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Reframing the History of Classical Music in Ireland

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Reframing the History of Classical Music in Ireland Reframing the History of Classical Music in Ireland: 1820-1920 Barra Ó Seaghdha B.A. (Hons), MA Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies Dublin City University Supervisors: Dr. Michael Cronin & Dr. Agnes Maillot (Dublin City University) January, 2016 i I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work, that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright, and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: _____________________________________ ID No.: 11212712 Date: January 2016 ii iii Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Chapter One: Literature Review ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Ia. Historiography: Hogan, Boydell, Fleischmann ...................................................................................... 9 1b. Recent Historiography: Context for Ryan's Music and Nationalism ............ 15 1c. Music and Nationalism: Nationalism ................................................................................................................ 16 1d. Music and Nationalism: Culture ……………………………………..…………………………………………………………… 18 1e. Music and Nationalism: Issues in later chapters ............................................................... 21 1f. Music and Nationalism: Musical life .................................................................................................................. 23 1g. Music in Ireland 1848-1998 ........................................................................................................................................... 25 1h. Harry White's The Keeper's Recital: Approach ......................................................................................... 28 1i. Harry White's The Keeper's Recital: Chapter-by-chapter analysis ............... 31 Chapter Two: Methodology ………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………….… 34 2a. Frameworks, paradigms …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34 2b. Peter Burke ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 35 2c. Key notions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37 2d. T.C.W. Blanning ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37 2e. Blanning on Habermas ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 39 2f. Geoff Eley ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 42 2g. Habermas: Implications for study of Britain ………………………………………………………………. 44 2h. Implications for Ireland ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 46 2i. Vincent Morley's critique ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 50 2j. Implications for the study of classical music ........................................................................................ 53 Chapter Three: Moore in the Context of His Day …………………………………………………………..………………… 60 3a. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 60 3b. Moore: Early decades ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 61 3c. Moore and the Veto ………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………. 63 3d. Captain Rock ………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………… 65 3e. Life and Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald ……………………………………………………..………. 66 3f. Moore’s Melodies …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………… 67 iv 3g The Melodies in the public sphere …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 70 3h. Moore, mobilisation, music ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 71 3i. The Melodies, the nationalist public and the Catholic Church ……………………….…… 73 3j. The British context ……………………………………..……………………………………………………..…………………………… 75 3k. The Irish musical context …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 78 3l. Musical societies, class and Trinity ……………………………………………………………………………………… 81 3m. Dublin University Magazine: absence of critical engagement with music 82 3n. Music and the Catholic Church …………………………………………………….………………………………………………… 84 3o. Cultural leadership …………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 86 Chapter Four: Thomas Davis and the Attempted Transformation of the Public Sphere ………. 91 4a. Introduction to Davis’s life and work ................................................................................................................. 91 4b. Davis and his early audience …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 92 4c. Towards the Nation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………… 96 4d. Sismondi …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 97 4e. A broadening public …………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………… 99 4f. Davis and the arts ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 100 4g. National or international perspectives? ................................................................................................................. 103 4h. Davis and music ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 105 4i. Aesthetic 'force' and reaching an audience ......................................................................................... 108 4j. 'Irish Songs': past and future …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 109 4k. Music, class and culture ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 111 Chapter Five: Away from the Storm …………………………………………………………………………………………… 115 5a. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………… 115 5b. Broad socio-cultural trends ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 115 5c. Social dynamics …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 117 5d. The middle class ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………… 119 5e. The Catholic Church: A dynamic force ............................................................................................................... 120 5f. Protestant retrenchment ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………… 124 5g. Employment outlets and the deployment of capital ............................................................... 125 5h. British/Irish divergence ………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………… 126 5i. Ireland and the making of an English musical renaissance ........................................ 129 5j. Robert Prescott Stewart and British provincialism in Ireland ...................................... 134 v 5k. Perspectives on Classical Music in Ireland ......................................................................................... 138 5l. The (Royal) Irish Academy of Music .......................................................................................................................................... 141 5m. The Report and cultural leadership ..................................................................................................................... 145 5n. Themes restated ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 153 Chapter Six: Music in the Irish Revival ……………………………………………………………………………..…………………. 156 6a. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 156 6b. Yeats, leadership and the Revival ………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 156 6c. Stanford: The Irish context ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 158 6d. Stanford: Class and leadership in England ............................................................................................ 161 6e. Stanford and the national in a British context ............................................................................................. 164 6f. Classical music among the revivalists …………………………………………………………………….……………… 166 6g. Ireland – comparative perspectives …………………………………………………………………………………… 172 6h. Eastward journeys? …………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………… 174 6i. The Czech example ……………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………… 175 6j. Hungary and Bartók ………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………… 176 6k. Further perspectives …………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………… 178 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………… 182 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 188 vi Thanks and acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Drs Michael Cronin and Agnes Maillot of SALIS, DCU. Michael Cronin urged me many years ago to develop my ideas on a larger scale. I am deeply indebted to him for these urgings and for his valuable guidance and experience as this project developed. I am equally indebted to Agnes Maillot for taking on this project and for her encouragement, patience and constructive guidance. I am grateful to both Dr Aileen Pearson-Evans and Dr Dorothy
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