Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály – a Post-Romantic Fulfilment of Johann Gottfried Von Herder’S Vision and Prophesy?

Home , Beatrice Harrison, Born into This, Cedric Thorpe Davie, Glenda Goss, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Three Choirs Festival

Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály – a post-Romantic fulfilment of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s vision and prophesy?

Theodore Vinden MA BMus (Hons) DipGRNCM

A Thesis

Music

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

Approved

Dr. Virginia Whealton Ph.D. Chair of the Committee

Dr. Philip Mann Ph.D. Co-chair of the Committee

Dr. Susan Brumfield Ph.D.

Dr. Mark Sheridan, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This doctoral document is a snapshot of an accumulation of work over a number of years. There are many people who have helped me over the years, and contribute to my knowledge and understanding that I have today.

Dr. Virginia Whealton introduced me to Johann Gottfried von Herder, and his influences on politics and culture. Dr. Whealton’s critical thinking, knowledge and insights as my document supervisor have always helped push me to a higher level of academia. Dr. Philip Mann has provided wisdom, support and great advice throughout my doctoral programme, as my overall programme supervisor – and I am grateful for his care and consideration throughout my three years here as a student. Indeed, the opportunity to conduct Sibelius’s 5th symphony in my first year as my conducting recital contributed to my deeper understanding of Sibelius’s music. Dr. Susan Brumfield was the first person to fully make me cognisant of the great similarities between the philosophical ideas of Vaughan Williams and Kodály – and again, her expertise in the field of Kodály is unparalleled. My MA thesis supervisor, Dr. Mihály Ittzés (who sadly passed away in 2018) provided an abundance of wisdom and critical thinking. His advice during my Masters studies proved to be influential for my doctoral paper. The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust (and particularly Sir Hugh Cobbe OBE) have always been a fountain of knowledge and help. Most of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Yuko and David Vinden. They are the people who introduced me in the first place to the beauty of Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály, and have offered an abundance of knowledge, academic advice and support.

I feel deep gratitude and appreciation to everyone here for their support and contribution to my document.

ii Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABSTRACT v

LIST OF TABLES vi

INTRODUCTION 1

I. THE EXISTING SCHOLARLY WORK ON SIBELIUS, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 4 AND KODÁLY

A bibliographical review: Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály 4

Herder: the unspoken link? 5

II. A COMPARISON OF THE NATIONAL AND MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF 9 EACH COUNTRY

Finland – national development 9

England – national development 10

Hungary – national development 13

In summary – comparisons between each country 15

III. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE THREE COMPOSERS 17

Sibelius and Vaughan Williams: mutual and profound admiration for the cause of 17 nationalism

Vaughan Williams and Kodály: ongoing exchanges and the Three Choirs Festival 19

Vaughan Williams and Kodály: mutual friendships and the exchange of students 22

Sibelius and Kodály: profound influence and inspiration, despite a generational divide 25

IV. THE COMPOSERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOLKSONG, THE CREATION 27 OF A NATIONALIST MUSICAL LANGUAGE AND MUSIC EDUCATION

Attitude of the composers towards folksong - great similarities 27

The appreciation of folksong in its own right 28

How folksong should be assimilated into high-art music - in order to speak the hearts and 31 minds of the people

iii Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Music education and music in the community – tangible differences in their attitude 37 towards music education, and music in the broader community

V. THE COMPOSERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS AUSTRO-GERMANIC 45 CULTURE AND WAGNERIAN ROMANTICISM

Sibelius 46

Vaughan Williams 47

Kodály 48

In summary 48

CONCLUSION 50

Potential influences? And Carlyle’s ‘Great Man’ theory 50

Potential influence from Johann Gottfried von Herder? 50

The ‘Great Man’ theory 51

BIBLIOGRAPHY 54

APPENDIX

A COMPARATIVE TABLE OF LIFE EVENTS OF EACH COMPOSER 59

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

ABSTRACT Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Zoltán Kodály are three composers of distinct generations – but lived and worked through the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. They concurrently, but independently of each other, promulgated very similar arguments on music nationalism and the role of folklore in helping to achieving national awakening in their respective countries. And indeed, their philosophies and work are very consistent with the arguments promulgated 150 years previously by a German philosopher – Johann Gottfried von Herder.

Was it coincidence that these composers would involve themselves in folklore at almost the same time, and synthesise this with their compositions? Or, could it be argued that these three composers (amongst many other contemporaries) had the same unmet vision and desire for cultural awakening – and found their answers in a timely manner with Herder’s arguments? It is worth remembering that Herder wrote his essays 150 years previously, prior to the French revolution, and yet they still found relevance in a completely different time and society.

This document consults the philosophies and lifeworks of Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály, and cross references them with that of Herder’s – and argues that Herder’s ideas on folklore were one (out of many) answers to achieve greater cultural sovereignty for countries at the end of the nineteenth century and through the twentieth.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 László Eösze’s dates of when Kodály visited England 24

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

INTRODUCTION

Would it be coincidence that three composers, of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds, started folksong collection of their respective countries within fourteen years of each other, but independently of each other? Or, could it be argued that each composer had an unmet desire to strengthen the musical culture of their respective countries – to which Johann Gottfried von Herder’s arguments of folklore offered a timely answer? And that, in doing so, they would build and strengthen their musical culture and nationalist endeavours?1

This document concerns the lives and work of three composers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) and Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967). Each musician did great work in developing a sense of national identity in their respective countries through folksong in music, and are remembered today for the great work they did. They had remarkably similar views, were contemporaries of each other, and espoused their views and arguments to the public – not something that every composer does. Though their lives and careers were largely independent, their paths sometimes intersected – directly in some cases, obliquely in others. Given these composers’ similarities and fascinating points of intersection, it would make sense to compare their compositions and their views. Yet, comparative studies are rare, despite the extensive scholarly work done on each composer in isolation.

How, then, should we understand how and why these composers had remarkably similar trajectories and desires in their approaches to folksong and in their nationalist visions? Were they free agents who came up with truly original ideas – which can be inferred when one reads scholars’ thoughts on them – or were their ideas on folksong and nationalism driven at a subconscious level by other social factors of the time, such as the industrial revolution and the demise of the old rural lifestyle?2 The truth could lie somewhere between the two arguments, that they were either free agents or they were simply following the fashionable trend of the time.

In this document, I seek to answer one aspect of these questions by taking a look back at how these composers related to one of the most important theorists of musical nationalism: Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803), a German philosopher. Herder put forward fascinating and sometimes contradictory arguments on nationalism in music through folklore. Many political and musical dimensions of Herder’s vision were not fulfilled during his lifetime with music and folksong, but found fruition posthumously in a variety of forms. Some composers, such as Béla Bartók, followed Herder’s lead in collecting folksong and incorporating them into their own high-art work;

1 Hugh Ottaway, “Ralph Vaughan Williams”, Grove Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com 2 Michael Stocks, “English Folksong and Music Education in England”, in Reflections on Kodály, ed. László Vikár, (Kodály Institute 1985): 212. 1

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

many others, such as Antonín Dvořák, incorporated folksong into their own work.3 Indeed, with Richard Wagner’s dramas, folklore was incorporated into his music in a more abstract sense.4

My case studies on Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, and Kodály are on composers whose compositions were heavily influenced by folksong. Each fully immersed themselves into the folklore of their country – as opposed to relying on anthologies. Additionally, all three composers wrote essays and delivered lectures that we can tangibly comment on.

Of course, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály were not the only composers in their time to collect folksong and weave it into their compositions. One might include, in the same category, Copland, Enescu, Grieg, Glinka, and Butterworth, who had remarkably similar philosophies of synthesising high-art music with the music of the folk (in the broadest sense) – and who also had similar unmet desires of strengthening the musical sovereignty of their countries. This, however, is beyond the scope of this study. The trio of composers I have chosen have lives that closely overlap chronologically, and have similar professional profiles in their lecturing and transforming the musical culture of their own country.

In this document, I consider and review why these three composers at the end of the nineteenth century map so well onto Herder. Was this time at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth in Finland, England, and Hungary a more fertile situation for Herder’s ideas? Might the greater cognisance of folklore, the national awakening among the people, and infrastructure may have allowed these ideas to bear fruit? Throughout the nineteenth century, Western music had had Beethoven and Wagnerian romanticism as a strong benchmark, against which musicians of other countries would either aspire towards, or push against.5 With post-Romanticism – the music that came after 1848 – again, were the stars lining up that folksong was one means (out of a variety of options) of stronger musical development of each country? Did this enable a more original musical voice to grow, through which nations could express their sovereignty? It is worth noting that folksong was not the only option available to achieve greater cultural sovereignty, with some scholars noting that there are limitations.6

Through this document and my conclusion, I discuss in detail some possible answers to these questions. I put forward the argument that Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály’s work in music is reflective of a desire they (and many other contemporaries had) of strengthening the musical culture of their countries, and that Herder’s arguments on folklore were a probable and timely answer to realise this desire. I also consider whether Herder and these composers were – or could have seen

3 Klaus Döge, “Antonín Dvořák”, Grove Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 4 Piero Weiss, Opera: A history in documents (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), 203. 5 Ibid.. 6 Sonia Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, in The History of Continental Philosophy ed. Alan D. Schrift (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010), 102. 2

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

themselves as “Great Men” – as per the arguments of the celebrated nineteenth-century historian, Thomas Carlyle.7 It could be argued that they were pioneers and national figureheads of culture in their respective countries, and grasped opportunities that no one else could have seen. Conversely, it could be argued that their work was driven more by the circumstances of the time, such as the industrial revolution – and increased literacy rates. I will attempt to answer these questions by considering primary sources of the composers’ own writings, as well as the broader lay of the land of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In my conclusion, I discuss how the social and political upheaval that occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (particularly in Finland and Hungary) made these countries at this specific time in History a fertile nest for Herder’s ideas.

7 John Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford University Press, 2000), 48. 3

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CHAPTER I

THE EXISTING SCHOLARLY WORK ON HERDER, SIBELIUS, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS AND KODÁLY The biographies, compositions, essays and contribution to national culture of the protagonists of this document – Herder, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály – have been researched in depth by many scholars. They will henceforth be called our cultural theorists. There is very little work done that comments on broader causality: why did these four cultural theorists come up with such similar ideas and similar work? And in the case of the three composers, why did they do so at a similar time, within 14 years of each other?

The cross-referencing of their work with that of other composers and scholars, such as Herder is also limited. This paper therefore is comparative in nature of the methodologies, philosophies and compositions of each composer, and aims to shed new light by comparing their values they had in music, and bringing in Herder’s ideas. I argue that with the circumstances that occurred during the nineteenth century (such as national awakening in Finland and Hungary and the industrial revolution) that a desire amongst musicians was ignited; Herderian arguments on folklore offered an answer to these desires. This nationalist movement through folksong is a facet, amongst others, that many countries chose to implement in order to further develop their cultural sovereignty.

The bases for my comparative study are primary source documents by these four cultural theorists. All four – in their own way – have been recognised as national heroes. These areas of scholarship are reviewed in this chapter, which also offers an introduction to Herder.

A bibliographical review: Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály

Each musician produced a variety of primary source materials, in the form of lectures, essays and newspaper articles, providing an excellent snapshot of their thoughts and feelings. These have provided ample materials for scholars to analyse their creative work and creative views, within their own national contexts that they were born into.

Sibelius, in 1896, delivered a lecture as part of a job application, called Some viewpoints concerning folk music and its influence on the musical arts; this lecture was translated into English by Margareta Martin.8 Although this is a concise lecture and document, it still gives an excellent snapshot into Sibelius’s thoughts and feelings on folksong.9

8 Jean Sibelius, “Some Viewpoints Concerning Folk Music and Its Influence on the Musical Arts” translated by Margareta Martin in Jean Sibelius and his world, ed. Daniel Grimley (2011), 317. 9 Ibid.. 4

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Vaughan Williams wrote much more extensively on a range of subjects – numbering 102 essays –starting in 1897 and going all the way to his death in 1958. These are all compiled in a book Vaughan Williams on Music, edited by David Manning.10 Additionally, his letters published by Sir Hugh Cobbe also give a wealth of information particularly on his personal and professional relations.

Like Vaughan Williams, Kodály lectured and wrote extensively on a variety of subjects. Most of these essays are translated and published in his Selected writings, edited by Ferenc Bónis. Both Vaughan Williams and Kodály were more proactive in this sense of doing work for music, outside of composing.

In terms of scholarly secondary information, it is most noteworthy to observe how Kodály’s pedagogical ideas have spread across the world, and contributed to the cultural transformations of Hungary and many other countries. In 2016, his methodology was awarded the UNESCO status for preservation of culture.11 Kodály had multiple facets as a musician (as a composer, philosopher, educator etc.); but his work for pedagogy certainly had a truly seismic influence across the world.12

It is said that Sibelius visited Germany the most outside of Finland, followed by England; and this is reflected in Tomi Mäkelä’s Sibelius and Germany: Wahrhaftigkeit beyond Allnatur (2004) and Peter Franklin’s Sibelius in Britain (2004).13 Kodály visited England the most outside of Hungary, and this is again reflected by János Breuer’s articles Kodály in England (1982-3).14 Finally, Alain Frogley compiles a series of essays by great scholars on Vaughan Williams. These essays typically cross- reference Vaughan Williams’s works with topics such as religion and Biblical texts, or his interaction with Germany, amongst others.15

Herder: the unspoken link?

Herder, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály had remarkably similar ideas on music, folksong and national identity. The causation of these ideas and folksong movement is something that is at the core of the issue and argument, discussed throughout this document. It is important to understand first and foremost Herder’s arguments, as arguably the “father” of the folksong movement.

10 Ralph Vaughan Williams, Vaughan Williams on Music ed. David Manning (Oxford University Press, 2008). 11 Safeguarding of the Folkmusic heritage by the Kodály concept, “UNESCO” http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-4368 12 Mihály Ittzés, Kodály in Retrospect, Kodály Institute (Kecskemét, 2002), 2. 13 Tomi Mäkelä, “Sibelius and Germany: Wahrhaftigkeit beyond Allnatur” and Peter Franklin, “Sibelius in Britain” in The Cambrige Companion to Sibelius ed. Daniel Grimley (Cambridge University Press 2004). 14 János Breuer, “Kodály in England: A Documentary Study (I: 1913-28)”, Tempo, No. 143 (Dec. 1982). 15 Hugh Cobbe, “Vaughan Williams, Germany and the German tradition: a view from the letters” in Vaughan Williams Studies ed. Alain Frogley (Cambridge University Press 1996). 5

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803), was a central figure in German enlightenment. Born in East Prussia, he studied Theology at the University of Königsberg (1762-64) and attended lectures from Kant. He passed away in Weimar.16 His work branched a variety of philosophical domains, but he was most famous for his ideas on language.17 As far as this study is concerned, it is relevant to note that he was the first person to use the word ‘folk’ (Volk in German) in print.18 Herder argued that language, in a primitive form, was based on imitative expression and onomatopoeic sounds that had direct relevance to the object they described; he termed this “Bessonenheit”19. As language and society developed, naturally language became more abstract and disconnected from these onomatopoeic roots; however, this did not change (in his view) the fact that every culture and language was formed immediately from the environment and circumstances in which the people lived. This in turn explained why every culture has such different sounding languages and folklore – as this was reflective of the differing lands and customs of the people.20 His argument continued that every nation has its own unique circumstances, whether it is the climate; geography; social history; and that the accumulation of the thoughts and feelings of the people who worked on that land would make up a nation with its own genuine personality.21 The cultural force that contained this accumulated thoughts and feelings was folklore; and so therefore, for any nation to develop and have its own value in culture, folklore was the answer.22 He also draws parallels with Botanic geography; the same species of flower will adapt to survive in differing climates and geography.23 Folklore enabled society to bridge the chasm between the present and the past and enable each nation to stand on its own feet; it is said, “recognition that language is more than a communicative tool, and that linguistic communities share common horizons of meaning”.24 He held the view that “his recognition that the soul of a people is most readily perceived in its popular music, and that the qualities of lively impulsion (“Sprünge und Würfe”) outweigh sophistication and stylistic perfection”, and “Herder considered music to be a cosmic and natural force as well as the more conscious product of individual genius”.25 Synthesising all of these strands of information, Herder argues that a sophisticated culture (particularly that of music) is a combination of the environment/circumstances (which he describes as “Klima”) with tradition.26

16 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 83. 17 Ibid.. 18 Joann Kealiinohomoku, “Folk-dance” in Encyclopaedia Britannica accessed 28 November 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-dance/Trends-into-the-21st-century. 19 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 83. 20 Ibid.. 21 Ibid., 116. 22 William Wilson, “Herder, Folklore and Romantic Nationalism”, The Marrow of Human Experience (2006): 114. 23 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 86. 24 Ibid.. 25 Peter Branscombe, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, Grove Music Online accessed 24th October 2020, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 26 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 98. 6

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Herder’s ideas bore greater fruition posthumously, than during his lifetime; the biggest influence Herder had during his lifetime was his collaboration with Goethe, inclining Goethe more towards German folklore.27 Additionally, scholars also say that the German “Sturm und Drang” movement owes its existence in part to Herder; however, political and other cultural influences during his lifetime were more limited.28 It is noted that, “He never produced an extended, carefully ordered treatise of the sort that Kant wrote, spelling out and arguing for a set of logically interconnected claims about knowledge and reality.”; and in fact, much of the ratification and publication of his arguments came posthumously.29 The idea that humanity could continue to develop simply by developing the cultural foundation of every individual nation was accepted by ethnic groups in central and eastern Europe through the nineteenth century.30 Herder insisted on the right of each nation to determine its own destiny in accord with its own innate potentialities, due to the vastly differing circumstances of each country. 31 It is worth noting here that Herder was referring to a situation where nations were not a sovereign state; this was not the case with England.

