 2020 Timothy M. Farrand Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts December 2020 ii The thesis of Timothy M. Farrand was reviewed and approved by the following: Charles Youmans Professor of Music Thesis Advisor Eric McKee Professor of Music David Frego Director of the School of Music iii ABSTRACT After 1900, Frederick Delius’s unique compositional style bears little resemblance to any singular influence. In the thirty-eight year apprentice period that led to the development of this style, Delius drew upon a wide range of references from the Norwegian mountains, to the “Negro” spirituals sung by former slaves in Florida, to the dramatic style of Richard Wagner. Studies have been written detailing the impact that his two years spent in Florida had on Delius as well as the twenty visits that he made to Norway throughout his life, ten of which occurred during his apprentice period. Several scholars have pointed out the similarities between Delius’s early harmonic language and that of Richard Wagner but there has not been a study showing the importance of Wagner’s influence upon the development of Delius’s dramatic style. In the creation of his second opera The Magic Fountain (1894-95), Delius used the operatic works of ​ ​ Richard Wagner, specifically Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal, as musical, dramatic, and ​ ​ ​ ​ philosophical models. The use of Wagner’s works as a model for The Magic Fountain allowed ​ ​ Delius to discover his own artistic voice, which he continued to refine until it was fully formed in 1900. This thesis reveals the overlooked importance of Wagner in Delius’s artistic development. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF EXAMPLES….………………………………………………………………..v ​ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...vii ​ Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1 UNDER WAGNER’S SHADOW…………………………………………….3 Frederick Delius Encounters Richard Wagner……………………………………...3 Dramatic Art as Replacement for Religion…………………………………………7 Delius’s Dramatic Ideals…………………………………………………………... 13 Chapter 2 THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN ACT I…………………………………………....20 Act I………………………………………………………………………………....21 Introduction to Act I…………………………………………………………...21 Wagner’s Hirtenreigen………………………………………………………...26 ​ ​ Delius’s Fate Theme and Wagner’s Hirtenreigen…………………………….28 ​ ​ Determination Motif, Fountain Theme, and Ambition Motif………………....29 Layering of the Fate Theme…………………………………………………...31 Act I, Scene 2………………………………………………………………….44 Chapter 3 THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN ACTS II AND III………………………………..46 Watawa’s Theme……………………………………………………….……...46 Amfortas’s Theme……………………………………………………………..48 Act II………………………………………………………………………………..50 Wapanacki and Gurnemanz: Voices of Reason………………………………52 Act II, Scene 2………………………………………………………....……...53 Talum Hadjo and Titurel……………………………………………………...55 Fate Motif’s Association with Watawa……………………………………….56 Act III……………………………………………………………………………....62 Transformation of Fate Motif into the Love Theme…………………………..64 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..77 v LIST OF EXAMPLES Chapter 2 2.1: The Magic Fountain Act I Introduction mm. 1-16……………………………….....23 ​ ​ ​ 2.2: Fate Theme The Magic Fountain Act I Introduction mm. 17-20………...................24 ​ ​ ​ 2.3: Fate Theme The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 2 mm. 514-26……………………...25 ​ ​ ​ 2.4: “Hirtenreigen” Tristan und Isolde Act III, Scene 1………………………………....27 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2.5: Determination Motif The Magic Fountain Act I Introduction mm. 28-30………….30 ​ ​ ​ 2.6: Fountain Theme The Magic Fountain Act I Introduction reh. A, mm. 34-41……....30 ​ ​ ​ 2.7: Ambition Motif The Magic Fountain Act I Introduction reh. B, mm. 53…………..30 ​ ​ ​ 2.8: The Magic Fountain Act 1, Scene I reh. C, mm. 74-85…………………………….31 ​ ​ ​ 2.9: The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 1 mm. 114-40…………………………………...35 ​ ​ ​ 2.10: The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 1 mm. 171-93………………………………….41 ​ ​ ​ 2.11: The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 1 reh. N, mm. 298-9…………………………...44 ​ ​ ​ 2.12: The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 1 mm. 309-10………………………………….44 ​ ​ ​ Chapter 3 3.1: Watawa’s Theme The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 2 reh. Aa, mm. 557-59……….47 ​ ​ ​ ​ 3.2: Solano Motif The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 2 mm. 651-2……………………...49 ​ ​ ​ 3.3: Amfortas Motif Parsifal Act I mm. 151-4…………………………………………..50 ​ ​ ​ 3.4: Solemn Theme The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 1 reh. B, mm. 45-52…………...52 ​ ​ ​ 3.5: Grail Motif Parsifal Act I mm. 39-43………………………………………………52 ​ ​ ​ 3.6: Solano’s Theme The Magic Fountain Act I, Scene 2 mm. 641-3…………………..56 ​ ​ ​ ​ 3.7: The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 2 mm. 545-6……………………………………59 ​ ​ ​ 3.8: Tender Motif The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 2 mm. 605-7……………………..60 ​ ​ ​ vi 3.9: The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 2 mm. 