Resonances of the Raj

India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897-1947

oAo~

Nalini Ghuman

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS CONTENTS

List ofFigures ix Acknowledgements xiii Note on Spelling and Pronunciation xvii About the Companion Website xix

Introduction 2

1. A Subtle and Exquisite Spirit: Maud MacCarthy and Indian Music in Britain 11

True Practice 11 Real Proof 20 Fusty Bookology 29 An Equal Music 35

2. Elephants and Mughals, Contraltos and G-Strings: How Elgar Got His Englishness 53 Vandalism Rectified (The Darbar) 53 Masking the Darbar 57 The Composer's Burden 60 East is East and West is West 62 The Jewel in The Crown ofIndia 70 East is West (or, Angular Saxon) 76 Can the Mughals March? 82 Elgar the Barbarian 89

3. From to the Planet Mars: Gustav Hoist 105 Why not Learn Sanskrit? 105 As if Improvising 108 A Little More Context 111 Between Life and Death 116 A Complicated Rhythmical Figure 123 Archaic Avant-Garde 130

But a Passing Phase 137 From India to the Planet Mars 139 viii Contents

To Another World 143 Figure of Our Time 151

4. Songs that Moved the World: Amy Woodforde-Finden's Indian Love Lyrics 168 Women Hold their Own 168

A Taste for the Forbidden 169

Orientalities 170

Paradise on Earth 184 Sincerity Rather than Poetry 189 Myths and Manifestations 196 Sapphic Stories 200 A Map of Longings 204

5. Persian Composer-Pianist Baffles: Kaikhosru Sorabji 217 Marginal Exotic 217 Himalayan Hermitage 220 Colour Matters 223

Modernist 226 Scheherazade-Kaikhosru 229 Raga, Jangal, and Chakra 234 Melancholy Moth 245

6. Modes, Mantras, and Gandharvas: John Foulds's Passage to India 261 No Little Englander 261 Oh! The Poor Conductor! 271 Orpheus Abroad: A Controversial Subject 282 The Travesty of Translation 287 A S ordid S tory 294 Voices from the Beyond 295 Breathtaking and New 299

Music Credits 315 Selected Bibliography 317 Index 325 LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 'Teaching Tala': Maud MacCarthy learning in Adyar with Ramanujacharya, c. 1907 15 1.2 Urdu song, Man lag rayho, man: a rare example of notation from MacCarthy's field notes 16 1.3a Idioms of Raga Kedar in MacCarthy's hand, c.1908 17

1.3b Text of Urdu Khyal by Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sakal ban gagan pawan chalatpurva 18 1.4a Muttuswami Dikshitar's Kriti, Kalavati Kamalasana yuvati in Raga Kalavati: MacCarthy's rendition in John Foulds's transcription 22 1.4b Muttuswami Dikshitar's Kriti, Kalavati Kamalasana yuvati: The transliterated text and the arohana of Raga Kalavati in MacCarthy's hand 23 1.5 MacCarthy-Foulds's interpretation of Tyagaraja's Kriti, 'Bhava Nutha', no. 1 of Indian Suite, pallavi 23 1.6 Patnam Subramanya Iyer, Manasu karugademi: MacCarthy's typescript of the text as given to her by W. A. Krishnamachari in Chennai 24 1.7 Hazrat Inayat Khan's Royal Musicians of Hindustan in London, c.1912 31

1.8 'Some Indian Conceptions of Music': advertisement for one of MacCarthy's series of lecture-recitals 33 1.9 Maud MacCarthy with her saraswati vina from Thanjavur, c.1920 37 2.1 "Ihe Durbar Ceremony, Delhi, 1912 [sic]'. Kinemacolor catalogue, 1912 54 2.2 'Vandalism! Or, the Partition of Bengal!'. Hindi Punch, July 1905 56 2.3 'Ave Imperator!': concluding scene from Elgar's Crown ofIndia masque. India, from the steps of the throne, hails the King-Emperor and Queen-Empress 58 2.4 Lutchman Pershad carrying the Viceroy and Vicereine (Lord and Lady Curzon) into Delhi at the Darbar of 1903 87 2.5 'India', part of 'Greater Britain'. The Sketch, 21 April 1897 88 3.1 Tambura figurations in Hoist's 'To the Dawn' and 'Hymn of the Travellers': Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, op. 26, group 3 128 3.2 Idiomatic harp figuration in Hoist's 'To the Waters': Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, op. 26, group 3, no. 2 130 x List of Figures