Philip Bohlman is arguably the leading scholar on Herder’s writings, and compiled many of Herder’s essays into one book, Song Loves the Masses. These essays were published by Herder between 1774-1800, and then republished by Bohlman in 2017.32 A concise summarisation of Herder’s arguments is offered by Sonia Sikka, in a whole book that contains essays concerning continental philosophy (and ideas of other great philosophers such as Hegel and Kant), edited by Alan Schrift.33 Considering Herder’s influence on politics and culture, the article titled Herder’s Reception and Influence (2009) written by Arnold, Kloocke and Menze offers a sound review of how Herder influenced political thinking, however with less information on literature (with only passing mentions on Goethe) and virtually no mention on music.34 There are a variety of essays written by William Wilson on Herder, Folklore and Finland, with his two articles Herder, Folklore and Nationalism and Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism (2006). The comparative work or review on how Herder influenced (if he did at all) other nationalist movements in music is still lacking – and this document endeavours to bring further light to this topic.

National awakening of nations had grown exponentially in force through the nineteenth century; the dramatic rise of Finnish-speaking schools (as opposed to Swedish-speaking) in Finland, and the recognition in 1861 of Hungarian as the official language in Hungary (rather than German),

27 Günter Arnold, Kurt Kloocke and Ernest Menze, “Herder’s Reception and Influence”, A Companion to the Works of Johann Gottfried Herder, 391. 28 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 91. 29 Ibid., 83. 30 Wilson, “Herder, Folklore and Romantic Nationalism”, 120. 31 Ibid., 121. 32 Johann Gottfried von Herder ed. Philip Bohlman, Song Loves the Masses, (University of California Press 2017), xiv. 33 The History of Continental Philosophy, Volume I, ed. Alan D. Schrift. 34 Arnold, Koocke and Menze, “Herder’s Reception”, 392. 7

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

amongst many similar developments, serve to illustrate the changing times.35 It is remarkable to think, given how much music changed between Herder’s day – in the latter half of the eighteenth century – to Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály's day – the end of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – that his arguments and ideas still found relevance in different times and places.

35 William Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Karelianism”, The Marrow of Human Experience (2006): 132.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CHAPTER II

A COMPARISON OF THE NATIONAL AND MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EACH COUNTRY The scholarly work that has been done to compare all three composers and nations is still relatively scarce; studying all the primary sources and information on each composer in isolation has brought arise new and interesting perspectives on the rise of nationalism in music. In the previous chapter, it was established that Herder’s work was possibly a hidden link between the three composers. I also recognise that (independently of Herder) each composer was informed by distant and proximate national and musical developments in each country. Any further argument will depend on having a good understand of this “lay of the land” of each nation. And so therefore, this chapter will draw out a comparison of the national and musical development of each country. This knowledge will indicate how each composer found Herderian ideas a necessity (even if they were not directly influenced by Herder’s writings themselves), and each nation became good nest for his ideas. Given the musical void within each country, there was a world of possibilities for each composer to step up to as nationalist composers, as well as being advocates of folksong; and may also provide evidence to suggest that this folksong movement was an answer to a desire that many musicians had at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth.

Finland – national development

The Finland that Sibelius was born into had a long national history (nearing almost 1000 years), but a very insubstantial history of political or cultural autonomy; this meant Sibelius had the possibilities of shaping its musical identity, come the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and indeed there was a hunger to satisfy Herderian ideas.36 The earliest tribes of Finland are believed to have migrated westward from Asia and settled around the end of the first millennium AD in the region of Karelia. They never organised themselves into an effective nation that could defend itself from other countries.37 By the end of the 1200s, west Karelia was dominated by Sweden, which brought in the Roman Catholic Church; and East Karelia was dominated by Russia and the Orthodox Church. It is noted that following the reformation of the Catholic Church and the spread of Protestanism, the Bible was translated into Finnish in the middle of the sixteenth century. Swedish was still the ‘official’ language, and Finnish considered as the pagan language at this time; this only served to create a social gulf between the upper and lower classes. It is commented that in the mid-seventeenth century, there was greater national consciousness appearing with the Finnish-speaking communities.38

36 Ibid., 127. 37 Ibid., 126. 38 Ibid., 129.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

In 1809, Finland was united with Russia. It is at this point that young scholars at the University of Turku put into practice the nationalistic philosophy of Johann Gottfried Herder, out of concern over the possibility of a forced Russification of their language and culture.39 In the latter half of the nineteenth century, there was dramatic growth and interest in the Finnish language and the Kalevala – helped greatly by the advancements in printing technology.40 This sustained the Finnish people, ultimately until their independence in 1917 (despite internal social and political upheaval).41

DuBois describes the Finnish artistic movement of the nineteenth century as “Karelianism”.42 Karelia is a region to the East of Finland and North West of Russia, with considerable importance of folklore. Wilson comments how in 1814, Anders Sjógren and Abraham Poppius were inspired by the writings of Herder and were also concerned over the eventual fate of their Finnish culture under Russian rule; and started work on collecting folklore.43 This led to the folksong collecting efforts of Elias Lönnrot (1802-84); Lönnrot compiled his collection of folklore from Karelia into one book, called the Kalevala. This was sent to Helsinki in 1835 for publication. Wilson describes in his article Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism the sheer cultural and political transformation that came about in Finland from this collection of folklore in the nineteenth century; indeed, Wilson says in no uncertain terms that the existence and strength of Finland as a nation owes itself greatly to the Kalevala, by following the ideas argued by Herder. Finland experienced two events of national awakening; the first immediately followed the publishing of the Kalevala, and the second came at the end of the nineteenth century when “Finnish artists, musicians, poets and writers turned to the Kalevala for the inspiration necessary to create a truly national art” – notably, Sibelius. Wilson argues that both awakenings lead eventually to Finnish independence in 1917.44

It is in this context of fervent cultural growth in Finland, and the push-back against Russian unification, that Sibelius was born into in 1865. The Finnish people yearned their own cultural and national awakening, and much that was achieved by acting on Herderian ideas.

England – national development

Vaughan Williams was born into an England that had a proud national history, again extending almost 1000 years – as well as greater political autonomy than Finland. Musically, however, there had been a musical void in England, in the immediate few hundred years prior to

39 Wilson, “Herder, Folklore and Romantic Nationalism”, 121. 40 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism”, 134 and Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (Verso, 1991), 74. 41 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism”, 140. 42 Ibid., 124. 43 William Wilson, “Folklore and nationalism in Modern Finland”, 3. 44 William Wilson, The Marrow of Human Experience (Utah State University Press, 2006), 144. 10

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Vaughan Williams’s birth – and the potential for him to mold musical identity in England. Again, this obviously would have been a ripe time for the people to act on Herder’s ideas, and England was primed for this musical transformation to happen. This national and political history is intertwined with religious history; the story here should start not in England, but in Germany with Martin Luther’s publishing of 95 Theses in 1517, attacking the Catholic Church’s practices. With the rise of Protestantism across Europe, the indirect repercussion in England was the English Reformation, as King Henry VIII was on the throne. He cut ties with the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome in 1534 in order to facilitate his divorces with his wives and declared the English monarchy would be the head of the Church in England. The Church of England therefore was born. For the next 100 years, England was politically and religiously unstable – with various conflicts over whether England should return to Catholicism and reunite with Rome, or continue its independent way with the Church of England and the English monarchy as its head.

The next important historical event pertinent to this thesis is arguably the Industrial Revolution, in the 18th and nineteenth century – with its social, political and cultural repercussions, as reflected by this statement:

Maud Karpeles tells us that by the beginning of the twentieth century, at the time Sharp and the others were actively collecting, the folksong tradition was fast disappearing, or at least going underground. The reasons for this included the disruption of village community life, the growth of industrialism, and the increase of literacy.45 It is in this context of fervent social and economic change in England, that Vaughan Williams was born in 1872.

From a musical point of view, there is a case-study that could be made of composers such as Thomas Tallis (1505-1585). He was born a Catholic, but lived at a time when England went through the Reformation (1534). Therefore, Tallis wrote Hymns in both Latin and English – “[Tallis] was an ardent Catholic who suppressed his instincts either because he feared arrest or because he wanted a quiet life.”.46 Interestingly however, as far as Tallis was concerned, Peter Phillips goes onto say, “Tallis quickly adapted to the new Protestant circumstances and simply carried on, without obvious complaint… It is my reading that he did this willingly”.47

Perhaps the last great composer to emerge from the Renaissance/Baroque period of England was Henry Purcell, who died in 1695 – and the next to emerge was Edward Elgar, at the end of the Romantic period, born in 1857. There is very little explanation why music making in England was so

45 Michael Stocks, “English Folksong and Music Education in England”, in Reflections on Kodály, ed. László Vikár, (Kodály Institute 1985): 212. 46 Peter Phillips, “Sign of Contradiction: Tallis at 500”, The Musical Times, vol. 146, no 1891 (Summer 2005), 7. 47 Ibid., 8-9. 11

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

dry in the interim period – except to say the monarchy perhaps had little interest. There are no profound historical events that would shed light on this. A simple survey of composers and musical activities between German-speaking regions and England between 1695 and 1857 (Purcell’s death through to Elgar’s birth) would reveal the musical chasm in England.

In the nineteenth century, England began to see a gradual improvement in its music making – both with its high-art music, and school music education. Sarah Glover produced remarkable results, teaching music through singing and solfa notation – a description Curwen made of her lessons places her very much as a predecessor of Kodály’s educational ideas 100 years later.48 John Curwen, himself a great educator, sought means of furthering his own music education and his ability to educate children with music – and by chance came across a book, Scheme to Render Psalmody Congregational (published 1835) written by Glover, which profoundly influenced him. Curwen did much to promote and develop Glover’s ideas and do much for music education in England.49

Edward Elgar symbolised the resurgence of high-art music in England – and many people considered him to be the greatest composer in England since Purcell. His style however was very “European” in nature – and it was not until Vaughan Williams, born in 1872, was there any active attempt of creating a unique ‘English’ musical language that spoke the hearts and minds of the English people.50 While Vaughan Williams had interest in modes from an early age, he had very little awareness of folksong per se – until he met Cecil Sharp.51 They both were very concerned at the increasing loss of folksong towards the end of the Victorian era – and set about travelling the country to collect these cultural gems. This is certainly where Herderian ideas become relevant, and that it seemed this interest in folksong would be an answer to the desires of the composers and people of the time.

It is interesting to note that despite the oncome of World War I, “There is little evidence that [Vaughan Williams’s] mental attitude to Germany and its musical tradition was altered or even intensified by the First World War”.52

Cecilia Vajda came to England from Hungary in 1967 to teach Kodály musicianship at the Yehudi Menuhin school; Menuhin had asked Kodály for a teacher from Hungary, and Kodály recommended Vajda. In 1981, 14 years after she came to England, she set up the British Kodály

48 Bernard Rainbow, The Land without Music - music education in England 1800-1860 and its continental antecedents (Boethius Press, 1997), 144. 49 Ibid., 52-53. 50 Alain Frogley, “National Character and the Reception of Vaughan Williams”, in Vaughan Williams Studies ed. Alain Frogley, (Oxford University Press, 2008), 9. 51 Arthur Hutchings, “Vaughan Williams and the Tudor Tradition”, The Listener (1951): 276. 52 Hugh Cobbe, “Vaughan Williams, Germany, and the German Tradition”, in Vaughan Williams Studies ed. Alain Frogley (Oxford University Press 2008), 90. 12

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Society (today, the British Kodály Academy) – to great acclaim – and this Academy is still going strength to strength, with a variety of music education workshops throughout the year.53

Hungary – national development

Hungary also has a strong, documented, history as a nation, lasting about 1000 years – however, a very insubstantial history of political autonomy, like Finland.54 Though there had been the rise of ‘Hungarian’ music through the nineteenth century with Liszt, Erkel and Mosonyi, Kodály definitely was the first Hungarian composer (along with Bartók) to actively shape Hungarian music with folksong, given this had not been done by any previous Hungarian composer. Again, the time seemed ripe for Hungary to be a nest for Herder’s ideas, and that folklore offered an answer to the people’s desires at this time.

The North West of present-day Hungary was once part of the Roman Empire – the River Danube proved to be a natural boundary between this Empire and a Celtic Tribe, that lived in the land of present-day Hungary. There are still today many archaeological remains of Roman civilisation in Hungary. Following the demise of the Roman Empire, this territory was laid open for invading tribes – of Huns, Avars and of Magyars. The Magyars were believed to be originally from the same tribe as the Finno-Ugrian group, coming from Asia – while the Finns migrated north (to present-day Finland), the Magyars migrated southward and settled in present-day Hungary.55 Inherently, both the Hungarian and Finnish languages today have similar grammatical structures and traits.

Hungary is believed to have been Christianised around 1000AD.56 Given Hungary’s geographical position in the middle of Europe, it has a messy history of being dominated by super- powers either side of it. In subsequent centuries, the decline of the monarchy and political structure in Hungary caused Hungary’s independence to be extinguished at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, to the Turkish empire.57 This continued until 1699, when the Peace of Carlowitz resulted in Hungary and Transylvania being ceded to Austria. In around this time, there is also a very interesting flux of religion within Hungary – Hungary was accepting of Protestantism following Martin Luther’s publishing of 95 Theses – though the Austrian domination brought a wave of Catholicism to the country.

German was the official language in Hungary until 1861. While the lack of political and cultural independence on the part of the Hungarians naturally caused great resentment and hatred

53 British Kodály Academy, in “British Kodály Academy” https://kodaly.org.uk/ 54 János Breuer. A Short History of Musical Life in Hungary (Budapest, Egyetemi Nyomda, 1981), 24. 55 Ibid., 25. 56 Mihály Ittzés, Kodály in Retrospect, Kodály Institute (Kecskemét, 2002), 261. 57 Breuer, A Short History of Musical Life in Hungary, 27.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

towards Austria, Hungary was not without certain social and cultural benefits from Austrian rule. For example, Haydn, who was born very close to the Hungarian border, served the Esztergom family.58

While many people in rural Hungary accepted their content way of life under Austrian rule, people in the cities began to promulgate ideas of nationalism and independence.59

Following armistice day in 1918, a Hungarian Republic was proclaimed on 16 November 1918 and separation from Austria was effected. A devastating blow was delivered to Hungary by the Treaty of Trianon in 1919, where Hungary lost two-thirds of its land to create surrounding countries and a third of its Hungarian-speaking population. These borders are extant today.60 Again, it is in this context of great social, political and cultural change that Kodály was born into, in 1882.

With Hungary’s Eastern ancestry, it has a beautiful heritage of folksong — but a shallow history of ‘high-art’ composers.61 This is largely (if not, entirely) due to political instability over the centuries. It is said, “Ever since the Mohács defeat of 1526 right up to our days we have lived deprived of the [musical] culture irradiating from a royal court.”.62 In this context of political instability, Young says, “Hating both Turks and Habsburgs… the Hungarians, inspired by both their own traditions and the general ferment of the Reformation, threw their pride, courage, resentment, and passion into literature, and three great names stand out in the 16th and 17th Centuries: Péter Bornemissza, Bálint Balassi, and Miklós Zrinyi… all to be met within the choral settings of Zoltán Kodály.”.63 Music making may have suffered, but the people spoke their hearts and minds through literature at this time.

In the nineteenth century, Hungary began to have a warmer situation with music making: “Liszt, Mosonyi, and Erkel. These were the virtual founders of modern Hungarian music.”.64 Indeed, the present-day Hungarian national anthem was written by Erkel; at a similar time, both Liszt and Mosonyi made use of the verbunkos style and integrated it into their compositions, considering it to be native Hungarian.65 Unfortunately for the nationalist endeavour, the verbunkos style Liszt used in particular was a compilation of non-native compositions and/or commercial corruptions, not genuine folksongs.66

58 Ibid., 30. 59 Ibid.. 60 Percy Young, Zoltán Kodály A Hungarian Musician (Ernest Benn Limited, 1964), 4. 61 Ittzés “Kodály in Retrospect”, 261. 62 Zoltán Kodály, “Folk music and art music in Hungary”, Tempo no. 63, (1962-3): 31. 63 Young, “Kodály”, 3. 64 Ibid., 12. 65 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 19. 66 Ibid., 24. 14

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

In the twentieth century, Kodály and Bartók were amongst the most remarkable composers to have come from Hungary – both of whom immersed themselves in folksong, incorporating this into their music and the wider community. Herder’s paradigm offered an answer here.

In Summary – comparisons between each country

Culturally, it is very interesting to note the consistent importance of the reformation of Martin Luther in 1517 for all three countries, for both political and cultural development. This, coupled with the advancement of printing techniques helped to form and spread vernacular languages in many countries. This had the most profound effect in Finland, with the translation of the Bible; a similar effect was observed in England and Hungary due to advancements in printing technology and the reformation. But, English and Hungarian had already been taken more seriously in England and Hungary than Finnish was in Finland. Hungary – while being attacked by the Ottoman Empire – had a wonderfully creative output of literature, in the Hungarian language. This culture enabled the Hungarians to keep their sense of Hungarian identity, in a much stronger fashion than Finland; indeed, it would seem that advancements in printing technology helped sustain this national consciousness.67

Aside from the 1517 Protestant reformation, one can observe that all three countries have some similarities in their musical history, and interesting points of contrast in their general non- musical history. Though England has historically been the victim of invasion from the Romans, Vikings and the French, it has not been subjected to the same degree of abuse as Hungary or Finland in the past 500 years. Dezső Legánÿ says:

The foundation of the English Constitution, the Magna Carta, dates from 1215. The foundation of the old Hungarian Constitution, the Golden Bull, is almost of the same age — it was put into writing in 1222. Yet the fates of the two countries, England and Hungary, developed quite differently, partly because their geographical locations differ so greatly from each other.68 Though this above comment refers to England and Hungary, a similar comment can be made about Finland, that had been dominated by Sweden and Russia. The lack of political autonomy in Finland and Hungary was certainly a factor that impassioned the people of those nations to further strengthen their own sense of identity and sovereignty; and Sibelius and Kodály were no exception in having this unmet desire.

