Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Style in the Music of Arthur Sullivan: An Investigation Thesis How to cite: Strachan, Martyn Paul Lambert (2018). Style in the Music of Arthur Sullivan: An Investigation. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2017 The Author Version: Version of Record Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk STYLE IN THE MUSIC OF ARTHUR SULLIVAN: AN INVESTIGATION BY Martyn Paul Lambert Strachan MA (Music, St Andrews University, 1983) ALCM (Piano, 1979) Submitted 30th September 2017 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Open University 1 Abstract ABSTRACT Style in the Music of Arthur Sullivan: An Investigation Martyn Strachan This thesis examines Sullivan’s output of music in all genres and assesses the place of musical style within them. Of interest is the case of the comic operas where the composer uses parody and allusion to create a persuasive counterpart to the libretto. The thesis attempts to place Sullivan in the context of his time, the conditions under which he worked and to give due weight to the fact that economic necessity often required him to meet the demands of the market. The influence of his early training is examined as well as the impact of the early Romantic German school of composers such as Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann. In the second half of the thesis, selected features of Sullivan’s style are analysed in detail as is the influence of prominent European composers such as Berlioz and Liszt. The final section is a close examination of Sullivan’s most successful choral work, The Golden Legend. One of the principal aims is to address the dearth of scholarship on the technical aspects of this composer’s music. Where a great deal of information is available about his biography, not least from the diary he kept from 1876 until his death, the sharply defined contrasts in Sullivan’s use of musical style seem to have deterred commentators from enquiring too closely into his compositional techniques and this has led to certain false assumptions and misunderstandings. A close examination of these techniques may encourage a greater recognition of Sullivan’s considerable achievements and foster a more open-minded attitude to his music and that of other nineteenth-century British composers. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the members of staff of the Open University who have encouraged and guided this project from the outset and provided so much expertise and the fruits of their long experience. In particular, I would mention Dr Fiona Richards, Dr David Mateer, Professor Donald Burrows, Dr Rosemary Golding and Dr Martin Clarke. Dr Benedict Taylor, Chancellor’s Fellow at Edinburgh University, has been most generous with his time and provided much stimulating discussion from which this project has greatly benefited. Professor J Brooks Kuykendall has also given encouragement and shared his experience of researching Sullivan’s music. Martyn P. L. Strachan August 2017 3 Contents 1 Abstract 2 2 Acknowledgements 3 3 Contents 4 4 Music Examples 6 5 Tables 12 6 Preliminary 14 (a) Introduction 14 (b) Research Question 15 (c) The Context for the Research 18 (d) Summary of Methodology and Rationale for the Choices Made 19 (e) Statement of the Claim for the significance of the research 21 (f) Literature Review 22 (g) Overview of the Thesis Structure 28 7 Chronology 30 8 Chapter 1: Contexts - The Musical and Cultural Environment of 34 Mid-Nineteenth-Century England 1.1 There is so much I want to do for music…' 34 1.2 The Mid-Victorian Musical Style 41 1.3 Aspirations and Commerce 46 1.4 Faith, Doubt and Philosophy 50 1.5 Singing, Virtue and Philanthropy 55 1.6 A Renaissance of Atmosphere? 61 1.7 Towards a Sullivan Typology 67 9 Chapter 2: Influences - The Making of an English Composer 87 2.1 The Conservatory Student 87 2.2 The Young Composer in London 96 2.3 Sullivan as Editor 107 2.4 The Influence of the Theatre 118 2.5 The Impact of Literature 132 10 Chapter 3: Analysis: Sullivan's Use of Style in Practice 143 3.1 The Orchestra as a Component in Sullivan's Style 145 4 3.2 The Evocation of the Exotic 159 3.3 The Chromatic Idiom 174 3.4 Berlioz and Liszt 193 3.5 Sullivan's Development as a Composer of Oratorio 213 Chapter 4: The Golden Legend - A Case Study of a Mid-Victorian 11 Archetype 232 Preliminary 232 Synopsis 23 4 4.1 Sullivan’s Depiction of the Supernatural 235 4.2 The Role of the Orchestra 237 4.3 Sullivan’s Use of the Chromatic Idiom 240 4.4 The Evidence of Berlioz’s Influence 243 4.5 The Relationship of the Music to the Operatic Genre 245 A Comparison Between