668-9……………………………………61 ​ ​ ​ 3.10: Variation of Ambition Motif The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 2 mm. 681-2…...61 ​ ​ ​ 3.11: The Magic Fountain Act II, Scene 2 mm. 682-89…………………………………62 ​ ​ ​ 3.12: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 26-31…………………………………………...65 ​ ​ ​ 3.13: Love Theme The Magic Fountain Act III reh. F, mm. 77-83……………………...66 ​ ​ ​ ​ 3.14: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 134-5…………………………………………...67 ​ ​ ​ 3.15: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 158-9…………………………………………...68 ​ ​ ​ 3.16: Kiss Theme The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 251-4……………………………...70 ​ ​ ​ 3.17: The Magic Fountain Act III reh. S, mm. 287-8……………………………………70 ​ ​ ​ 3.18: The Magic Fountain Act III m. 314………………………………………………..71 ​ ​ ​ 3.19: The Magic Fountain Act III reh. Aa, mm. 421-2………………………………….71 ​ ​ ​ 3.20: The Magic Fountain Act III reh. Ee, mm. 489-91…………………………………72 ​ ​ ​ 3.21: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 539-40………………………………………….73 ​ ​ ​ 3.22: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 553-5…………………………………………...73 ​ ​ ​ 3.23: The Magic Fountain Act III mm. 579-91………………………………………….74 ​ ​ ​ vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Charles Youmans for his continued support in the research and construction of this thesis. From the long conversations in his office to Zoom meetings when speaking in person was no longer an option, his positivity and excitement have always inspired me to follow my curiosity and explore every avenue. His commitment to excellence and his skillful editing have made me a better writer and his abundant knowledge of 19th century philosophy and music have been an invaluable resource. Throughout this entire process he has made himself available to give guidance when I needed it as well as allowing me the freedom and flexibility to change and adapt along the way as I uncovered new ideas. He has been a mentor since the first class I had with him and his encouragement has played a large role in bringing me to where I am today. I will always be grateful for his support and the many lessons I have learned over the last six years. I am grateful to Dr. Eric McKee who not only served as my second reader but also helped me discover additional connections between Delius and Wagner. His support has allowed me the opportunity to teach Music Theory these last two years which has been the experience that I have most cherished during my time at Penn State. I would like to thank Dr. Taylor Greer for the many spirited hallway conversations we have had about music and teaching throughout the last six years. His tireless efforts on behalf of his students have been an inspiration to me and something that I aspire to emulate with my own students. viii I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Maureen Carr for the encouragement she has given me over the last few years. It is due to her urgings that I decided to pursue this degree and for that I am extremely grateful. I had the wonderful opportunity to serve as her TA for two years and the lessons I have learned from her as a teacher, writer, researcher, and person are innumerable. She has always been supportive of me and it is because of her efforts that this thesis has come into being. I would like to thank Dr. Mark Ferraguto, Dr. Marica Tacconi, Dr. Vincent Benitez, and Prof. Tom Cody for their instruction over the last six years as well as Prof. Gerardo Edelstein whose joy for life and dedication to his students has inspired me to enjoy every opportunity I have been given. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their continued love and support throughout my academic and musical adventures. I am grateful to my mom and brother for picking up the phone whenever I needed someone to talk to. To Tara Kelly, your love and support have been the driving factor behind everything I do. Thank you for your encouragement and your willingness to listen as it was our conversations that lit the spark that became this thesis. 1 Introduction The musicologist Deryck Cooke writes that "to declare oneself a confirmed Delian is 1 hardly less self-defamatory than to admit to being an addict of cocaine and marihuana." ​ Eric ​ Fenby, explaining Delius’s appeal, states: "The music of Delius is not an acquired taste. One either likes it the moment one first hears it, or the sound of it is once and forever distasteful to one. It is an art which will never enjoy an appeal to the many, but one which will always be 2 loved, and dearly loved, by the few." ​ Delius’s style is unique, being described as “the cutting ​ 3 edge of Romanticism and early twentieth-century modernism yet . beholden to neither.” ​ His ​ style was gradually developed by the variety of influences he encountered during what Anthony Payne calls his long “apprentice period.”4 ​ Delius was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and quickly became an associate of his father’s wool business. Impatient with professional errands that sent him to Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Paris, Delius eventually freed himself.