All three countries had a void of their own national music immediately prior to the nineteenth century, where their own music was dominated by that of bigger countries around them. Other

67 Anderson, “Imagined Communities”, 38-9. 68 Dezső Legánÿ, “Kodály and the Three Choirs Festival”, Studio musicological Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, (1983): 93.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

countries, such as Russia, Italy and Germany had a much more substantial culture and history of music-making. Finland, England and Hungary had a reaction at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth to create a national musical language, to further assert their own identity. It is fair to say that Finland was the worst off of all three countries, followed by Hungary and England. For musicians who were born into this situation — Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály — they would have seen this as a wound, according to Herderian paradigms. One solution (amongst other options) to heal this wound was to turn to folksong.69

All three countries would have been affected by technological and societal advances that took place through the nineteenth century, such as the improvement of transport and mass-industrial production; the invention of the phonograph; the increase in quantity and quality of education for children; to mention a few. Though these technological developments would have helped each country progress into modern, sophisticated nations, there was a great price to pay with the disruption to the old village lifestyle – and the demise of folklore.70

And so, respectively this good work of collecting folklore in each country was done by Lönnrot (1832) in Finland, Sharp and Vaughan Williams (1902) in England and Kodály and Bartók in Hungary (1906). It is fascinating to note how much more of an impact Lönnrot’s work had for Finland, as Finland was lacking in its own self-identity and culture till this point.

Musically, England delivered great composers in the Renaissance and Baroque such as Tallis, Byrd and Purcell amongst many others; and was also a honey pot in subsequent years for the likes of Handel and Haydn (though, not having any great native composers of its own until Elgar). Come the nineteenth century, Finland was still lacking in a “common language, a common history and a common artistic tradition” — and as such, was several steps behind England and Hungary.71 As such, the effect of the folk-movement in Finland had such a powerful impact, more so than the folk- movement in either England or Hungary.

From this point of view, the cultural growth in the nineteenth century through folklore was very welcome – Herder’s ideas bore great fruition, to meet the unmet desires of the people.

69 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 85. 70 Hugh Ottaway, “Ralph Vaughan Williams”, Grove Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com 71 Wilson, “Sibelius, Karelianism and the Kalevala”, 135. 16

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CHAPTER III

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE THREE COMPOSERS

No composer ever truly lives in a bubble, and is truly independent of his or her predecessors and contemporaries. Certainly, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály were no exception. By further understanding what nature of communication and reference that there was between the three composers, and the reception of each in other’s country, we can understand how and where these composers may have been influenced. It may be that they influenced each other; this may serve to shed some light on why they had such similar ideas on musical nationalism and similar desires. This is not a discussion so much to ascertain if they were fully independent from each other, but moreover to explore to what extent they were aware of each other’s work. Did they shape each other’s ideas, in terms of musical nationalism and folklore? Is there a mention of the possible link of Herder? Or, is there an unspoken link from elsewhere? Was their interest and acquaintance of each other a consequence of having similar thoughts on musical nationalism and folksong in the first place, or vice-versa?

Additionally, understanding the strength of these personal and professional relationships may serve to indicate how this wave of nationalism at the end of the nineteenth century is not an isolated event, but something that many countries and cultures were primed towards having. The reason for countries being primed towards having this wave included the social circumstances of the industrial revolution and national/political awakening that was occurring across many nations. Again, we may recurrently find that the social lay of the land and the unmet desires of the people at the end of the nineteenth century had great hunger for Herder’s ideas.72

Sibelius and Vaughan Williams: mutual and profound admiration for the cause of nationalism

Outside of Finland, Sibelius’s greatest interests lay in Germany.73 As a young composer, he yearned to be taken seriously there, and appeared most frequently in Germany out of all foreign countries he visited during his lifetime. This is both an influence from his former teachers in Finland, and also the fashionable trends in Finland at the time.74 Though he did not have as strong an affinity with England, there were important English friendships that he made that acted as a great catalyst for bringing his music to a bigger audience. It is abundantly clear that Vaughan Williams and Sibelius held each other in very high esteem, and much academic research that discusses how England became

72 Wilson, “Herder, Folklore and Romantic Nationalism”, 120. 73 Peter Revers, “Jean Sibelius and Vienna” in The Sibelius Companion ed. Glenda Goss, (Greenwood Press, 1996), 6. 74 Ibid.. 17

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

a fertile place for the performance of Sibelius’s music. Byron Adams writes a review of Sibelius’s relationship with England, where it is clear that England became a fertile ground for popularising Sibelius’s music; in 1937, the BBC Proms featured all of Sibelius’s symphonies.75 Peter Franklin also writes a whole chapter discussing Sibelius’s activities in Britain, and how British musicians and audiences warmly greeted Sibelius.76

Sibelius had visited England on four occasions – 1905, 1909, 1912 and 1921.77 Sir Granville Bantock was responsible for the first three of Sibelius’s visits to England, for which Sibelius felt deep gratitude.78 Through Bantock, Sibelius became acquainted with Rosa Newmarch – who did much to promote Sibelius’s music in England.79 It is on Sibelius’s fourth visit in 1921, that he and Vaughan Williams met in person: Newmarch organised a reception for Sibelius at Claridge’s Hotel in London. Ursula Vaughan Williams (widow of Vaughan Williams) writes of their one and only encounter:

...When [Sibelius] realized it was a fellow composer [Vaughan Williams] whose work he admired, he rushed down the stairs to waylay him in the hall. It was, however, rather a disappointing meeting for they failed, partly through shyness and partly because their only common language was inadequate French, to make real contact with one another though they were both full of goodwill.80 Sibelius’s music was greatly popularised in England from 1901 onwards, following the advent of Sibelius’s music in the Proms — and indeed, in England for the very first time — at the baton of Henry Wood, with a variety of subsequent radio broadcasts of his music.81 As such, it is implausible that Vaughan Williams would not have been aware of Sibelius’s music before World War I. Indeed, Peter Franklin’s comments that “old friends like Rosa Newmarch, Bantock and Sir Henry Wood, along with younger admirers like Eric Blom and, briefly, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.”82. I would suggest that there was not a strong friendship between Sibelius and Vaughan Williams – as there was with Newmarch and Bantock – but one of distant and profound respect.83

In 1936, Vaughan Williams wrote a letter to Cedric Thorpe Davie, who was studying with Kilpinen in Finland at the time. In the letter, Vaughan Williams says, “Give my profound respects to Kilpinen (& to the GREAT MAN if he remembers having once met me)” — this ‘GREAT MAN’ is

75 Byron Adams, ““Thor’s Hammer”: Sibelius and British Music Critics, 1905-1957” in Jean Sibelius and his World ed. Daniel Grimley (Princeton University Press, 2011): 127. 76 Franklin 77 Ibid., 126. 78 Ibid.. 79 Ibid.. 80 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W.: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams (London, 1964), 139. 81 Ryan Ross, The Correspondence of Jean Sibelius and Rosa Newmarch, 1906–1939 (The Boydell Press, 2011), 227 and Adams, “Thor’s Hammer”, 127. 82 Ibid.. 83 Peter Franklin, “Sibelius in Britain”, in The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius ed. Daniel Grimley (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 189. 18

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Sibelius, and he is referring to their 1921 acquaintance.84 Between 1938 and 1943, Vaughan Williams composed his 5th symphony, “dedicated without permission to Jean Sibelius”; in 1946, Sibelius wrote Vaughan Williams a letter thanking him for this dedication, describing it as an honour.85 In 1955, Vaughan Williams wrote a newspaper article, titled “Sibelius at 90: Greatness and popularity”, for the Daily Telegraph & morning post, celebrating Sibelius’s 90th birthday.86 In a subsequent letter, in 1957 (addressed to Michael Kennedy), Vaughan Williams describes Sibelius as one of the greatest men to have ever lived.87 This is very interesting as it points also to Carlyle’s “Great Man theory”, that Vaughan Williams looked up to Sibelius as a composer who brought about great cultural change that no-one else could have achieved.

To further discuss Sibelius’s successes in England: his Luonnotar (based on the Kalevala) was premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in 1913, in Gloucester.88 Indeed, it is commented that his 1905 visit to Liverpool where his British reputation was “formally inaugurated”.89 This did not stop here in Liverpool in 1905, but continued in 1912, where “the premiere of the Fourth Symphony marked the point at which many forward-looking British musicians began to turn away from Elgar, a brooding Englishman, and seek inspiration from a brooding Finn”.90 The word “brooding” is very significant, and Franklin also mentions that the certain melancholic nature of Sibelius’s music and personality was appealing to British audiences.91 Furthermore, it is commented how Sibelius’s music offered a “very attractive alternative symphonic tradition” to that of the Germanic tradition, which had dominated British tastes through the nineteenth century.92 This was something the British found very attractive, due to the strengthening economy and dominance of Germany following its unification. Though the general British public most likely would not have been cognisant of Herderian paradigms, folklore and nationalism in Sibelius’s music, they would have enjoyed the overall character of his music as a refreshing alternative to the prevailing musical tastes that had been in England through the nineteenth century; and as something that fed their unmet desires.93

Vaughan Williams and Kodály: ongoing exchanges and the Three Choirs Festival

84 Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ralph, and Hugh Cobbe ed., Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams 1895-1958 (Oxford UP, 2008), 243. 85 Ibid., 458. 86 Vaughan Williams, Ralph, Vaughan Williams on Music ed. David Manning (Oxford University Press, 2008), 175. 87 Cobbe, “Letters of Vaughan Williams”, 707. 88 Daniel Grimley, “The tone poems: genre, landscape and structural perspective” in The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius ed. Daniel Grimley (Cambridge University Press 2004), 111. 89 Franklin, “Sibelius in Britain”, 185. 90 Adams, “Thor’s Hammer”, 128. 91 Franklin, “Sibelius in Britain”, 191. 92 Ibid.. 93 James Hepokoski, Sibelius Symphony no. 5 (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 8. 19

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

In terms of understanding Kodály’s thoughts on England, it is worth mentioning a speech he gave in 1960 at the British Embassy in Budapest — titled, ‘English Vocal Music’. He says,

Our generation was brought up in the belief, learnt from its German teachers, that England was “das Land ohne Musik”… my first trip [1927] dispelled the false notion of “Land ohne Musik”94 The interaction between Vaughan Williams and Kodály is by far the most sustained and substantial professional relationship, out of all three composers. Outside Hungary, Kodály appeared most frequently in England.95 Kodály’s pedagogical ideas on music education were influenced by what he observed in Cambridge in 1927, and additionally his music was greatly promoted and commercialised in England.96 In this way, England was fundamental to Kodály’s professional development in such a way that it was not as much for Sibelius. Additionally, Vaughan Williams would grow to have deep respect for Hungary in his later years, but not so much be indebted to Hungary for his own professional development. These few comments below from scholars will indicate the great amount of scholarly work already done, and the influence that England had on Kodály: Howes says, “[Kodály’s] visits to the Three Choirs Festival led him to attempt to found something similar at home; he succeeded Dr. Vaughan Williams in the presidency of the International Folk Music Council, which was launched under English auspices…”.97 Breuer says, “The Three Choirs Festival had a very great influence on Kodály’s extensive music educational programme, on plans he worked out for the revival of the Hungarian choral movement; during the [late] 1920s he had written that he desired to give the Hungarian choral movement the same artistic standards that he had come to know in England”.98

The above statement is further quantified by Legánÿ, who says:

“…Kodály’s art was also centred around the chorus. After his first journeys to England he proposed, in one of his most important articles in 1929, that after the model of Gloucester and its two neighbouring towns [The Three Choirs Festival], three towns of Hungary, which have a history of nearly two thousand years and lie close to each other, Sopron, Gyor and Szombathely, should hold joint festivals. Kodály did not achieve his aim, but in his place, after modest beginnings in 1925, as the result of his work and that of his pupils and their disciples, more and more large- scale both choral festivals emerged with all the more vigour in the 1930s all over Hungary”99

94 Zoltán Kodály, “English Vocal Music”, Speech given in Budapest, 1960, translation by Kata Ittzés, Publication is under way. 95 János Breuer, The World’s Greatest Composers Kodály (Mágus Publishers, 1999), 35. 96 János Breuer, “Kodály in England: A Documentary Study (I: 1913-28)”, Tempo, No. 143 (Dec. 1982): 2. 97 Frank Howes, “Kodály in English”, Tempo, No. 63 (Winter 1962-3): 17. 98 János Breuer, “Kodály in England: A Documentary Study (II: 1928-1945)”, Tempo, No. 144 (Mar. 1983): 17. 99 Legánÿ, “Kodály and the Three Choirs Festival”, Studio Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 98.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

And so, it is abundantly clear how Kodály was profoundly influenced by the culture and music making in England, and synthesised these ideas to create an even greater pedagogical structure in Hungary. Kodály changed publishers from Universal Edition (Vienna) to Boosey & Hawkes (London) in 1933 — due to the rise of Facism in Austro-Germany. Up till this point, Kodály did not have a great affinity with Germany or Austria, often criticising their music education, but clearly was still able to use Austria for the commercialisation of his music.100 Kodály and Boosey & Hawkes maintained a very good relationship for the rest of his life.101 Kodály was well received by English critics and public alike — Breuer suggesting his music was already mentioned by the British musical press in 1910, and Ursula Vaughan Williams mentioning both Kodály and Bartók’s names appearing in concerts and the press in the 1920s.102 It is interesting also Breuer highlights Kodály’s cello sonata as being particularly successful in England:

From the autumn of 1922 Kodály’s compositions were heard in England in concert, and soon after over the BBC. I have reliable data on more than a hundred performances in England up to 1945... It is obvious that the frequency of performance in Britain and Kodály’s reception there were of extraordinary importance in the growth of his international reputation... At the 5 February 1924 [...] Beatrice Harrison performed Kodály’s Sonata for Solo Cello (op.8). Three Kodály premieres in London within a single month! [...] Kodály’s music, through Beatrice Harrison, was turned from a Hungarian into an English cause.103 While Kodály had a rosy view of England following his Cambridge visit in 1927, his 1960 speech indicates prior to 1927, Kodály did not think particularly highly of England in musical terms — and a progression of thought is observed here.104 Indeed, following Kodály's debut at the Three Choirs Festival in 1928, Ivor Atkins subsequently commissioned a new work for the festival, to be held at Worcester the following year — and a fruitful connection was thus formed between Kodály and England.105

With Vaughan Williams’s perception of Kodály and Hungary, there also appears to be a progression of thought over the years. At first (prior to their first meeting in 1928 at the Three Choirs Festival), Vaughan Williams’s thoughts of Hungary are illustrated by a letter to Edward Dent dated 1 August 1928:

at present [my student, Elizabeth Maconchy] has been badly bitten by Bartok and is of course anxious to study with him, but I rather doubt the wisdom of this… neither Rome nor Buda-Pesth would I imagine be good from the point of view of general musical atmosphere and the hearing of plenty of good music etc. 106

100 Zoltán Kodály, Selected Writings ed. Ferenc Bónis (Zrínyi, Budapest 1974), 67. 101 Helen Wallace, Boosey & Hawkes, The Publishing Story (Boosey & Hawkes, 2007), 10 and 56. 102 Breuer, “Kodály in England I”, 6 and U. Vaughan Williams, “Biography”, 147. 103 Ibid.. 104 Ibid.. 105 Breuer, “Kodály in England II”, 16. 106 Cobbe, “Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams”, 160.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

The mis-spelling of ‘Budapest’ as ‘Buda-Pesth’ is from the original letter, further indicating Vaughan Williams’s ignorance at the time of Hungary. There is no mention of Kodály at this point — though in later years, Vaughan Williams would send his students to study with Kodály. As per Breuer’s comment above, it seems plausible that Vaughan Williams should have been aware of all of these highly successful premieres in London of Kodály’s works in the early 1920s — there is no explanation of why he made this disparaging comment of Budapest in 1928 (prior to meeting Kodály).

Kodály and Vaughan Williams met at the Three Choirs Festival in 1928 in Gloucester — and in a subsequent letter from Ivor Atkins to Kodály later that year, Atkins says:

Sir Edward Elgar and Dr. Vaughan Williams also rejoiced with me. Your Psalmus Hungaricus made a great impression upon these two composers and they are greatly looking forward to the new work.107 And so, an immediate change of mind is observed here. Vaughan Williams sent a letter to Kodály in 1933, saying:

I take the liberty on the very slight acquaintance to introduce to you my former pupil Miss Helen Hunter who is anxious to have the honour of making your acquaintance and your opinion of obtaining of her composition… You may perhaps recall I had the pleasure of meeting you a few years ago in England at the Gloucester Festival108 Furthermore, one of his ex-students (Cedric Thorpe Davie) studied in Budapest with Kodály himself, as indicated in a letter in 1935 (addressed to Davie in Budapest).109 In (?)1943 he wrote a letter to an ex-student, Elizabeth Maconchy, saying “I said ‘Study Purcell or Bartok’ & you chose Bartok”.110 In 1953, Vaughan Williams writes in a letter to Arnold Barter, “Thank you very much for sending me your programme. That Kodály is a fine work.”.111 It is apparent that as Vaughan Williams got to know Kodály in person and his music from 1928 — and Hungarian musical culture generally — he held Kodály and Hungary in very high esteem. They both shared Herder’s values of folksong influences in their compositions, which undoubtedly helped develop their professional relationship.

Vaughan Williams and Kodály: mutual friendships and the exchange of students

When (and where) did Kodály and Vaughan Williams meet, and in what circumstances?