3.3 'A Celestial Musician: Hoist and His Planets'. Musician, December 1920 140

4.1 Amy Woodforde-Finden's Four Indian Love Lyrics, cover illustration, Boosey & Co. Ltd. 171 4.2 Woodforde-Finden's 'Kashmiri Song', publisher's advertisement featuring first verse in full 174 4.3 'Shikara in Munshi Bagh, Srinagar' from the Brandreth Collection: Views in Simla, Cashmere and the Punjaub [sic]. Samuel Bourne, 1860s 186 4.4 'Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir': watercolour by Constance Mary Villiers-Stuart, c.1912 187 4.5 'The Garden of Kama', frontispiece of The Garden ofKama and other Love Lyrics from India arranged in verse by Laurence Hope and illustrated by Byam Shaw (London: William Heinemann, 1914) 189 4.6 'Delights of Summer in the Vale of Cashmere: Music for a Houseboat Party on Jhelum River'. Stereoscopic photograph, James Ricalton, c.1903 191 4.7a 'Farewell, Zahiruddin': Colour plate in The Garden ofKama. Byam Shaw 197 4.7b 'Less than the Dust': Louise Brooks in Motion Picture Classic,

February 1928 198 4.8 Whittall's Anglo-Persian , 1926 200 5.1 Kaikhosru Sorabji, c.1919 218 5.2 Shapurji Sorabji, the composer's father 220 5.3 Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer's mother 221 5.4 Sorabji, Arabesque, opening phrase, manuscript 232 5.5 Sorabji, Quasi Tambura, Variation 53, Movement IX of Opus Clavicembalisticum 235 5.6 Sorabji, Visuddha, Movement V of Symphony No. 1, Tantrik, for Piano Alone (1938-9) 244

5.7 Kaikhosru Sorabji aged 96, a few months before his death in 1988 246 6.1 John Foulds, c.1915 263 6.2 MacCarthy and Foulds, during 'those wonderful.. .holy... days at Landsdowne Road' (c.1919) 264 6.3 Programme of music for Annie Besant's birthday celebration, 1915 265 6.4 Gandharvas. Detail from sculpture of Shiva and Parvatl. Orissa, thirteenth century 266

6.5 'Mantra (of Bliss) and Vision of Celestial Avataras', no. 2 of Three Mantras, op. 61b: 'of Gandharvas'. John Foulds's autograph short

score 267 6.6 Karnatic melakartas excerpted from the table published in Foulds's Essays in the Modes (Paris: Senart, 1928) 272 6.7 Ravana and the Rakshasas, detail of painting from the Ramayana, book 6: Yuddhakanda, 1652. Sahib Din of Udaipur 275 List of Figures xi

6.8 'Mantra (of Will) and Vision of Cosmic Avataras', no. 3 of Three Mantras, Foulds's autograph sketch of opening 277 6.9 John Foulds with the nucleus of his 'Indo-European Orchestra', Delhi, 1937 285 6.10 MacCarthy-Foulds, Song of Ram Dass, concluding bars in Foulds's autograph short score 286 6.11 Kashmiri Wedding Tune, Dilruba part in Foulds's hand 287 6.12 Foulds directing his ensemble at All India Radio, Delhi, c. 1938 291 6.13 Pahari Tune, conductor's in-studio lead-sheet 292

6.14 Station distribution and transmission map, All India Radio. The Indian Listener, 22 December 1937 294

6.15a John Foulds, 'Lento quieto', mvt 3 of no. 10, Quartetto geniale, op. 97: opening bars of the composer's autograph score 296 6.15b 'Lento quieto': Chorale, composer's autograph score 297 6.15c 'Lento quieto': Coda, composer's autograph score 298