THE ORGAN MUSIC OF ETHEL SMYTH: A GUIDE TO ITS HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE BY SARAH M. MOON Submitted to the faculty of the School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music, Indiana University May, 2014 Accepted by the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music. __________________________________ Janette Fishell, Research Director __________________________________ Gretchen Horlacher __________________________________ Bruce Neswick __________________________________ Christopher Young ii Copyright © 2014 Sarah M. Moon iii This document is dedicated to my family. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would foremost like to thank the members of my Doctoral Committee: Professor Janette Fishell, Professor Gretchen Horlacher, Professor Bruce Neswick, and Professor Christopher Young. I truly appreciate my five years at Indiana University under their guidance and admire their inspirational models of character and excellence. I would especially like to thank Dr. Janette Fishell, my organ professor and research director, who has provided invaluable musical and academic encouragement. I am also grateful to many people and institutions in England who helped with my research: Fiona McHenry and the helpful staff at the British Library’s Music and Rare Books Reading Room; Michael Mullen and the librarians at the Royal College of Music; Peter Graham Avis, a fellow Ethel Smyth scholar; and Alex Joannides from Boosey and Hawkes for granting me permission to make a copy of “Prelude on a Traditional Irish Air” for study purposes. I am thankful for the Indiana University Graduate School’s Grant-In-Aid of Research Award that facilitated my visit to these historic institutions. I would like to thank Brent Stamey for the many hours he spent helping me proofread and format my document and musical examples, and Elizabeth Clark for always making me feel at home during my trips to Bloomington. I would also like to acknowledge my alma mater Oberlin Conservatory of Music, especially Professors David Breitman, James David Christie, Warren Darcy, Steven Plank, and Webb Wiggins, who taught me how to be clear, thorough, and persevering in my research, performance, and writing. Lastly, I would like to thank my formative music teachers, Merrie Lib Kendrick, the late Sue Sgro, and Dr. Barbara Liley Dulmage, for instilling a love of music at a young age, and my family and friends for their love and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v MUSICAL EXAMPLES .................................................................................................. vii TABLES ............................................................................................................................. ix APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Early Life and Influences ................................................................................... 3 Chapter 3: Educational Experiences in Leipzig ................................................................ 16 Chapter 4: Career as Musician, Suffragette, and Writer .................................................... 33 Chapter 5: Contextualization of Organ Works .................................................................. 43 Chapter 6: The Published Organ Works of Ethel Smyth .................................................. 52 Chapter 7: Historical Precedents to Smyth’s Chorale Preludes ........................................ 76 Chapter 8: Aspects of Performance Practice in Smyth’s Published Organ Works ........... 81 Chapter 9: Performance Guide to Smyth’s Published Organ Works .............................. 102 Chapter 10: Legacy and Conclusion ................................................................................ 132 Appendix A: Pronunciation of “Smyth” .......................................................................... 136 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 139 vi MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 1: Smyth, “Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott,” mm. 1-5 ................................... 63 Example 2: Brahms, “O Gott, du frommer Gott,” mm. 1-3.2 ........................................... 63 Example 3: Smyth, “O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid,” m. 1 with brackets indicating canonic entries ................................................................................................................................ 64 Example 4: Brahms, “O Gott, du frommer Gott,” mm. 54-56 .......................................... 65 Example 5: Smyth, “O Gott du frommer Gott (setting 1),” mm. 6-8.1, with brackets indicating suspirans figures ............................................................................................... 65 Example 6: Smyth, “Du, o schönes Weltgebäude,” mm. 1-2, accompanying voices only (manual II and pedal) ......................................................................................................... 66 Example 7: Brahms, “Herzlich tut mich verlangen,” mm. 1-2, manuals only .................. 66 Example 8: J.S. Bach, “Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ,” BWV 639, mm. 1-2, accompanying voices only (manual II and pedal) ............................................................. 67 Example 9: Brahms, “Herzliebster Jesu,” mm. 1-4, with brackets indicating occurences of the saltus duriusculus ........................................................................................................ 69 Example 10: Brahms, “O Welt, ich muss dich lassen (setting 2),” mm. 20-21, with brackets indicating occurences of the passus duriusculus ................................................ 69 Example 11: Smyth, “Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott,” mm. 24-25, accompanying voices only (manual II and pedal), with brackets indicating occurrences of the passus duriusculus ........................................................................................................................ 70 Example 12: Smyth, “Prelude on a Traditional Irish Air,” extracted melody ................... 74 Example 13: Smyth, “Du, o schönes Weltgebäude,” mm. 17-18 ...................................... 99 Example 14: Johann Crüger, “Du, o schönes Weltgebäude,” extracted melody ............. 103 Example 15: Anonymous, “O Gott du frommer Gott,” extracted melody ...................... 107 Example 16: Smyth, “O Gott du frommer Gott,” setting 1, m. 2, with suggested articulations ..................................................................................................................... 109 Example 17: Friedrich Funcke, “Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott,” melody only ....... 112 Example 18: Smyth, “Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott,” m. 38 ................................... 114 vii Example 19: Nicolaus Herman, “Erschienen ist der herrlich’ Tag,” melody only, transposed to F# Dorian to match Smyth’s setting .......................................................... 117 Example 20: Anonymous, “O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid,” melody only ......................... 120 Example 21: Smyth, Prelude on “O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid,” mm. 7–8 ...................... 122 Example 22: Smyth, Prelude on “O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid,” mm. 7–8, with suggested articulation markings ....................................................................................................... 122 Example 23: Smyth, “Prelude on a Traditional Irish Air,” extracted melody ................. 129 viii TABLES Table 1: List of Ethel Smyth’s Books with Original Publication Information .................. 40 Table 2: Musical Works Contemporary with Ethel Smyth’s Chorale Preludes ................ 46 Table 3: List of Published Musical Works by Ethel Smyth .............................................. 50 Table 4: Hill Organ, St. Cross Church, Oxford, 1876: ...................................................... 86 Table 5: Schulze Organ, Etzelsbach, 1869 ........................................................................ 88 ix APPENDIX Appendix A: Pronunciation of “Smyth” .......................................................................... 136 x Chapter 1: Introduction Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) is a vibrant figure that witnessed many historical events and characters over her eighty-five-year life span. She lived through the Boer War, the Franco-Prussian War, and served as a supplementary radiographer in World War I. Her diverse interests included music, sports, politics, literature, and avid correspondence, in addition to her family and a love of sheepdogs. She was known among her peers as possessing curious ideals and wearing masculine tweed clothing – distinct qualities, especially in Victorian England. Smyth never married and was supported in her adult life by wealthy friends and patrons. This allowed her to travel to European opera houses and concert halls in order to negotiate performances of her works. Her life stories are preserved through her countless letters, autobiographical writings, and in the memories of others. Her musical and literary legacies add to our knowledge