107 Legánÿ, “Kodály and the Three Choirs Festival”, 97. Ivor Atkins was an organist at Worcester Cathedral. 108 Ibid., 98. Sadly it has not been possible to locate the original letter. 109 Hugh Cobbe ed., “Vaughan Williams Letter Database”, 350923. With many thanks to Hugh Cobbe OBE for highlighting this to me. 110 Cobbe, “Letters of Vaughan Williams”, 366. 111 Cobbe, “Vaughan Williams Letter Database”, 530120a.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

One very important figure who helped develop the relationship between Kodály and England is Edward Dent, a former music lecturer at Cambridge University — and close friends with Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams writes to Dent in 1914, “I admire your judgement extremely but I value your friendship even more…” — their friendship started during their time of study at Cambridge University.112 Vaughan Williams and Dent were certainly in close contact in advance of Vaughan Williams’s 1910 debut at the Three Choirs Festival.

In 1922, Kodály helped found the International Society of New Music in Salzburg, for which Dent was the first President (until 1938). This may have been the first contact between Kodály and Dent; indeed, the first letter Kodály ever sent to Dent was dated 22 January 1924, discussing the Society.113 In a concert on 6 August 1924, Vaughan William’s song cycle On Wenlock Edge was played, followed by Kodály’s Duo for Violin and cello (op. 7), amongst works of a few other contemporary composers.114 This possibly is perhaps the first instance of Kodály and Vaughan Williams’s work crossing paths — indeed, one of the Society's aims was to help break down national barriers — though the two composers did not meet in person at the time.115

Dent attended the performance of Psalmus in Zurich in 1926 — it was a Cambridge fellow, Hugh Stewart, who invited Kodály to conduct a performance of Psalmus in Cambridge in 1927.116 Dent subsequently invited Kodály to give another performance of his Psalmus at the Three Choirs Festival in 1928.117 It is perhaps reflective of the close friendship Kodály and Dent formed that Dent made an English translation of the text of Psalmus — which is still what is published and used today.

At present, it is difficult to learn specifically when and where Kodály visited England amongst the literature written in English. Breuer claims, “From 1927 on Kodály himself visited England every second year in order to conduct his works.”.118 Percy Young claims “Kodály visited England six times since 1927 [to 1962]”.119 However, Legánÿ claims “Up to his death…,[Kodály] made eleven journeys”.120 He says later in the article, “The third and last time Kodály took part in the Three Choirs Festival was in September 1948”.121 the Three Choirs Festival webpage mentions Kodály visiting on three occasions (1928, 1937 and 1948) to the Festival.122 Needless to say, these are

112 Cobbe, “Vaughan Williams, Germany”, 95 and 91. 113 Dezső and Dénes Legánÿ, Zoltán Kodály Letters (Kodály Archívum Budapest, 2002), 59. 114 Breuer, “World’s Greatest Composers Kodály”, 32. 115 Anton Haefeli and Reinhard Oehlschlägel, “International Society for Contemporary Music”, Grove Music Online accessed 5th April 2020 http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 116 Legánÿ, “Kodály Letters”, 10. 117 Breuer, “A Guide to Kodály”, 76. 118 Breuer, Kodály in England II”, 17. 119 Percy Young, “Kodály as Educationist”, Tempo, no. 63 (Winter 1962-3): 38. It is acknowledged that Kodály visited England on another two occasions after this article was written - but the information is still inconsistent. 120 Legánÿ, “Kodály and the Three Choirs Festival”, 96. 121 Ibid., 100. 122 Three Choirs Festival webpage, “Three Choirs Festival”.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

all contradicting strands of information. The most authoritative book on this topic is László Eösze’s book on Kodály (written in Hungarian), where he outlines these dates (table 1):123

Table 1 László Eösze’s dates of when Kodály visited England

1927 Cambridge 1928 London and Three Choirs Festival (Gloucester) 1937 London, Three Choirs Festival (Gloucester) 1946 London 1947 Arrived back from America 1948 (August) Three Choirs Festival (Worcester) 1950 London, with Emma (his first wife) 1960 (April-June) Oxford, London and Birmingham 1960 (September-October) Three Choirs Festival (Worcester) 1965 Aldeburgh and London (Menuhin School)

Ursula Vaughan Williams makes the point of acknowledging the 1928 performance of Kodály Psalmus at the Three Choirs Festival (Gloucester), and mentions that Kodály and Vaughan Williams met in 1937, again at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester.124 She, however, does not make any other references about their interaction. Acknowledged there is disagreement between scholars whether Kodály visited the Three Choirs Festival in 1960; however, it seems most plausible Vaughan Williams and Kodály met in person at the Three Choirs Festival in the years of 1928, 1937 and 1948, at the very least. Vaughan Williams of course passed away in 1958.

In Kodály’s compilation of letters, there is a record of Kodály sending two to Vaughan Williams in 1951 and 1957 — but the contents of the letters are unknown (Vaughan Williams “discarded his letters once they had been dealt with”).125 Interestingly, in Vaughan William’s compilation of letters by Cobbe, there are not any records of letters sent to Kodály — perhaps the only indirect reference is a letter Vaughan Williams sent to his ex-student, Cedric Thorpe Davie in 1935 (as mentioned earlier, Davie studied with Kodály in Budapest).126 Also as already mentioned, there is a record of one very beautiful letter Vaughan Williams sent to Kodály in 1933 — as mentioned in

123 With many thanks to Dr. Mihály Ittzés for help with translating. 124 U. Vaughan Williams, “Biography”, 172 and 215. 125 Legánÿ, “Kodály Letters”, 331 and 346 and Cobbe, “Letters of Vaughan Williams”, 2. 126 Cobbe, “Vaughan Williams Letter Database”, 350923.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Legánÿ’s article — however the location (and remainder of the content) of this letter, is currently unknown.

Following Vaughan Williams’s death in 1958, Kodály eventually succeeded his place as President of the International Folk Music Society (then, the ‘International Folk Music Council’). Here, Kodály contributed to the development of the Council, particularly to considering folk cultures outside of Europe.127 In the Journal of the IFMC in 1959, Kodály wrote an obituary:

Vaughan Williams did most to refute the old German fallacy of “Das Land ohne Musik.” He ennobled folk song with his marvellous settings; he ennobled his own style with the spirit of folk song. Thus he renewed English music by returning to old tradition. He changed the aspect of English music, making it more English and at the same time more accessible to other peoples. He could be original without being sophisticated. His death is a great loss but he leaves us a rich heritage.128 In summary, it is apparent both Kodály and Vaughan Williams held each other in very high esteem. There was not a huge amount of contact between the two composers, but they were fully aware of each other's works and ideas. Kodály, right from his first visit to England in 1927, had great respect for musical culture in England and Vaughan Williams (as indicated by the obituary in 1959); Vaughan Williams, from his first acquaintance with Kodály in 1928, had great admiration for Hungary and Kodály, and sent some of his students over to study with him in Hungary.

A beautiful symbolism comes arise with the Three Choirs Festival in England — the celebration of choral singing. The Three Choirs Festival was the reason behind Kodály and Vaughan Williams crossing paths, as well as the commissioning of some of Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály’s compositions. Independently of this, Vaughan Williams and Kodály preached choral singing was one of the most important means of normalising music in the community — of which the Three Choirs Festival is an epitome.

Sibelius and Kodály: profound influence and inspiration, despite a generational divide

There is no information (as far as the author is aware of today) that elucidates whether Sibelius or Kodály communicated with each other directly; that they respectively visited Finland or Hungary; or indeed, whether they crossed paths anywhere else in the world. Sibelius’s final visit ever to England pre-dates Kodály’s first visit. There is however, one illuminating letter that Kodály wrote in 1964 (after both Sibelius and Vaughan Williams’s deaths) to the Sibelius commemoration in Helsinki. He wrote it in German, however a translation (my own) is below — and elucidates what

127 Erich Stockmann, “Zoltán Kodály and the International Folk Music Council”, Yearbook for Traditional Music (1985): 6. 128 Zoltán Kodály and Steuart Wilson, “Ralph Vaughan Williams O. M.”, Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 11 (1959): 4.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Kodály thought of Sibelius. There is no other letter, essay or information (that the author is aware of) that elucidates what Kodály thought of Sibelius.

Timo Mäkinen für Sibelius-festschrift Helsinki Tief beeindruckt von der Aufführung des “Schwan von Tuonela” des Einzigen Werks von Sibelius, welches in meiner Schülerzeit hier erklang, verfolgte ich mit Aufmerksamkeit alle weiteren Werke. Sie waren für uns Beispiel und Ermutigung in der Suche nach dem eigenen Ton unserer Nation. Ein weiteres Beispiel bot uns sein Leben, als Beweis, dass einer, ganz dem eigenen Lande gewidmeten Tätigkeit, wenn sie nur auch Anderen etwas zu sagen hat, nicht ohne internationale Anerkennung bleibt. Budapest 2.9.1964129

My translation:

Timo Mäkinen For the Sibelius commemorative publication Helsinki Having been deeply impressed by the performance of the “Swan of Tuonela”, the only work by Sibelius that was performed here during my school days, I followed all the other works carefully. They were an example and encouragement for us in our search for our nation's own tone. His life gave us another example as proof, that an activity entirely dedicated to one's own country, if it has something to say to others, does not go without international recognition. Budapest 2nd September 1964

To backtrack a little, in the 1920s, as Kodály’s career was beginning to flourish, Sibelius went into his seclusion and retirement at Aino. There is no information, as far as the author is aware, that Sibelius had any opinion of Kodály. Indeed, at the height of Sibelius’s career in the 1900s and 1910s, Kodály was still a student, being 17 years his junior. From Kodály’s point of view, Sibelius would undoubtedly have seemed a senior figure, and a role model, as the letter above indicates. It is heartening to read how Kodály, as a schoolboy, found Sibelius’s music as an inspiration and encouragement in nationalistic endeavours. Kodály’s school days would have pre-dated World War I

129 Legánÿ, “Zoltán Kodály Letters”, 442. 26

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

and been during the time of both Austrian domination of Hungary, and the Russian domination of Finland. This now begs the question: to what extent did Sibelius’s music influence and inspire the young Kodály? Is this another unspoken link, in terms of spreading Herderian ideas at this time at the beginning of the twentieth century?

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CHAPTER IV

THE COMPOSERS’ ATTITUDE ON FOLKSONG, THE CREATION OF A NATIONALIST MUSICAL LANGUAGE AND MUSIC EDUCATION This chapter will compare and contrast the composers’ attitude on folksong and a nationalist musical language, and their attitude towards music education and music in the community. By better understanding the similarities and differences in their ideas, we can better discuss what influenced them – was there an unspoken link of Herder, and other social influences (including the industrial revolution)? Was there also the ability (in the case of Kodály) to envision a new cultural landscape, through a reform of the music education system?

Attitude of the composers towards folksong - great similarities

Vaughan Williams and Kodály both wrote very extensive essays and gave lectures throughout their lives, preaching their thoughts on folksong. For the purposes of Anglophone readers, I will primarily work with materials that are available in English. Their arguments are found respectively in The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (a compilation of essays from the 1920s onwards, translated by Lili Halápy and Fred Macnicol), National Music and other essays and Vaughan Williams on Music (both latter books being a compilation of Vaughan Williams’s essays from the 1900s onwards).130 Sibelius also promulgated very similar ideas on the role of folksong, however his lecturing and writing is not at all as extensive as that of Vaughan Williams or Kodály. It is contained in one concise transcription of a lecture he gave in 1896.131 Sibelius is an enigma in comparison to Vaughan Williams and Kodály. This chapter endeavours to explore in more detail the differing personalities and values that each composer had.

Across all three composers, there are two overriding common discussions: that folksong should be appreciated in its own right, and there is justification in involving oneself with folksong; and also a discussion of what role folksong has in high-art music, to create an original, national musical language. This is consistent with Herderian paradigms. However, there are fascinating differences in opinion on the role of folksong in education.

All three composers involved themselves with this folksong work in their young adult lives, aged in their 20s and 30s.To give a little more context and illustration on these primary sources and essays: Sibelius, aged 31, delivered a lecture on 25th November 1896 in Swedish at the University of Helsinki. This has been translated into English by Margareta Martin and transcribed in a chapter

130 Zoltán Kodály, Selected Writings ed. Ferenc Bónis (Zrínyi, Budapest 1974) and Vaughan Williams ed. Manning “Vaughan Williams on Music” (Oxford University Press). 131 Jean Sibelius, “Some Viewpoints Concerning Folk Music and Its Influence on the Musical Arts”, in Jean Sibelius and his World, ed. Daniel Grimley (2011), 317. 28

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

called Some Viewpoints Concerning Folk Music and Its Influence on the Musical Arts. Daniel Grimley, as a preface to this transcription, says that it was not in Sibelius’s nature to publicly explain his thought processes on composition, as he suffered from stage-fright – however this 1896 lecture is an exception to his pattern of “self-obfuscation and deflection”.132 Sibelius gave this lecture as part of his appointment process for a tenured Professor position at the University of Helsinki.

Vaughan Williams wrote and lectured considerably on a variety of musical topics – many of his writings are contained in his book National Music and other essays, and also in Vaughan Williams on Music, edited by David Manning. The earliest of these essays were written in 1897 (titled The Romantic Movement and its results), with Vaughan Williams aged 25; however, his essays relevant to folksong start in 1902 (aged 30). He continues to write these essays all the way until his death in 1958. His period of active folksong collection spanned the time 1903-1913.133 Most of his writings were articles published in magazines, newspapers and journals of the time.

Kodály, like Vaughan Williams, wrote and lectured extensively throughout his life. He started his folksong collection in 1905 (aged 23), and then submitted his first journal on his thoughts on folksong in the periodical Ethnographia in the same year. In 1906 he defended his doctoral thesis, The Strophic Structure of the Hungarian Folksong. The lectures and essays Kodály then wrote throughout his life have been compiled in his book The Selected Writings of Kodály.

Considering secondary sources: Wilson explores the importance of the Kalevala for Finland and Sibelius in his chapter Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Karelianism; Alain Frogley surveys how Vaughan Williams’s music and ideas were accepted (and rejected) through the twentieth century, in his article National Character and the reception of Vaughan Williams.134 There has been much written on Kodály’s own writings and philosophy — a particularly good review (in English) being Kodály in Retrospect by Mihály Ittzés. In the case of Sibelius, in lieu of the conciseness of his own writings and his enigmatic nature, there are further insights to be found instead in secondary sources – that discuss his work and behaviour.

The appreciation of folksong in its own right

This is where we observe the greatest similarities in the philosophies of the three composers. Not all other composers who were contemporary with Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály were interested in folksong, or felt the need to incorporate folklore into their own music; and indeed,

132 Grimley, “Jean Sibelius and his world”, 315. 133 Manning, “Vaughan Williams on Music”, 7. 134 Alain Frogley, “Constructing Englishness in music: national character and the reception of Ralph Vaughan Williams” in Vaughan Williams Studies ed. Alain Frogley (Oxford University Press 1996), 12. 29

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Herderian ideas were not the only means of developing cultural sovereignty in every nation.135 However, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály were three composers who passionately saw folksong as an opportunity to feed their unmet cultural vision, as per Herderian paradigms.

In Kodály’s Selected Writings, the first quarter of the whole book is dedicated entirely to his speeches and articles on folksong; the rest of the book contains his thoughts on other composers, history and music education, amongst other topics. Therefore, this chunk on folksong is by far the most substantial topic out of his output, reflecting the great importance he laid on it. He says:

[Folksong] is not a ‘class’ art. True, it is alive today only among the tillers of the soil — but it has to do with the whole of the Hungarian people. In the course of a thousand years, a great many rivulets flowed into it, as into a great reservoir. There is not a single experience of a single segment of the Hungarian people which has not left its mark on it. Therefore it is the mirror of the spirit of the entire Hungarian people.136 As such, Kodály’s argument is that folksong contains innate artistry and value – owned by the people of the land — that should be tapped into. At the beginning of the twentieth century, due to advancing technology, the pressing issue then was ensuring this cultural gem — a “perfect masterpiece” — did not get lost.137

An interesting trait of the Hungarian language is that anacruses are rare — though in English, the rhythm and emphasis ‘dee-dum, dee-dum, dee-dum’ (iambic pentameter) where the emphasis is weak-strong, weak-strong etc. is common, in Hungarian this would never happen. This is reflected in Hungarian folksong, where anacruses rarely happen, and 6/8 metre is very rare.138 Kodály himself said:

Today, if we are looking for some trait which distinguishes the music of the Hungarians from that of all neighbouring peoples, we find it in its rhythm and in its use of the pentatonic scale139 Therefore, from this scientific viewpoint, we can tangibly find unique elements and seeds of each country that mean that each country’s high-art music has the capacity of truly belonging to its people, and contain traits that identify it as truly nationalist music. This is consistent with Herder’s arguments on the imitative and onomatopoeic origins of language.

