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Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Kodály – a post-Romantic fulfilment of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s vision and prophesy? by Theodore Vinden MA BMus (Hons) DipGRNCM A Thesis in 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 May 2021 Copyright 2021, Theodore Vinden Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021 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 iv 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. v Texas Tech University, Theodore Vinden, May 2021 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 László Eösze’s dates of when Kodály visited England 24 vi 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

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