The Golden Legend and Selected Examples of 4.6 Sullivan’s Shorter Choral Music 255 4.7 Sullivan’s Depiction of the Sea 257 4.8 Indications of Earlier Stylistic Influences 259 The Golden Legend Compared to Ivanhoe and the Development of 4.9 Sullivan’s Later Style 262 4.10 Reception 263 12 Conclusion 266 13 Bibliography 270 5 Musical Examples The music examples are listed by chapter. Where the quotation is from a work by a composer other than Sullivan, the composer is named. Chapter 1: Contexts – The Musical and Cultural Environment of Mid-Nineteenth-Century England Ex.1.1 Iolanthe and Ruddigore- melodic cell used in both 35 Ex.1.2 Iolanthe - examples 36 Ex.1.3 Ruddigore - examples 36 Ex.1.4 Ruddigore, ensemble in Act 1, theme for male chorus from bar 24 37 Ex.1.5 (a) Henry VIII, ‘Graceful Dance’ from bar 7 38 (b) Trial by Jury, entrance of the Bridesmaids from bar 18 39 (c) The Mikado, Act 1, entrance of Ladies Chorus from bar 1 39 Ex.1.6 Gershwin, Of Thee I Sing, extract from chorus in Act 1 67 Ex.1.7 (a)The Pirates of Penzance, Act 1, duet from bar 1 68 (b) The Mikado Act 1, Finale from the beginning of Katisha’s solo 69 Ex.1.8 The Tempest, opening of the Introduction to the incidental music 70 Ex.1.9 The Golden Legend, Scene 3, solo for Prince Henry from bar 265 71 Ex.1.10 The Sorcerer, Act 1, the Incantation Scene from bar 134 72 Ex.1.11 H M S Pinafore, Act 1, Finale from bar 178 73 Ex.1.12 Ruddigore, Act 1, Finale from bar 191 74 Ex.1.13 The Gondoliers, Act 2, Quartet from bar 18 76 Ex.1.14 Song ‘Sigh No More', piano introduction from bar 1 77 Ex.1.15 Overture to The Yeomen of the Guard, vocal score piano reduction from bar 1 77 Ex.1.16 (a) The Merchant of Venice, Bourrée from bar 39 78 (b) The Merchant of Venice, Finale from bar 20 78 (c) H M S Pinafore, Act 2, Trio, the postlude. 79 Ex.1.17 (a) The Sailor's Hornpipe – traditional, from bar 1 79 (b) Ruddigore, Act 1, Hornpipe, from bar 1 79 Ex.1.18 The Mikado, Act 1, ‘A Wand ‘ring Minstrel I’ from bar 83 80 Ex.1.19 The Sorcerer Act 2, duet from bar 1 80 Ex.1.20 Haddon Hall, Act 2, elopement scene from bar 129 81 Ex.1.21 Ivanhoe, Act 3, Scene 2, from bar 228 83 Ex.1.22 The Rose of Persia, the penultimate number of Act 2, final refrain 84 Ex.1.23 F. C. Maker, hymn tune 'Rest', the final cadence 84 6 Chapter 2: Influences – The Making of an English Composer Ex.2.1 The Sorcerer, Act 1 chorus from bar 18 88 Ex.2.2 S. S. Wesley, Blessed be the God and Father, the final section from bar 16 89 Ex.2.3 (a) Mozart, Der Schauspieldirektor, final ensemble from bar 26 90 (b)The Gondoliers, Act 1, Quintet from bar 1 92 Ex.2.4 (a) Schubert, Symphony No.9 in C, The Great, first movement from bar 199 93 (b) Overture In Memoriam, development section from bar 375 93 Ex.2.5 The Tempest, Overture to Act 4 from bar 10 94 Ex.2.6 (a) Schumann, Symphony No.1, fourth movement, from bar 6 94 (b) Schumann, Symphony No.4, first movement from bar 29 94 Ex.2.7 Symphony in E, first movement from bar 1 99 (a) Opening theme 99 (b) Transition played by First Violins leading to the… 99 (c) Beginning of the first subject group, played by the First Violins 99 Ex.2.8 (a) Hymn Tune ‘St Gertrude’ 1871 100 (b) The Light of the World, ‘In Rama was there a voice heard’ 1873 100 (c) Ruddigore Act 2, ‘Painted emblems of a race’ 1887 100 (d) Utopia Limited Act 1, ‘Knightsbridge nurses, serving fairies’ 1893 101 Ex.2.9 Schubert, Fantasie Der Wanderer D760, beginning of middle section 101 Ex.2.10 Overture In Memoriam from bar 13 102 Ex.2.11 Meyer Lutz, Pas de Quatre, from bar 41 103 Ex.2.11 Overture di Ballo, principal themes 105 Ex.2.12 (a) Gounod, Faust, Trio from The Soldiers’ Chorus, Act 4, from bar 1 111 (b) Iolanthe, Trio from The Peers’ Chorus, Act 1, from bar 1 111 Ex.2.13 (a) Gounod, Faust, fragment from the introduction and 112 and postlude to The Soldiers' Chorus (b) The Grand Duke, fragment from the Overture and Act 2 112 Ex.2.14 Gounod, ‘Le Jour se lève’ from Act 4 of Mireille from bar 11 115 Ex.2.15 The Mikado, Act 2, ‘The sun whose rays are all ablaze’ from bar 3 115 Ex.2.16 Mendelssohn, Lieder ohne Worte, Op 19, book 1 No.2 from bar 30 116 Ex.2.17 Ruddigore, Act 2, No.4 from bar 88 118 Ex.2.18 Bizet, Carmen, Quintet from Act 2, main theme 120 Ex.2.19 Princess Ida, Quintet from Act 2, refrain from bar 1 120 Ex.2.20 The Gondoliers, Act 1, first scene from bar 484 122 Ex.2.21 Bizet, Carmen, Act 2 passage leading to the Quintet 123 Ex.2.22 The Gondoliers, Finale to Act 2 from bar 5 124 7 Ex.2.23 The Pirates of Penzance, Trio in Act 2, middle section from bar 1 125 Ex.2.24 The Pirates of Penzance, Trio in Act 2, middle section from bar 10 125 Ex.2.25 Rossini, Overture