Vaughan Williams similarly lauds the importance of folk music: that folksongs contain seeds and traits unique to the people, that enable high-art music to belong truly to

135 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 97. 136 Zoltán Kodály, Selected Writings ed. Ferenc Bónis (Zrínyi, Budapest 1974), 24. 137 Zoltán Kodály, “Folk songs - Collecting Them and Using Them in Composition“ in Zoltán Kodály in North America, ed. Richard Johnston (The Avondale Press, 1986), 46. 138 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 5. 139 Ibid., 11. 30

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

the people. The second chapter in his book National Music is titled ‘Some tentative ideas on origins of music’, where he argues:

Music is only made when actual musical sounds are produced, and here I would emphasize very strongly that the black dots which we see printed on a piece of paper are not music; they are simply a rather clumsy device invented by composers... A sheet of printed music is like a map... But the printed notes are no more music than the map is the country which it represents... We may imagine that in primitive times... there was no differentiation between the performer and the composer. But gradually specialization must have set in.140 He then goes onto argue that the process of composers writing music is as follows:

The composer’s vision ------> represented on the page by circles, lines and dashes

And then the performer’s task is the opposite:

Circles, lines and dashes on the page are interpreted ------> something similar (though not exactly the same) to the composer’s vision is formed.141

He suggests later in the page the folksinger is such a person where the above processes are one and whole.142 This point is further made important when Vaughan Williams goes on to say later, “Song, then, I believe, is nothing less than speech charged with emotion.”.143 In terms of discussing the purpose and reason of the existence of folksong, he mentions:

...in primitive times before there were newspapers to tell us the news, history books to teach us the past, and novels to excite our imagination, all these things had to be done by the ballad singer...144 Vaughan Williams’s argument points out how singing (and — inherently, folksong) is a great expression of emotion of the individual, and also bears great roots in language of the country. It does not matter these folksingers cannot read or write music, as this provides a greater organicity between the original vision, emotion and the performance. In direct comparison: with a ‘classically trained’ musician, there is a separation between the composer’s original vision of the music, and the end- performance. Though the above argument concerns the individual folksinger, the following quote considers how folksong is a broader reflection of the hearts and minds of the broader community:

Can we not truly say of these [folksongs] as Gilbert Murray says of that great national literature[...], ‘They have behind them not the imagination of one great poet, but the accumulated emotion, one may almost say, of the many successive generations who have read and learned and themselves afresh re-

140 Ralph Vaughan Williams, National Music and Other Essays (Oxford University Press, 1972), 13. 141 Ibid., 14. 142 Ibid.. 143 Ibid., 17. 144 Ibid., 21. 31

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

created the old majesty and loveliness... There is in them, as it were, the spiritual life-blood of a people.145 And so, the value of preserving and utilising folksongs is abundantly clear; they are a crucial part of people’s and a nation’s identity (and almost a direct quotation of Herder’s arguments).

Sibelius argues that, “Often enough a whole people has surely been part of this reworking [of folksong]. This must therefore be the reason why these folk melodies often express, in such an oddly touching way, the basic traits of a people’s character and emotional life.”.146 Though Sibelius’s own words are fewer and understated in comparison to those of Vaughan Williams and Kodály’s, it is worth considering the context of Finnish cultural history and the work that Sibelius did. Sibelius respected Finnish folklore and culture to the extent that he learnt the Finnish language (though it was not his birth-tongue).147 He immersed himself fully into the Kalevala, with a visit to Porvoo to hear Larin Paraske sing her Karelian songs.148 It is abundantly clear how Sibelius’s music, through the assimilation of the Kalevala, awoke Finnish music, as is agreed by many biographers and scholars.149 As Finnish life was saturated with the Kalevala at this time, it may have simply been that Sibelius felt it was superfluous to further promulgate these ideas?

The above arguments put forward by Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály highlight different angles on folksong – but all three argue that folksong innately contains content of great cultural value and purpose for the people. The work done in collecting and disseminating these cultural gems is justified, as was argued by Herder.

How folksong should be assimilated into high-art music - in order to speak the hearts and minds of the people

The topic of ‘nationalism’ — and the difficulty of defining it in broader social and political terms — is discussed by many scholars.150 It is said, “…[nationalism can be] defined not by dynasties or by territorial boundaries but by some negotiation of the relationship between the political status of communities and the basis of their self-description, whether linguistic, ethnic (genetic/biological), religious, cultural or historical”.151 As the following discussion will reveal, all three composers’ arguments on creating a ‘national’ musical language are entirely to do with linguistic, religious,

145 Ibid., 23. 146 Sibelius, “Some Viewpoints“, 318. 147 Wilson, “Sibelius“, 135. 148 Ibid., 138. 149 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism”, 130. 150 Frogley, “Constructing Englishness in music", 22. 151 Richard Taruskin, “Nationalism" in Grove Music Online accessed 25 April 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 32

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

cultural and historical factors of their respective countries — and folksong has the answers to achieving all of these. This view is also consistent with Herder’s, and Dahlhaus’s, who says “The clearest expression of musical nationalism was folklorism.”.152 As before, Sibelius’s own words are fewer than that of Vaughan Williams and Kodály, though he explicitly proclaims “the enormous influence of folk music upon the art of music.” in his essay.153 What speaks on behalf of Sibelius — again — is his music and actions, as described by subsequent scholars.

Sibelius says:

One speaks of a personal style and a national style in music. The personal style would then be […] the stamp a composer puts on his work; and the national style would consist of the stamp a people puts on its composers. The important role folk music plays in this latter case teaches us a striking lesson in music history. We thus see what a wide personality-molding influence folk music exerts.154 Sibelius argues how folksong indeed helps to allow high-art music to bear the stamp of the common people; these ideas are remarkably similar to Kodály's words:

We have known Hungarian music, or music that can be termed Hungarian in its style, for barely a hundred or 150 years; and so far it has been impossible to form a homogeneous picture of the Hungarian character from the history of the nation. It has, therefore, hardly been possible to reveal the connection between the Hungarian character and Hungarian music... “what is Hungarian in music”, and this is folk music, in its most ancient layers.155 But also goes onto say:

Hungarian folk music has a rhythm that is sharp, definite and varied... If Hungarian composed music is really inspired by the spirit of folk music, and wishes to continue the traditions, it must contain all these qualities.156 The implication here is that it is important for the composer to digest all nature of Hungarian elements — the folksong, the culture — and allow this broader ‘spirit’ to come through into the music. In reflection of all of this and Kodály acting on all of his own words, “Bartók characterised Kodály’s compositions as the purest and most profound expressions of the Hungarian soul.”.157

Austro-Germany had a rich heritage of high-art composers over the preceding 200 years – some scholars discussing in detail, “…this ‘discovery of the folk’ was a recycling of an ancient idea”, further saying composers in German-speaking territories were doing this already in the eighteenth

152 Carl Dahlhaus, Between Romanticism and Modernism, (University of California Press, 1989), 92 and Frogley, “National Character and the reception of V. Williams”, 5. 153 Wilson, “Sibelius”, 319. 154 Ibid., 321. 155 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 28. 156 Ibid., 32. 157 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 13.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

century.158 Perhaps this is a reference to Herder? Furthermore, Dahlhaus says the classical style of German-speaking countries in the eighteenth century “represented the simplicity of folk music, renewed and transformed.”.159 Hungary was musically subordinate to this; and it is worth remembering that German (but not Hungarian) was the official language in Hungary until 1871. The need to create music and a musical language — at this critical point in time in history, the turn of the twentieth century — was impassioned in Kodály and that of his contemporaries, Kodály himself saying “The fact that this task could not be fulfilled before the nineteenth century has its own explanation.”.160

Vaughan Williams also sheds a different angle, but argues exactly the same point about how important it is to tap into this great resource of folksongs to become part of a country’s history and culture — and let this spirit and emotion come through in one’s own composition. He refers to Bach as an example:

The nationalism of Bach was on the other hand unself-conscious and consisted not in a fear of the foreigner, but of a deep love for the spiritual values of Teutonism, as exemplified in the Lutheran religion and the great choral melodies which were one of the outward and visible signs of that spirit... Music in Bach’s time and in Bach’s community, was looked on not as an international art but as a local craft. The citizens of the small German towns where Bach practised his art would no more have thought of importing a foreign Cantor than of importing a foreign Town Clerk.161 Though Bach composed for his local Church services, for the local people, these very works of music have now become considered to be great works of high-art. This above example summarises Vaughan Williams’s argument about when one writes ‘high-art’ music — it primarily should be for the common person, and the country’s folksong is the best way of achieving this common language. This view is also shared by Ittzés, who says “Hungarian folksongs meant something similar in [Kodály’s] music as the Lutheran chorales in Bach’s oeuvre”.162 Vaughan Williams says:

Is not folk-song the bond of union where all our musical tastes can meet? We are too apt to divide our music into popular and classical, the highbrow and the lowbrow. One day perhaps we shall find an ideal music which will be neither popular nor classical, highbrow or lowbrow, but an art in which all can take part.163 He also goes onto say:

158 Taruskin, “Nationalism”. 159 Dahlhaus, “Between Romanticism and Modernism”, 82. 160 Zoltán Kodály, “Folk music and art music in Hungary”, Tempo, no. 63 (Winter 1962-3): 29. 161 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 54. 162 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 9. 163 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 39. 34

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

‘Integration’ and ‘love’. These are the two key words. The composer must love the tunes of his own country and they must become an integral part of himself.164 And so clearly, Vaughan Williams argues that the solution to allowing high-art music speak the hearts and minds of the people, and belong to the land, is by utilising folksong. A consistent point is argued from Sibelius and Kodály – and also is consistent with Herder’s arguments.

It is worth noting that Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály firmly make the point that just a simple approach of quoting a few folksongs from anthologies in their compositions is not sufficient. Sibelius says, “Folk tunes as such do not have any direct importance for art music. Their great significance lies in their educational qualities. A composer immersed in his home country’s folk music must naturally get a different view of things... Therein lies to a large extent his originality”.165 He concludes by saying “all these so-called interesting turns, modulations etc. Are only of passing value except when their seed is found within the folk music.”.166 Vaughan Williams says, “Beethoven did not become a Russian because he introduced two Russian folk-songs... Nevertheless I do hold that any school of national music must be fashioned on the basis of the raw material of its own national song.”.167 Kodály says, “It is sure that the putting together of folk motifs will not produce a higher organic form. For this can only be brought about by individual talent, possessing greater concepts and special creative power.”.168 Wilson describes Sibelius’s visit in 1891 to Karelia to listen first-hand to the folksingers, and Sibelius made notes on their inflections and rhythm.169 Indeed, Wilson further comments that Sibelius went back to Karelia “on numerous occasions... in search of themes and narrative cores that he would then develop according to his own lights.”.170 It transpires that for any composer to truly speak the hearts and minds of the people, it is crucial that this folksong and folklore becomes part of their intrinsic motivation.

All three composers refer to Russia as a model of how folksong was successfully integrated into their high-art music over the past few centuries. Kodály says, “The Russian composers came closer to their people because they lived among them, they spoke their language. For their own melodies they discovered original forms of polyphony preserving and emphasising the characteristics of the melody. Their own works thus retained the atmosphere of folk music even though they raised it to a higher power, so to speak.”.171 Vaughan Williams makes a brief comment, “The debt of the

164 Ibid., 27. 165 Wilson, “Sibelius”, 324. 166 Ibid., 324. 167 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 41. 168 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 31. 169 Ibid., 125. 170 Ibid., 140. 171 Ibid., 35. 35

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Russian nationalist school of composers to their own folk-song I need hardly dwell on, it meets us at every turn.”.172 Sibelius comments, “Only one who has fully immersed himself in the folk tune can instinctively hit upon the right thing. An odd example is Glinka. Permeated with his homeland’s folk music, he instinctively found its correct basic harmonies”.173 Despite Finland’s anti-Russian sentiments of the time, it is interesting that Sibelius uses this as an example.

Vaughan Williams and Kodály argue that in order to become internationally recognised, it is important (paradoxically) to look inwards; Kodály saying, “…to become international we first have to belong to one distinct people and speak its language properly - not gibberish… Nothing is better for that than our folksongs.”.174 Vaughan Williams said, “...we may be quite sure that the composer who tries to be cosmopolitan from the outset will fail, not only with the world at large, but with his own people as well. Was anyone ever more local, or even parochial, than Shakespeare? Even when he follows the fashion and gives his characters Italian names they betray their origin at once by their language and their sentiments.”.175 These sentiments are also preached by Dahlhaus and Bartók.176 Sibelius (with his smaller essay) again implied this same argument; but what is more revealing is Lyle’s comment, that “Sibelius was the first Finnish composer to achieve an international reputation”.177 A lot of Sibelius’s music was based on the Kalevala, and it is commented also that both Sibelius’s work and the Kalevala itself were cultural gems that made Finland better recognised abroad.178 Indeed, the sincere expression of English culture and Hungarian culture would make these countries better respected abroad as well, a point argued by Herder.179

As these were the years leading up to World War I, patriotic feeling was in the air throughout Europe; in musical terms, both England and Hungary had been greatly influenced by German composers in the preceding centuries, and Finland had virtually very little music to talk of. Both Kodály and Vaughan Williams say that they can and should achieve greater cultural independence by using folksong. Kodály goes on to say, “To anyone who can rid himself of his bias towards western (chiefly German) music, it offers the greatest artistic delight [for Hungary].”.180 Vaughan Williams says:

…what does this revival [of folksong] mean to the composer? It means that several of us found here in its simplest form the musical idiom which we unconsciously were cultivating in ourselves, it gave a point to our imagination;

172 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 49. 173 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Karelianism”, 322. 174 Kodály, “Folk Song in Pedagogy”, 62. 175 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 2. 176 Dahlhaus, “Between Romanticism and Modernism”, 91 and Béla Bartók, “Béla Bartók essays” ed. Benjamin Suchoff, (Faber Music Limited, 1976), 25. 177 Watson Lyle, “The “Nationalism” of Sibelius”, in The Musical Quarterly, 13 no. 4, (1927): 617. 178 Wilson, “Sibelius“, 137. 179 Johann Gottfried von Herder ed. Philip Bohlman, Song Loves the Masses (University of California Press 2017), 172. 180 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 5. 36

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

far from fettering us, it freed us from foreign influences which weighed on us, which we could not get rid of, but which we felt were not pointing in the direction in which we really wanted to go. The knowledge of our folk-songs did not so much discover for us something new, but uncovered for us something which had been hidden by foreign matter.’.181 It is important to note this is not preaching chauvinism or hatred towards foreign culture — simply that their country’s culture would need not be subordinated any longer — as articulated by Mihály Ittzés, who also refers to the complexity of the issue with Dahlhaus’s study Nationalism and Music:182

If someone deals with Kodály’s musical works and writings he can very soon recognise that the national feeling and spirit in his attitude had never been against other people or nations, but for his own nation. Therefore it is better to call him a patriot than a nationalist, or even less a chauvinist.183 Similar thoughts are also argued by Percy Young, which Ittzés refers to, in his book Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian Composer.184

Broadly, it is worth noting how considerably less substantial Sibelius’s words are on this matter, in comparison to Vaughan Williams and Kodály (who both published extensive essays). This is where secondary sources on Sibelius help to paint a better picture.

Sibelius was born in 1865 at a time of rapid cultural growth of Finland; an increasing number of households and schools spoke Finnish as their main language. Sibelius’s wife’s family were pro- Finland, and did much work towards this cause.185 Additionally, Sibelius’s first composition teacher at the Helsinki Academy, Wegelius, had a dream that Finnish national music would emerge from the soil of Nordic mythology (but, interestingly, under a Wagnerian flag).186 The first person to act on the idea of joining Finnish mythology to Finnish symphonic music was not a composer, but a conductor – Robert Kajanus.187 It seems that these philosophical ideas of Kajanus were an influence from Wagner — and undoubtedly all influenced the (then) young Sibelius.188

Sibelius acted on these notions of using Finnish folklore as an inspiration for his high-art compositions, however not with the same fervour as Vaughan Williams or Kodály; the last work to be based explicitly on the Kalevala is his Luonnotar from 1926.189

181 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 41. 182 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 3. 183 Ibid., 260. 184 Percy Young, Zoltán Kodály A Hungarian Musician, (Ernest Benn Limited, 1964), 41. 185 Glenda Dawn Goss, The Sibelius Companion, (Greenwood Press, 1996), 37. 186 Eero Tarasti, “Sibelius and Wagner” in The Sibelius Companion ed. Glenda Dawn Goss, (Greenwood Press 1996), 63. 187 Ibid., 63. 188 Ibid.. 189 James Hepokoski, “The Essence of Sibelius: Creation Myths and Rotational Cycles in Luonnotar” in The Sibelius Companion ed. Glenda Dawn Goss, (Greenwood Press 1996), 122. 37

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

One of Sibelius’s earliest works to be based directly on the Kalevala is his first choral symphony, Kullervo. Not only was this a symphony, but it was also claimed to be a conscience of the Finnish people.190 The creation of a symphony itself was a major feat for Finland, as Finland had not produced symphonies at all with exception of a long-forgotten symphony composed in 1847 by Ingelius.191 Goss discuses how the Kullervo symphony enabled the Finnish language to acquire an idiomatic choral style for the first time in history.192 It is commented how, “A central trait in Finnish nationalist historiography was the conviction that Sibelius’s originality did not only depend on his great talent, but was also the result of a centuries-long evolution... innate musical characteristic”.193 Matti Huttunen also continues to discuss Herderian values of how “national character was needed in order to achieve international status”, which is very similar to ideas expressed by Vaughan Williams and Kodály.194

All three composers belonged to overlapping, but distinct, generations — the unity between their diverse interests was folksong. Sibelius, the eldest, had a flourishing career early in his life. He retires in 1929, aged 64, and only has a very modest output of work thereon until his death. In the same year, 1929, Kodály laid the foundation of arguably the most important work of his life, of the reform of the Hungarian music education system – on which he would work earnestly until his death. Vaughan Williams was also prolific with his composing until his death. The genres and medium that the composers worked with were also distinct – but again, are unified by the osmosis of folksong elements. Sibelius and Vaughan Williams took the symphonic orchestral form very seriously, and this was their most substantial outlet of their work. Kodály did not write a single symphony, but nonetheless composed very serious orchestral works, such as the Peacock variations and Psalmus Hungaricus. Vaughan Williams and Kodály wrote operas; Sibelius did not.

In summary of this sub-chapter on folksong, it is abundantly clear how similar (if not, identical) that Sibelius, Vaughan Williams’s and Kodály’s arguments were to those of Herder.

Music education and music in the community – tangible differences in their attitude towards music education, and music in the broader community

The previous sub-chapter explored folksong – its value and purpose – and unveiled remarkable similarities between Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, Kodály and Herder’s thinking, to the

190 Glenda Dawn Goss, “A Backdrop for Young Sibelius: The Intellectual Genesis of the Kullervo Symphony” in nineteenth Century Music, vol. 27 no. 1, (2003): 69. 191 Ibid.. 192 Glenda Dawn Goss, “Jean Sibelius’s Choral Symphony Kullervo” in The Choral Journal, Vol. 47, no. 8, (2007): 17. 193 Matti Huttunen, “The national composer and the idea of Finnishness: Sibelius and the formation of Finnish musical style” in The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius, (Cambridge University Press, 2004) 7. 194 Ibid.. 38

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

extent they could have been the same person. When considering their attitude towards music education and music in the community, there are great differences in their philosophies, attitudes and actions. And indeed, there are correspondingly stark differences in how nationalism through music developed as a consequence of their work. We can truly see the different personalities of each composer come through; it could be argued that Kodály was a true free thinker and “Great Man” who went beyond what Herder promulgated, and indeed the work that either Sibelius or Vaughan Williams had done. The sub-topics will be considered of children’s school education, and also music in the broader community. This is with both religious and secular music.

School education

Kodály is perhaps most famous today for his ideas on children’s school music education - this being the means of creating a concert-going audience. He wrote his “100 years plan” in 1947 - which outlines aims and intentions to be achieved by the year 2047:

“The aim: Hungarian musical culture. The means: i. Making the reading and writing of music general, through the schools. ii. At the same time the awakening of a Hungarian musical approach in the training of both artist and audience. iii. The raising of Hungarian public taste in music and a continual progress towards what is better and more Hungarian. iv. To make the masterpieces of world literature public property, to convey them to people of every kind and rank.

The total of all these will yield the Hungarian musical culture which is glimmering before us in the distant future.”195 Much of the rest of the chapter in his book, and his other lectures are invested in the means and methods of achieving the above aims — the emphasis being on children’s musical education. Though he does not mention the word ‘folksong’, he undoubtedly means it when he says “what is better and more Hungarian”. It is said that many of Kodály’s ideas and philosophies were spread by his numerous colleagues and students during his life; one such colleague was Jenö Ádám, with whom he compiled a series of school textbooks. These textbooks incorporated Hungarian folksong, while teaching important musical skills. Thus, the foundations of the integration of Hungarian folksong into the school curriculum were laid out. Perhaps Kodály can be considered as the expert on folkmusic, and Jenö Ádám the educational expert.196 With their expertise combined, they created this material for

195 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 160. 196 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 272.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

their country. This is where Kodály incorporated Curwen’s tonic solfa and renamed it relative solmisation.

Kodály’s philosophy is that singing is the most important foundation of any musical education — and that instrumental playing should only commence after a child has been singing for a year.197 As such, in 1950, he and his colleague, Márta Nemesszeghy, started a singing-music primary school in Kecskemét (his birth-town) — today there are just under 100 such schools across Hungary.198 A comprehensive chronology of events of Kodály's involvement in education, with the development of his ideas and school textbooks is given by Ittzés in his sub-chapter The development of Kodály’s music educational concept in his book Kodály in Retrospect, pp. 33-38.199 There is a sense of a progression of thought and educational resources, both on the part of Kodály and his collaborators in this chronology through his life. Furthermore, there is a detailed survey of all 21 of Kodály’s teaching books (and their folk-sources) on pp. 63-67 of the same book.200

It would be unfair to suggest Vaughan Williams was disinterested in children’s education, but there have not been any obvious sources (either in his own writing, or others) where he takes active interest. Vaughan Williams’s lack of interaction with children may be indicated by James McCray’s comment, “[Vaughan Williams in 1951] felt he did not know enough about the ability levels of youth choirs. He sent for musical examples of works that a youth choir could and could not sing to help him understand the parameters of their abilities.”.201 Vaughan Williams says in National Music the normalisation of high-art music would come through communal activities — community choirs, community orchestras and festivals. He argued that through these facets the people would engage in music-making, much in the same way that people would play football in the park for fun.202

Possible reasons for Vaughan Williams being distant from children’s education come arise when considering the broader context — there were others who were more deeply involved, and knowledgeable in the field. Cecil Sharp argues in his 1907 book, “when every English child is, as a matter of course, made acquainted with the folksongs of his own country, he will speak in the national idiom”.203 Sharp continues to explain how and why folksong should be taught in schools:

The ideal school song should satisfy two conditions. It should, of course, be music of the highest and purest quality. But this is not enough. It must also be attractive to children and be easily assimilated by them[…] These considerations point to the folksong as the ideal musical food for very young children. Folk-songs most certainly

197 Kodály, “Selected Writings”, 45. 198 Ibid., 232. 199 Ibid., 33-38. 200 Ibid., 63-67. 201 James McCray, “Collaboration: Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams”, The Choral Journal, no. 7, (February 1993): 9. 202 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 4. 203 Sharp, “English Folksong”, 154.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

belong to the category of good music; they are natural, pure and simple. They are, more-over, attractive to children, easily comprehended, and easily learned by them. The songs must, of course, be chosen with discrimination; the compass of the tunes must be within the range of young voices, and the words adapted to the understanding of immature minds. Above all, they must be of the same nationality as that of the children; English folk-songs for English children, not German, French, or even Scottish or Irish. Historically, as we have seen, folk-music came first and provided the foundations upon which the superstructure of art-music was subsequently reared. For this reason alone, folk-music is clearly the best and the most natural basis upon which to found a musical education. If the songs are carefully graded, beginning with traditional nursery rhymes and advancing by slow degrees to the more difficult folk-songs, no other musical pabulum will be needed until the child has reached the age of ten or eleven years. By that time folk-music will have served its purpose, and the child will be prepared to make a wider excursion into the realms of art-music.204 Cecil Sharp’s words above are remarkably similar to what Kodály promulgated (but were said over 20 years previously) — especially noting folksong is considered the educational gateway to higher-art music. In analogy of this, Ittzés describes Kodály’s Children’s Dances as “a nice example for art and folk music, national musical style and individual invention, pedagogical aim and artistic realization on a high level.”.205 Sharp goes onto say how this teaching of folksong in schools will help “strengthen national character, identity, feeling of patriotism and musical taste”.206 Obviously this ties in with previous discussions of how Vaughan Williams and Kodály argued that folksong contributes to a greater sense of national identity in higher-art music. Sharp discusses practical means of achieving this higher status of folksong in education, by suggesting writing to Whitehall and the Board of Education — and that these authorities should recognise folksong is deserving of its own special subject slot in schools.207 Vaughan Williams leaning on Sharp in educational matters is indicated by a comment Ursula Vaughan Williams made:

[Vaughan Williams] considered it of the first importance for the musical well-being of the country that this inheritance of song and dance should become a part of every child’s life: it may have been due to his influence that, when Adeline’s eldest brother, the historian H. Fisher, became President of the Board of Education from 1916-22, he decided to emphasise the musical side of teaching, and called up on Cecil Sharp for practical advice in bringing this about.208 Perhaps Vaughan Williams felt as Sharp was promulgating these words above – and English musical education seemed to be in good hands with the work John Curwen and Sarah Glover had done – there was not as a great a need for him personally to become involved, and could follow his passion for composing? Sharp himself was previously a school teacher at Ludgrove Preparatory School, for

204 Ibid., 134. 205 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 89. 206 Sharp, “English Folksong”, 135. 207 Ibid., 139. 208 U. Vaughan Williams, “Biography”, 151.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

which he edited a collection of national songs.209 In addition to this, Vaughan Williams’s closest friend, Gustav Holst, taught at St. Paul’s school, having previously been a professional trombonist and composer. Despite Vaughan Williams’s distance from children’s education, he himself held the position of composition faculty at the Royal College of Music from 1919, and taught composition to many adult students.

Sibelius is a stark contrast from Vaughan Williams and especially with Kodály, when it comes to his attitude towards music education and the role of music in the community. Tomi Mäkelä comments how, “he had neither the ambition nor the ability to teach regularly... He reportedly said to Törne..., ‘I don’t know whether I am a good teacher or not; I think the better the composer, the worse the teacher’”.210 Mäkelä goes onto discuss how Sibelius turned down every formal teaching position that was offered to him, including prestigious positions at the Vienna conservatory and the Eastman School of Music. Indeed, Mäkelä also discusses in a separate article how Sibelius’s letters express a lifelong antipathy toward musical analysis and scholarship in relation to the arts.211 Clearly, Sibelius would have been a misfit in any academic or educational setting.212 As a composer, Sibelius never sought to create a formal school of composition, nor did Sibelius leave any writings of the kind that attempted to construct a formal compositional method or technique.213 His 1896 lecture on folksong seems to be the only exception to this.214 It seemed that Sibelius was only interested in composing; and this is all consistent with his enigmatic personality.

Music in the community

It is interesting to note both Kodály and Vaughan Williams considered their respective country’s Church music to be an appropriate avenue for the dissemination of folksong into society; Sibelius, however, does not say much about Church music.215 Kodály argued how Church music (both hymns of the past 500 years, and older Gregorian chant) and folksongs are “inextricably interwoven”, which he discusses in his chapter ‘The Traces of Art-Music’ in his book Folk Music of Hungary, with various examples.216 He was asked to check through the Hungarian hymnbook Szent vagy, Uram! after it was edited by Harmat Artur in 1931; Vaughan Williams also argued there correspondingly is a

209 Frank Howes, “Cecil Sharp”, Grove Music Online accessed 25th April 2017 http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 210 Tomi Mäkelä, Jean Sibelius, (The Boydell Press, 2011), 70. 211 Tomi Mäkelä, “The Wings of a Butterfly: Sibelius and the Problems of Musical Modernity” in Jean Sibelius and his World ed. Daniel Grimley, (Princeton University Press, 2011), 91. 212 Sibelius, “Some Viewpoints Concerning Folk Music”, 315. 213 Ibid.. 214 Ibid., 316. 215 Zoltán Kodály, Folk Music of Hungary, (Corvina Kiadó, Budapest, 1982), 101 and Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 100. 216 Ibid.. 42

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

connection between folksong and hymn tunes, as indicated by the title of his essay ‘The Influence of Folk-song on the Music of the Church’. In this essay, he is adamant that folksong is what influenced Church hymn tunes (such as the Old Hundredth Tune) — and not the other way round.217 This he also put into action himself with his own editorship of the English Hymnal.

Vaughan Williams was approached in 1904 to edit the English Hymn book, which he completed in 1906. To provide context, it is said:

…[Vaughan Williams’s] immediate concern was to reform the music of the Established Anglican Church, which he believed had fallen into sentimentality at the hands of Victorian composers. Folksong […] was the perfect antidote… More importantly, by reforming the music of the Anglican Church, Vaughan Williams was in effect reforming the music of the Anglican Church, itself a cultural institution and an instrument of the English state.218 As such, of the 43 English traditional tunes he adapted for the 1906 English Hymnal, 12 come from his own manuscript folksong collection.219 To quote a couple of examples, there is one famous Anglican hymn called “He who would valiant be” — which in fact is a traditional folksong called “Our captain calls all hands aboard”.220 Vaughan Williams set this melody to words by John Bunyan and included it in the English Hymnal with Vaughan Williams’s harmonisation. Another example is the melody of the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem" — which in fact is from the folksong “The Ploughboy's Dream”.221 In 1942, he wrote, “I believe that the love of one’s country, one’s language, one’s customs, one’s religion, are essential to our spiritual health”.222 Byron Adams suggests Vaughan Williams was able to accept and value the Church of England as an integral part of the lifeblood of the English community, despite his early rejection of religion.223 This indicates what Vaughan Williams thought of the Church, and its musical output — as a key part of shaping English minds, values and culture (though he was not religious himself).224

In 1905, Vaughan Williams was heavily involved in the founding of Leith Hill Musical Festival, with Lady Evangeline Farrer and Margaret Vaughan Williams (sister of Ralph Vaughan Williams). It is a competitive choral festival for amateur choirs in the Surrey area, with this agenda:

“Object: To raise the standard of music generally in towns and villages in the district, by stimulating existing societies and by encouraging new societies.

217 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 100 and 74. 218 Julian Onderdonk, “Hymn Tunes from Folk-song: Vaughan Williams and English Hymnody”, in Vaughan Williams Essays ed. Byron Adams and Robin Wells, (Routledge, 2016), 104. 219 Ibid.. 220 Tony Palmer, O Thou Transcendent, DVD, 2007. 221 Onderdonk, “Hymn Tunes from Folk-song”, 111. 222 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 154. 223 Byron Adams, “Scripture, Church and culture: biblical texts in the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams”, in Vaughan Williams Studies, ed. Alain Frogley, (Cambridge, 1996), 106. 224 Vaughan Williams, “National Music”, 155. 43

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Method: By arranging annually, after Easter i. Public competition of Local Societies at some convenient centre. ii. A concert or concerts which shall include a combined performance by the Local Societies.”225 Vaughan Williams himself was Festival Conductor from 1905-1953 — and did not miss a single rehearsal, indicating his great passion and dedication for such festivals. It is still a very strong festival today, with over 2000 participants every year.226

On a side point, it is interesting to note Ursula’s comment:

The [Folksong and Dance] Society needed every teacher and lecturer available to meet the urgent demand for classes and information to extend the curricular of training colleges and schools and to meet the need people felt for this kind of music… New arrangements were called for, piano accompaniments or choral settings; and because he knew and loved the music Ralph was adept at providing them. Folk music weaves in and out of his work all through his life… One such work, the suite English Folk Songs, was written for the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall.227 This English Folk Song suite is today in the core repertoire of local youth bands, orchestras and school ensembles. This may serve to reflect Vaughan Williams’s activity; he was more interested in dealing with actual music making (both the composition of material, and the rehearsing of the material), rather than classroom teaching.

Kodály’s ideas on the role of the choir in the community tie in with his aforementioned educational work, encouraging more singing to be done in schools — Kodály saying the culmination of this folksong pedagogy in schools will culminate with choral singing in their tenth year of schooling, where they would be immersed in high-art music.228 Furthermore, the chorus (generally speaking — not just in schools) was the vehicle in which every member of society would come into contact into folksong, normalising both folk and high-art music in society — and bring the people of the country together. Ittzés discusses how Kodály’s students and colleagues were the ones to go across Hungary, working with amateur and youth choirs with Kodály’s philosophies in mind in his sub-chapter The Choral Movement.229 Aside from school textbooks, Kodály wrote various choruses and orchestral music, quoting folksong (or inspired by folksong), specifically for communal music societies — catering for a variety of levels.

Again, there is very little information of Sibelius being interested in any such festivals or communal events, either in Finland or abroad.

225 U. Vaughan Williams, “Biography”, 73. 226 Leith Hill Musical Festival website, “Leith Hill Musical Festival” http://www.lhmf.org.uk. 227 U. Vaughan Williams, “Biography”, 151. 228 Kodály, “The Responsibilities and Opportunities of the Musician-Educator, an Interview”, 69. 229 Ittzés, “Kodály in Retrospect”, 272.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

In summary, Kodály’s work in education shows the greatest vision and the most independence of thinking. It was a big departure from what Sibelius and Vaughan Williams had done, and a true blossoming from the pedagogical practices that Kodály had observed in Cambridge in 1927. The reform of music education in Hungary with folksong is consistent Herder’s paradigm, however the influence that Kodály’s work had, and his ability to adapt these pedagogical ideas to the changing society of Hungary in the twentieth century, certainly displayed original thinking and intellect consistent of a “Great Man”.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CHAPTER V

THE COMPOSERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS AUSTRO-GERMAN CULTURE AND WAGNERIAN ROMANTICISM

This chapter will discuss the composers’ attitudes towards Austro-German culture and Wagnerian Romanticism. Austro-German culture had been highly fruitful through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with far-reaching influences across Europe. This is definitely a force and benchmark of the nineteenth century that Finland, England and Hungary were all influenced by; and also reacted against.230 A further discussion of how Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály reacted to Austro-German culture can also enable us to better understand possible influences and unspoken Herderian links that may have inspired these three composers to turn to folklore as a solution to their cultural vision.

All three composers had differing reactions to Wagner and Austro-Germanic dominance. They all consistently sought to have greater independence of their own country’s musical language; paradoxically however, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams were also great admirers of Wagner’s artistry. Kodály felt adversely towards Austro-Germanic culture. All three composers have one similarity, which is that they were approached and lauded by the Nazi regime in the 1930s: the composers’ nationalist tendencies resonated with Nazi values.231 This relationship was one-directional, and the composers did not reciprocate the same feelings to the Nazis. It is also of interest to note that Herder was morally a good person, and condemned racial intolerance of all description; but scholars note that his folklore-centred ideas on nationalism may have acted as a catalyst both for the rise of fascism in Europe and racial prejudices.232

The key component of Herder’s arguments was the use of folksong and folkpoetry in any nationalist endeavour. In the case of Wagner, this happened only in a more abstract sense, of incorporating general stories of folklore – and yet, Wagner is a crucially important figure that all three composers both take influence from, and also react against. The devotion of Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály to nationalism and folksong did not necessarily mean rejecting Austro-German traditions per se; simply, that the nationalist and folk roots of Finland, England and Hungary could be strengthened, while being in dialogue with these existing traditions. The common denominator and motivating factor in all three composers is Herder’s ideas of national sovereignty.233

230 Piero Weiss, Opera: A history in documents (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), 202. 231 Fabian Dahlström and James Hepokoski, “Sibelius” in Grove Music Online https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 232 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 103. 233 Ibid., 97. 46

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Sibelius

It could be argued that the circumstances that Sibelius was born into inclined both him and his contemporaries to hold Germany and Wagner in high esteem; indeed, Tomi Mäkelä writes a substantial chapter on the relationship between Sibelius and Germany, titled Wahrhaftigkeit beyond Allnatur.234 The relationship between Austro-Germany and Sibelius (that was rosy up until the rise of the Nazis) is well-researched.235

Indeed, the Wagnerian notion of incorporating folklore into his dramas and acting on Herderian paradigms was well lauded in Finland: given Finland’s relative infancy as a nation at the end of the Romantic period, Germany’s history as a “highly complex ‘nation’... was a model for many Finnish idealists of the nineteenth century”.236 Additionally, his composition teacher, Martin Wegelius, (also the Helsinki Music Institute’s director at the time) was an ardent Wagnerian.237 It is commented that “It was Wegelius’s dream that Finish national music would emerge from the soil of Nordic mythology, out of a Scandinavian cultural background, and under the Wagnerian flag”.238 Indeed, William Wilson describes how Herder’s arguments on music nationalism were in the air in the nineteenth century, which he considers to be the only salvation for Finland — and Germany was a model of how Herderian ideas allowed the country to culturally develop.239 Finland at this point was still under Russian rule. Wilson goes onto describe how the compilation of the Kalevala is also part- and-parcel of the Herderian doctrine that national boundaries should coincide with cultural and linguistic boundaries.240

Vienna made an enormous impression on Sibelius as a student (from October 1890-June 1891), which Sibelius described as an “intoxicating first encounter”.241 It is commented how, “no period was more crucial to the composer’s artistic development than this decade leading to the Second Symphony. In these years the young composer came face to face... Finnish nationalism, Wagnerian music drama, the Lisztian symphonic poem, and the heritage of the symphony”.242

234 Tomi Mäkelä, “Sibelius and Germany”, 175. 235 Ibid.. 236 Mäkelä, “Jean Sibelius”, 18. 237 Peter Revers, “Jean Sibelius and Vienna” in The Sibelius Companion ed. Glenda Goss, (Greenwood Press, 1996), 6. 238 Tarasti, “Sibelius and Wagner”, 63. 239 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism”, 128. 240 Ibid., 138. 241 Revers, “Jean Sibelius and Vienna”, 13. 242 Ibid.. 47

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Eero Tarasti writes a comprehensive article on Sibelius and Wagner.243 Sibelius heard both Tannhäuser and Die Meistersinger, which he described as unforgettable.244 In 1894, Sibelius visited Bayreuth, which was again a life-changing experience for him.245

The Nazis celebrated Sibelius’s work and nationalist tendencies, as reflected by the Goethe Medal that was awarded to him in 1935; but all through the 1930s and WWII, it seemed that “[Sibelius] attempted to maintain an aloof distance from political events”.246 Furthermore, “[Sibelius] did not seize the opportunity to become the great Northern star in the Third Reich which he could easily have done”.247

Vaughan Williams

Vaughan Williams’s attitude towards Austro-Germany and Wagner are similar to that of Sibelius’s. Vaughan Williams experienced first-hand Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in 1892, conducted by Mahler – Vaughan Williams later recalled that he had been “deeply shaken” by this performance.248 Shortly after his marriage to Adeline Fisher, he travelled to Berlin to study with Max Bruch at the Hochschule für Musik. He wrote a whole chapter, titled “The Words of Wagner’s Music Dramas”, and additionally wrote chapters on Bach, Schuman, Brahms, Strauss and Weber.249 This information alone would indicate the great esteem that Vaughan Williams had towards Austro- German culture and its musicians.

In the 1930s, Vaughan Williams composed two particularly turbulent works – his fourth symphony (1932), and his cantata Dona Nobis Pacem (1935). He denied that there was any programme behind his fourth symphony, or that it was influenced by political turbulence in the world at the time; however, his Dona Nobis Pacem is more tangibly anti-war, drawing on texts from Whitman and the Bible. Byron Adams comments that:

Vaughan Williams visited Germany himself to accept, after much soul-searching, the Hamburg Shakespeare Prize [in 1937]. He was repulsed by what he saw in Nazi Germany and attempted fruitlessly to give the prize money to the Quaker relief agency for refugees. A short while later, because of his outspokenness against fascism, Vaughan Williams’ own music was banned by the Nazis [in 1939]. Even before this incident in Hamburg, Vaughan Williams was assisting Jewish refugees to

243 Tarasti, “Sibelius and Wagner”, 61. 244 Ibid., 63. 245 Ibid., 64. 246 Adorno, “Adorno on Sibelius”, Jean Sibelius and his World ed. Daniel Grimley, (Princeton University Press, 2011), 332. 247 Glenda Dawn Goss, “Jean Sibelius and His American Conections”, in Cambridge Companion to Sibelius ed. Daniel Grimley, (Princeton University Press, 2011), 172. 248 U. Vaughan Williams, “A biography“, 34. 249 Vaughan William ed. Manning, “Vaughan Williams on Music”, 133. 48

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

safety, including the distinguished composer Robert Müller-Hartman and his family.250 This same episode is also commented on in detail by Ursula Vaughan Williams.251

Kodály

A simple survey of Kodály’s selected writings and his biographies reveals a very interesting lack of comment or information about his thoughts on Austro-Germany and of Wagner. This alone is very telling; and it is worth remembering that Hungary was under Austrian rule until the end of World War I. Kodály passionately acted in the interests of promoting Hungarian language and independence of culture in the years leading up to this; it is not surprising that Kodály does not indulge in detail in either in the music of Wagner, or the culture of Austria and Germany.252 There is one passing comment Kodály makes, that “Thus Wagner himself was a victim of German education” — implying a negative nuance.253

In 1933 Kodály changed publishers to Boosey & Hawkes in London, from Universal Publishers in Vienna, in reaction to the rise of the Nazis; and additionally, in 1938, Kodály and Bártók signed a public declaration against the Nazis’ policies.254

In summary

The reaction of each country to Austro-Germanic culture and Wagner is very different and interesting. It is worth remembering that through the nineteenth century, Austro-Germanic musical culture was one of the most dominant and influential forces in the arts — and this set a benchmark throughout Europe, that all other nations sought to measure themselves against.255 This is with particular regard to Wagner and “Gesamtkunstwerk” — the “all encompassing” sense of art, that set a new precedent for art forms in the nineteenth century. Sibelius and Vaughan Williams loved Wagner, whereas Kodály does not express any positive views. Paradoxically from this love of Wagner however, all three composers proclaim that they would want the music of their own country to be freed of Austro-Germanic musical dominance. As such, it is as if an “imagined community” was created in reaction to Austro-Germany — though Austro-Germanic culture certainly is not to blame

250 Byron Adams, “Concert notes RVW Symphony no. 6” accessed 7 November 2021 https://americansymphony.org/concert-notes/ralph-vaughan-williams-symphony-no-6/ 251 U. Vaughan Williams, “A biography”, 217. 252 This may point to why Kodály adopted Curwen’s tonic solfa over and above Hungoeggar’s “Der Tonika do”. Curwen was English, but Agnes Hungoeggar (1858-1927) was German. 253 Kodály ed. Bónis, “selected writings”, 202. 254 Helen Wallace, Boosey & Hawkes, The Publishing Story, (Boosey & Hawkes, 2007), 10. 255 Weiss, “Opera: A history in documents”, 202. 49

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

for the lack of musical growth in Finland, England and Hungary. In all cases, whether the composers were reacting positively or negatively to Austro-Germanic traditions, there is still a consistent Herderian value that underpins their attitudes.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

CONCLUSION

Potential influences? And Carlyle’s ‘Great Man’ theory

The similarities between all three composers and Herder on their ideas on folksong and its role in national music are startling. The author has the view that this wave of nationalism in music at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth – and indeed, Herderian values – occurred to meet the cultural desires of the people, that were hitherto unmet. It was not the only option open for composers, and it has its limitations; but, it was still a tangible and strong means of achieving greater cultural sovereignty.

Sibelius started promulgating his ideas on folklore in 1896; Vaughan Williams started his folksong expeditions in 1903, and Kodály in 1905. Sibelius and Vaughan Williams did not have much direct communication, and their first documented meeting was in 1921; Vaughan Williams and Kodály met in 1928; and so one can eliminate with reasonable doubt the possibility that they communicated and directly traded ideas prior to starting their work on folksong (in the 1900s).

Additionally, the historical processes that each country went through are also startingly Herderian. Each country had prolific folklore collectors, who championed and treasured this culture; and then this work was subsequently built upon by skilled composers, to create high-art music. The synthesis of this folklore with the high-art composition is what has placed greater value both on the respective countries, their culture and their histories — as Herder advised.

It is interesting to note the great differences in attitude in terms of education, music in the community and their reaction to Austro-Germanic culture – and this is where one observes the differences in their personalities. Sibelius was only interested in composing; Vaughan Williams was interested in composing, and passionately involved in communal music of all description. Kodály was interested in composing, and passionately involved in communal music and education of all description (particularly for children) — and so arguably, Kodály’s work had the furthest reaching influences.

Potential influence from Johann Gottfried von Herder?

There are some ideas to discuss causation, and to explain why these three musicians had such similar ideas. They were not the first people to argue about the importance of nationalism in culture; in academic terms, the first most important writer and lecturer was Herder.

There is no evidence, as the author is aware, that Sibelius directly knew of Herder’s arguments on music nationalism prior to their work on folksong. None of Sibelius’s own writings ever make a mention of Herder. However, it is worth remembering – as previously mentioned – the rise of folklore collecting in 1814, resulting in the publishing of the Kalevala in 1835 and national awakening

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

– which Wilson describes as being directly influenced by Herder.256 It is in this environment that Sibelius was born into in 1865; and as such, it is implausible to think that Sibelius would not have gleaned these ideas through osmosis.

Vaughan Williams was vaguely aware of Herder; in an article from 1902 (titled “The words of Wagner’s Music Dramas”), Vaughan Williams makes a quote of Herder’s letter to Gluck.257 There is, however, no explicit evidence anywhere that Vaughan Williams knew of Herder’s arguments on music nationalism and folklore, and makes no other mention of Herder. It is therefore difficult to discern to what extent Herder had a direct influence on Vaughan Williams.

Kodály was certainly aware of Herder and his writings; in his selected writings he mentions the work of Herder, “The idea that even the poor man can mean something in culture first appeared somewhere in the intellectual upheaval preceding the French Revolution... From the time of Rousseau and Herder attention turned in the direction of the poetry of the poor. For the time being, the only aspect of it that was emphasised was that it could have something to say, even to the cultured man... spread only gradually”.258

As mentioned previously, Herder’s ideas blossomed posthumously – particularly at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth – a lot more than they did during his lifetime, particularly with political thinking. This is, of course, not to neglect other composers such as Glinka and Wagner who had similar unifying effects through their music.

The ‘Great Man’ theory

John Arnold discusses in his book “A short introduction to history” how historians search for a theory of causation – and that two competing models presented themselves: chance and Great Men. He says, “[Chance] played philosophical games with the idea that no great event is planned or intended […]. For those who followed the ‘Great Men’ theory, events occurred because remarkable individuals made them happen.”.259 Arnold is also very astute in discussing the limitations of the ‘Great Man’ theory, “At what point, for example, does ‘Greatness’ wear off, and simple ‘competence’ begin to apply? Do ‘Competent Men’ play no role in history?”.260

256 Wilson, “Folklore and Nationalism in Modern Finland”, 3. 257 Vaughan Williams ed. Manning, “Vaughan Williams on Music”, 138. 258 Kodály ed. Bónis, “Selected Writings”, 34. 259 John Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford University Press, 2000), 48. 260 Ibid., 81. 52

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

It is acknowledged that when Arnold refers to ‘chance’, he is also alluding to the fact that historical events and decisions may be driven more by the circumstances, rather than the individual who made the decision; it is sheer chance that the right people were in the right circumstance.

There are a few questions that can be asked, and a spectrum of arguments that can be put forward. To what extent are these three composers indebted to Herder for these ideas on folksong and music nationalism? Is it appropriate to consider Herder’s ideas as the “Bible”, given that there are other countries that achieved cultural sovereignty through other means than folklore? If Herder had not preached these ideas, would this band of nationalism at the end of the nineteenth century have occurred anyway? Or – was this interest in folksong and nationalism driven more by the circumstances of the nineteenth century, with the Industrial Revolution and the demise in the old village life and folklore, and to satisfy the unmet vision of cultural theorists of the time?

Related to this previous question, were these countries an ideal “nest” where Herder’s ideas could blossom? Were Herder, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály (as well as many others) truly “Great Men” (as per Carlyle’s argument), and had the necessary skills, knowledge and foresight to bring about a cultural transformation of their country? Or – were these three musicians “Competent Men”; these ideas of nationalism in music were already in the air, and it did not take a genius mind to grasp these opportunities of cultural transformation of their countries? Was Kodály the only true “Great Man”, as he brought about changes in music education that were unparalleled?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, and it is always difficult to discern this topic with objectivity; however, these questions are raised purely to bring more thought and attention into discussing causality of this nationalist movement. On one hand, it could be argued that the interest in folksong, musical nationalism and cultural transformation was driven more by the circumstances, than any individual foresight – in reflection of this, Herder’s arguments were never realised during his lifetime in music. All three composers were born into countries that had similar cultural issues and social changes (such as the industrial revolution and the demise of the old village life). Additionally, Wilson argues (in the case of Finland) that had it not been for the efforts of scholars in collecting proverbs, riddles, legends, songs and customs, “the seed of Herderian romantic nationalism would have fallen on barren soil... failed to take root”.261

It is worth making the note of the resounding differences between Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály on the topic of education. Kodály displays the greatest amount of vision, insight, and had the most profound effect of cultural transformation of any country. As discussed before, this is where the individual personalities of each composer shine out – and we observe the particular genius of Kodály, above and beyond any other musician discussed in this paper. The

261 Ibid., 4. 53

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Kodály Concept was selected in 2016 for the UNESCO register of good safeguarding practices of folk-culture – and long may this Kodály pedagogy last and continue to flourish. If there is one truly ‘Great Man’, it could be argued to be Kodály — as he went further and beyond what his contemporaries achieved.

On the other hand, it can be argued that Herder was a great visionary who sewed seeds for the humanitarian and national growth of countries outside of his own time. Even if his ideas did not directly influence Sibelius and Vaughan Williams, he was the first person ever to put forward; and his work influenced Wagner, Glinka and the Turku-Romantics. These cultural giants were an inspiration for subsequent interest in folksong and nationalism.

This dichotomy of there being a balance between individual voice and the common language in music in the music of Sibelius is discussed by Arnold Whittall.262 Additionally, Wilson discusses how “In turning to the Kalevala for inspiration, Sibelius was not simply satisfying a personal fancy but was acting in full harmony with the spirit of the times... the sentiment all Finns should be feeling”.263

This notion of a dichotomy between the biographies of “Great Men”, as opposed to the history of musical form, is not only relevant to this topic of Herderian nationalism and Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály; a similar notion can be applied to many other epochs in music history, such as Beethoven.264

This paper has touched on many areas of musical, social, historical, musical, anthropological, philosophical and ethical studies – and naturally, there is the capacity for more research in all of these angles. This has been beyond the scope of this particular study, but it would also be fascinating to consider Copland and the U.S., and Enescu and Romania; but equally, other countries such as Poland that developed cultural sovereignty through other means than folklore.265 Though it has been my argument that the stars lined up that Herderian paradigms gave answers to the people in Finland, England and Hungary immediately after the industrial revolution, there is still more that can be understood about causality if one were to study other countries. Herderian ideas may have greater universality, and offered more answers to people’s visions at the end of the nineteenth century and through the twentieth than he is currently credited for. Indeed, Herderian scholars argue that involvement in one’s country’s own folklore, as well as a study of other culture’s folklore, gives rise to a higher level of cross-cultural empathy as well as higher moral and intellectual health.266

262 Arnold Whittall, “The later symphonies”, in The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius ed. Daniel Grimley, (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 49. 263 Wilson, “Sibelius, the Kalevala and Karelianism”, 135. 264 Warren Allen, Philosophies of Music histories, (American Book Company, 1939), 90. 265 Barbara Milewski, “Chopin’s Mazurkas and the Myth of the Folk,” 19th-Century Music 23 (1999): 114. 266 Sikka, “Johann Gottfried Herder”, 102.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams, Byron and Wells, Robin, eds.. Vaughan Williams Essays. Aldershot, 2002.

Adams, Byron. “Programme notes for the American Symphony Orchestra.” Accessed 25th November 2020, https://americansymphony.org/concert-notes/ralph-vaughan-williams-symphony-no-6/. Allen, Warren. Philosophies of Music History. American Book Company, 1939.

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Verso, 1991.

Arnold, John. History: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Bárdos, Lajos. Selected Writings on Music. Editio Musica Budapest, 1984.

Bárdos, Lajos. Modális Harmóniák. Zenemūkiado Budapest, 1979.

Bartók, Bela. “The Influence of Peasant Music on Modern Music” Tempo, no. 14 (1949-50): 19-24.

Benjamin Suchoff ed.. Bela Bartók Essays. Faber Music ltd., 1976.

Three Choirs Festival webpage. “Three Choirs Festival” accessed 5th January 2017. http://www.3choirs.org/about-us/history/twentieth-century Bónis, Ferenc. Hódolat Bartóknak és Kodálynak. Püski, Budapest, 1992.

Branscombe, Peter. “Johann Gottfried Herder” Grove Music Online accessed 2nd December 2020. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Breuer, János. A Guide to Kodály. Corvina Books, Budapest, 1990.

Breuer, János. A Short History of Musical Life in Hungary. Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest, 1981.

Breuer, János. “Kodály in England: A Documentary Study (I: 1913-28)”, Tempo, no. 143 (1982): 2-9. Breuer, János. “Kodály in England: A Documentary Study (II: 1928-1945)” Tempo, no. 144 (1983): 15-20. Breuer, János. The World’s Greatest Composers, Kodály. Mágus Publishers, Budapest, 1999.

Bullock, Philip ed.. The correspondence of Jean Sibelius and Rosa Newmarch 1906-1939. The Boydell Press, 2011. Carlton, Richard. “Folksong, Chant and the English Symphonic Renaissance. A Case Study of Ethnic Musical Identity” International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, no. 24 (1993): 129-142. Cobbe, Hugh. Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Cross, Anthony. “Kodály and Folk Music” The Musical Times, no. 123 (1982): 839-841.

Dahlhaus, Carl. Between Romanticism and Modernism. University of California Press, 1989.

Day, James. Vaughan Williams. London, 1961.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Dickinson, A.. “Kodály’s Choral Music”, Tempo, no. 15 (1946): 7-10.

Dobszay, László. A History of Hungarian Music. Corvina, 1993.

Eosze, László. Kodály Zoltán, életének krónikája. Editio Musica Budapest, 2007.

Foss, Hubert. Ralph Vaughan Williams, A study. Greenwood Press, 1974.

Frogley, Alain. “English Folk Dance and Song Society” Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Frogley, Alain, ed.. Vaughan Williams Studies. Cambridge, 1996.

Goss, Glenda Dawn ed.. The Sibelius Companion. Greenwood Press, 1996.

Goss, Glenda Dawn. “Jean Sibelius’s Choral Symphony Kullervo”. The Choral Journal, Vol. 47, No. 8 (2007): 16-26. Goss, Glenda Dawn. “A Backdrop for Young Sibelius: The Intellectual Genesis of the Kullervo Symphony”. nineteenthCentury Music, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2003): 48-73. Grimley, Daniel ed.. Jean Sibelius and his World. Princeton University Press, 2011.

Grimley, Daniel ed.. The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Herder, Johann and Bohlman, Philip ed.. Song Loves the Masses, Herder on Music and Nationalism. University of California Press, 2017. Haefeli, Anton and Oehlschlägel, Reinhard. “International Society for Contemporary Music” Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Howes, Frank. “Cecil Sharp”, Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Howes, Frank. ‘Kodály in English’. Tempo, no. 63, (1962-1963): 17-21.

Howes, Frank. The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Oxford University Press, 1954.

Hutchings, Arthur. “Vaughan Williams and the Tudor Tradition” The Listener (1951): 276.

Ittzés, Mihály. Kodály in Retrospect. Kodály Institute, Kecskemét, 2002.

Ittzés, Mihály. 22 Zenei Írás. Kodály Institute, Kecskemét, 1999.

Johnston, Richard ed.. Zoltán Kodály in North America. The Avondale Press, 1986.

Karpeles, Maud and Christensen, Dieter. “International Council for Traditional Music”, Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Kecskeméti, István. Kodály, The Composer. Kodály Institute Kecskemét, 1986.

Kennedy, Michael. The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. second edition, London, 1992.

Kealiinohomoku, Joann. “Folk-dance”. Encyclopaedia Britannica accessed 28th November 2020. https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-dance/Trends-into-the-21st-century.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Kimmel, William. “Vaughan Williams’s Melodic Style”. The Musical Quarterly, no. 27 (1941): 491- 499. Kodály, Zoltán. “Folk Music and Art Music in Hungary”. Tempo, no. 63 (1962-3): 28-36.

Kodály, Zoltán ed. Bónis, Ferenc. Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály. Zrínyi Printing House, Budapest, 1974. Kodály, Zoltán and Wilson, Stewart. “Ralph Vaughan Williams, O.M.”. Journal of the International Folk Music Council, no. 11 (1959): 3-5. Layton, Robert. Sibelius and his world. The Viking Press, 1970.

Legánÿ, Dezső. “Kodály and the Three Choirs Festival”. Studio Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. no. 25 (1983): 93-100. Legánÿ, Dezső and Dénes ed.. Zoltán Kodály Letters. Kodály Archívum Budapest, 2002.

Leith Hill Musical Festival webpage. “Leith Hill Musical Festival” accessed 5th March 2017. http://www.lhmf.org.uk. Lewis, Anthony and Fortune, Nigel. “Edward Dent”. Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Mäkelä, Tomi. Jean Sibelius. The Boydell Press, 2011.

McCray, James. “Collaboration: Ursula and Ralph Vaughan Williams”. The Choral Journal, no. 33, (1993): 9-11. Mellers, Wilfrid. “Kodály and the Christian Epic”. Music & Letters, no. 22 (1941): 155-161.

Mellers, Wilfrid. The Vision of Albion. London, 1989.

Milewski, Barbara. “Chopin’s Mazurkas and the Myth of the Folk,” 19th-Century Music 23 (1999): 113-135. Milner, Anthony. “British Music. A Misunderstood Tradition? 3. The twentieth century”, The Musical Times, no. 133 (1992). Newman, Ernest. “National Frontiers in Music”. Tempo, no. 34 (1954-55): 27-29.

Onderdonk, Julian. “Vaughan Williams and the Modes”, Folk Music Journal, no. 7 (1999): 609-626.

Ottaway, Hugh. “Vaughan Williams’s Eighth Symphony”. Music and Letters, no. 38 (1957): 213-225. Palmer, Christopher. “Delius, Vaughan Williams and Debussy”, Music & Letters, no. 50 (1969): 475- 480. Palmer, Tony. O Thou Transcendent, The life of Ralph Vaughan Williams. DVD (2007).

Phillips, Peter. “Sign of contradiction: Tallis at 500”, The Musical Times, no. 146 (2005): 7-15.

Pike, Lionel. “Tallis-Vaughan Williams-Howells: Reflections on Mode Three”. Tempo, no. 140 (1984): 2-13. Powers, Harold. “Mode, §III: Modal theories and polyphonic music” Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Rainbow, Bernarr. The Land without Music - musical education in England 1800-1860 and its continental antecedents. Boethius Press, 1997. Rainbow, Bernarr. “Sarah Glover”. Grove Music Online accessed 1st February. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Saylor, Eric. “Valedictory Variazioni: form and function in the first movement of Vaughan Williams’s Symphony no. 8”. The Musical Times, no. 153 (2012): 59-72.

Schrift, Alan ed.. The History of Continental Philosophy.

Sharp, Cecil. English Folk-songs from the Southern Appalachians. Oxford University Press, 1973.

Sharp, Cecil. English Folk-song: Some Conclusions. London, 1965.

Shaw, Watkins and Phillips, John C.. “Three Choirs Festival”. Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Stevens, Halsey. “The Choral Music of Zoltán Kodály”. The Musical Quarterly, no. 54 (1968): 147- 168. Still, Barry, ed.. “Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Three Choirs Festival”. The Three Choirs Festival association (1977). Stockmann, Erich. “Zoltán Kodály and the International Folk Music Council”. Yearbook for Traditional Music (1985): 1-7. Szöllösy, András and Cushing, G. :Kodály’s Melody”, Tempo, no. 63 (1962-3): 12-16.

Taruskin, Richard. “Nationalism”. Grove Music Online accessed 1st February 2017. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com. Ujfalussy, J. “Zoltán Kodály et la nuisance du Psalmus Hungaricus”. Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, no. 3 (1962): 357-366. UNESCO Website. “Safeguarding of the folk music heritage by the Kodály Concept”. Accessed 5th April 2017. http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/BSP/safeguarding-of-the-folk-music- heritage-by-the-Kodályconcept-01177. Vaughan Williams, Ralph. National Music and other essays. Oxford University Press, 1963.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph and Manning, David ed.. Vaughan Williams on Music. Oxford University Press, 2008. Vaughan Williams, Ursula. A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Wallace, Helen. Boosey & Hawkes, The Publishing Story. Boosey & Hawkes, 2007.

Weiss, Piero. Opera: A history in Documents. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Wilson, William. The Marrow of Human Experience. University Press of Colorado, 2006.

Wilson, William. Folklore and Nationalism in Modern Finland. Indiana University Press, 1976,

Young, Percy. Zoltán Kodály. Ernest Benn Limited, London, 1964.

Young, Percy. “Kodály as Educationist”. Tempo, no. 63 (1962-1963): 37-40.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

APPENDIX

A COMPARATIVE TABLE OF LIFE EVENTS OF EACH COMPOSER

A comparative table of life events of each composer is given below. The information is a synthesis of information provided by Robert Layton in Sibelius and his World, Tomi Mäkelä in Jean Sibelius, Philip Bullock in The correspondence of Sibelius and Newmarch 1906-1939, the chronology provided by Ursula Vaughan Williams in Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams and an article by Mihály Ittzés Zoltán Kodály - A Hungarian Musician. Only relevant information is displayed here; the bold font is my own.

Sibelius Vaughan Williams Kodály

1860s 8 December 1865: Born, Hämeenlinna (into a Swedish-speaking family). 1868: Father dies during cholera epidemic. 1870s 1875: First attempt at 12 October 1872: Born, composition, Down Ampney, Vattendroppar (Drops of Gloucestershire. Water).

1876: Enrolled at a 1875: Death of his father. Finnish-speaking Family move to Dorking, Grammar school. Surrey.

1880s 1880: Begins studies of 1887-90: Charterhouse 16 December 1882: Born, violin. school. Switched from Kecskemét. violin to viola. If not for family pressure, most probably would have followed an orchestral career.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

1885: Enters the Tsar 1885-92: Lived in Galánta Alexander University of (now Slovakia). First Helsinki to study law. important musical impressions in both classical and folk music from his parents. 1886: Abandons law studies and devotes himself entirely to music. 1889: Finishes studying in Helsinki and moves to Berlin to study. 1890s 1890: Engagement to 1890-1892: Studied at the 1893: Attended the Aino Järnefelt. Continues Royal College of Music. Archiepiscopal Grammar his studies in Vienna. School in Nagyszombat. Started musical activities on violin, piano, cello and composition. 1891: Sibelius and his 1892: Entered Trinity friend Yrjö Hirn College, Cambridge, to travelled to the city of study History. Continued Porvoo to meet Larin weekly composition lessons Paraske, a singer of at Royal College of Music. Karelian folksongs. Begins work on the “Kullervo” symphony. Seeks a violin position with the Vienna Philharmonic. 1892: Triumphant 1894: BMus from Trinity success of “Kullervo”. College, Cambridge. Married Aino Järnefelt. 1893: Composes the 1895: BA in History from Karelia music. Trinity College, Cambridge. 1896: Delivery of lecture, “Some Viewpoints Concerning

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Folk Music and its Influence on the Musical Arts”. 1897: Award of an 1895-97: Further study at annual pension from the RCM: a substantial period Finnish Government. of study during which his teachers of composition were Parry, Wood and Stanford. It was here that he met Holst (1895). 1899: First symphony 1897: Studied with Bruch in completed and Berlin; married Adeline performed. Fisher. 1900s 1901: Henry Wood gives 1900: Studied composition at first performance of a Liszt Academy of Music; work by Sibelius in concurrently also at Eötvös Britain. College (subjects: Hungarian and German language and literature). 1902: Second symphony 1903: Collected first performed. folksong, Bushes and Briars. 1904: Visits England for 1904: Started work on 1905: Diploma in teaching. the first time. editing the English Hymnal. Began folksong collecting expeditions. Met Bartók. Meeting with Emma Gruber- Schlesinger and Béla Bartók - plans for common works in ethnomusicology and establishing a new Hungarian musical style. 1906: Newmarch’s book 1905-6: Norfolk 1906: PhD for his thesis ‘The on Sibelius published and Rhapsodies (his first works strophic structure of translated into German. to directly quote folksong). Hungarian folksong’. Publication of Hungarian folksongs with Bartók. Moved

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

to Berlin in December to study. 1907: Meets Mahler in 1906: Selection of songs for 1907: Studied in Berlin and Helsinki. The English Hymnal. Paris, encountered the music of Debussy. Appointed at the Academy of Music as lecturer of music theory and composition. 1908: Undergoes 1908: Sea Symphony. 1908: Began to teach operation for a tumour of Studied with Ravel in Paris. composition at the Academy the throat, and abstains of Music, Budapest. from alcohol. 1910s 1911: Visits Paris. 1910: First performance 1910: Married to Emma at Three Choirs Festival, Schlesinger. Gloucester, of Tallis Fantasia. 1912: Invited to become 1911: Co-founded the New professor at Vienna, but Hungarian Music Society, to declines. ensure the careful performances of contemporary works. 1914: Visit to America. 1914-1918: Active as a 1914-1915: Joined the WWI begins during his medic at the Western front Voluntary Guard, patrolling return journey. First during WWI. Budapest during WWI. sketches for his fifth symphony. 1915: First performance 1917-1919: Worked as music of fifth symphony. critic, publishing almost 50 Sibelius ends his reviews in the literary abstinence from alcohol. magazine Nyugat. 1918: Finnish civil war. 1919: Demobilisation. 1919: Deputy-director of the Sibelius and his family Joined the teaching staff at Academy of Music (the rector flee to Helsinki. RCM. Awarded an was Ernő Dohnányi) and honorary DMus at Oxford. member of the Music Directorate. Suspended from

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

his positions: disciplinary proceedings against him. 1920s 1920: Invited to become 1920-28: Conductor of the 1921: Returning to his head of the Eastman Bach choir. teaching position; Kodály’s school of music, which pieces appeared on the list of he turned down. UE Music Publishers in Vienna. 1920-21: The 1923: Particularly successful unaccompanied Mass in G first performance of Psalmus minor, written in response Hungaricus. Turning point in to the revival of Byrd and his career as a composer; the English polyphonic commissioned by the school at Westminster Municipality of the Capital Cathedral. City for the 50th anniversary of unification of three towns under the name of Budapest. 1921: Sibelius’s fourth and last visit to London. Here, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams meet at a party held by Rosa Newmarch. 1922: death of brother, 1922: First performance of 1926: First performance of Christian. Pastoral Symphony, Psalmus outside Hungary conducted by his friend (Zurich), marking a turning Adrian Boult. Boult later point in the international emerged as Vaughan recognition of his art. William’s foremost interpreter.

Invited to Connecticut to conduct the American premiere of the same. 1924: Seventh (and last) 1927: Kodály started his symphony completed. activity as conductor of his works First trip to England. Conducted Psalmus himself in The Netherlands, and also

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

in London and Cambridge.

At Cambridge, this is where he was overwhelmingly impressed by the standard of choral singing, and became aware of the work of Curwen and the Tonic Solfa movement. He studied Curwen’s books, and 10 years later he renames tonic solfa relative solmisation. 1927: Passage of new copyright law saves Sibelius’s finances 1928: As Vaughan Williams and Kodály took part in the Three Choirs Festival (in that year at Gloucester Cathedral), they met for the first time here. 1929: Enters into 1929: Started laying down his retirement at basic ideas on music Järvenpää education, and his article ‘Children’s Choirs’ was published. 1930s 1931: Sibelius takes his 1930: Received the Cobbett 1930: First visit to his native last trip abroad, to Berlin. Medal & the Gold Medal of town Kecskemét, beginning of He promises the Royal Philharmonic a fruitful connection with the Koussewitzky that he Society. Municipal Choir of will finish the Eighth Kecskemét. symphony for Boston. 1932: Establishment of 1932: Elected president of Sibelius Society in the English Folk Dance and Britain. Song Society.

Lectured on national music at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

1935: Extensive 1934: Holst and Elgar died. 1934: Former students of celebrations to mark Received the Collard Life Kodály (Lajos Bárdos and Sibelius’s seventieth Fellowship (in succession others) established the Singing birthday. to Elgar). Youth movement. 1937: August-September, 1937: Received the 1937: Publication of the first Henry Wood performs all Shakespeare Prize directly pedagogical collection of Sibelius’s symphonies (University of Hamburg). of pieces: Bicinia Hungarica, at the BBC Proms. volume I (which started using Curwen's solfa). 1939: Sibelius conducts 1939: Vaughan Williams’s 1938-9: Peacock Variations for the last time. music banned by the Nazis. for orchestra written. Declaration against the Nazis’ politics signed by Bartók and Kodály among other intellectuals. 1940s 1939-1943: Various film 1940: After Bartók’s compositions, lecturing, emigration to America, writing and war work. Kodály continued alone the ethnomusicological research work at Academy of Sciences.

‘Music in Kindergarten’ - a lecture/study on the importance of early childhood music education. 1943: Completes his fifth 1942: Retired but continued to symphony, that he teach a course in Hungarian dedicates to Sibelius. folk music at the Academy of Music. 1943: Awarded the cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit and elected to corresponding membership by the Academy of Sciences. 1945: First trip to America.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

Also a declaration of reforms of Hungarian music education through new pedagogical works and lectures/articles. 1947: Chairman of the first 1947: ‘Hundred-years plan’ - conference of International an article on the tasks of Folk Music Council. Hungarian music education. 1948: A set of school books compiled by Jenő Ádám in collaboration with Kodály. 1950s 1951: His wife, Adeline, 1950: An editorial group of dies at the age of 80 having the complete edition of been an invalid for many Hungarian folk music was years. organised under Kodály’s leadership. First volume of Suffered ‘bitterest Archive of Hungarian Folk disappointment of his Music published. musical life’ - inept production at Covent The first ‘musical primary garden of the morality The school’ with daily singing Pilgrim’s Progress, on lessons was opened in which he had been working Kecskemét - became a model intermittently for up to 40 for many other schools. years. 1953: Married Ursula Wood.

Left Dorking for Central London. 1954: Received the 1957: Honorary doctorate Howland Memorial Prize from University of Budapest. (Yale University).

Visited USA again, lecturing at Cornell and other universities.

Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021

20 September 1957: 1955: Received the Albert 1958: His wife, Emma, died. Dies of a cerebral Medal of the Royal Society haemorrhage in Ainola, of Arts. Järvenpää, aged 91. 26 August 1958: Died, 1959: Married Sarolta London. Péczely. 1960s 1960: Kodály was appointed President of International Folk Music Council. 1960-1966: Travelled abroad every year, lecturing in English, French and German. Honorary doctorate from Oxford University. 1964: Budapest Congress of the International Society for Music Education - the Hungarian way of music education became an internationally acclaimed system, and many music teachers were inspired by the Kodály Concept. 6 March 1967: Died, Budapest.