THE CONTRAPUNTAL STYLE OF HEALEY WILLAN by WILLIAM JONATHAN MICHAEL RENWICK .Mus., The University of British Columbia, 19 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF MUSIC in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC We accept this thesis as conforming .to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA March 1982 © William Jonathan Michael Renwick, 1982 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of .Music The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date March 19, 1982 Abstract Healey Willan was a Canadian composer who succeed• ed in integrating a broad range of stylistic character• istics into a personal musical idiom. It is the object of this paper to examine various elements which make up the unique style of this composer, so as to provide a foundation for a better appreciation of the value of his work. The first chapter deals with the varied influences on the composer's development, . and outlines the dif• ferent styles which affected his work. A discussion of his pedagogical methods illustrates that his teaching bears a close relation to his compositional work. Chapter Two begins the actual study of Willan's music by examining in detail two important aspects of the music's surface structure: dissonance treatment and parallelism. Willan's treatment of dissonance usually follows the rules of traditional part writing, but he attempts to express new ideas within the established norms. Willan often uses parallelism asa way of enriching a basic contrapuntal structure, and this chapter examines a variety of textures which result from such enrichment. The following chapter deals with aspects of the music which serve as recurring "fingerprints" of the composer. The special recurring features treated here are 1) con• secutive minor chord patterns, 2) chromatically based ii episodes, 3) a characteristic pattern of initial ascent and 4) the use of a closing formula based on the Gregorian "Amen". Following this discussion of the various surface aspects of Willan's style, Chapter Four turns to a study of the composer's harmonic technique, as mani• fested on various levels of structure. An outstanding feature of Willan's harmonic style is his avoidance of the dominant function, which is often replaced with material from the subdominant side of the harmonic spectrum. Both in the surface melodic patterns and in the larger formal designs of entire pieces, this avoidance of the dominant is clearly in evidence. The final chapter of this thesis discusses Willan' use of two-part counterpoint, both as a surface organiz ational procedure, and as a basis for the design of entire pieces. The final analyses illustrate the combination of a rigourous contrapuntal structure in the form of a two-part framework, and a harmonic plan which deliberately avoids the dominant in favour of harmonies involving the subdominant. It is hoped that by examining significant aspects of Willan's style, this study will enable an assessment of the value of his work. iii William E. Benjamin Thesis Supervisor Table of Contents Abstract ii List of Examples v List of Figures xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction 1 I Willan's Musical Development 3 II Surface Structures 26 III Personal Elements 77 IV Tonal Functions 100 V Two-Part Framework 127 Conclusion 153 Appendix: Longer Musical Examples 155 Bibliography 167 Index of Works Cited 171 iv List of Examples Ex. 1.1 All Hail, All Hail, mm. 1-20. page 7 Ex. 1.2 Fugue in g minor, mm. 34-37. 18 Ex. 1.3 Fugue in g minor, mm. 33-35. 18 Ex. 1.4 Byrd, Ave Verum Corpus, mm. 33-37. 19 Ex. 1.5 Willan, Ave Verum Corpus, mm. 38-44. 20 Ex. 2.1 Behold, the Tabernacle of God, mm. 7-8. 27 Ex. 2.2 0 King of Glory, mm. 45-47. 28 Ex. 2.3 Lo, In the Time Appointed, mm. 19-20. 29 Ex. 2.4 Lo, In the Time Appointed, mm. 31-32. 29 Ex. 2.5 Fair in Face, m. 2. 30 Ex. 2.6 O King, to Whom all Things do Live, m. 8. 30 Ex. 2.7 Hodie, Christus natus est, mm. 34-36. 30 Ex. 2.8 Hodie, Christus natus est, m. 44. 31 Ex. 2.9 0 King of Glory, mm. 8-9. 31 Ex. 2.10 Preserve us, 0 Lord, m. 6. 32 Ex. 2.11 O King, to Whom all Things do Live, m. 19..32 Ex. 2.12 Fair in Face, mm. 31-32. 33 Ex. 2.13a I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, 33 mm. 3-4. Ex. 2.13b.(untitled) 34 Ex. 2.14 Behold, the Tabernacle of God, mm. 1-3. 3 5 Ex. 2.15 O King of Glory, mm. 23-24. 35 Ex. 2.16 Fair in Face, mm. 17-19. 36 Ex. 2.17 0 King of Glory, mm. 14-17. 36 Ex. 2.18 0 King, all Glorious, m. 25. 37 v Ex. 2.19 Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, page 37 mm. 3-4. Ex. 2.20 Behold, the Tabernacle of God, mm. 9-10. 38 Ex. 2.21 I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, 38 mm.11-12. Ex. 2.22 I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, 39 mm. 8-9. Ex. 2.23 Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, mm. 7-8. 41 Ex. 2.24 Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, mm. 25-26. 41 Ex. 2.25a I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, m. 31. 42 Ex. 2.25b.(untitled) 42 Ex. 2.26a Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, mm. 9-10. 43 Ex. 2.26b.(untitled) 43 Ex. 2.27a Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, 44 mm. 14-15. Ex. 2.27b.(untitled) 44 Ex. 2.28 0 King, to Whom all Things do Live, 45 m. 15. Ex. 2.29a Fair in Face, mm. 24-25. 46 Ex. 2.29b.(untitled) 46 Ex. 2.30 Fair in Face, mm. 1-2. 47 Ex. 2.31a I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, m. 11. 49 Ex. 2.31b. (untitled) 50 Ex. 2.31c. (untitled) 50 Ex. 2.31d. (untitled) 50 Ex. 2.31e. (untitled) 50 Ex. 2.31f. (untitled) 50 Ex. 2.32 I beheld her Beautiful as a Dove, m. 5. 51 Ex. 2.3 3 Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, mm. 17-18. 52 vi Ex. 2.34a Behold, the Tabernacle of God, page 53 mm. 1-2. Ex. 2.34b. (untitled) 53 Ex. 2.34c. (untitled) 53 Ex. 2.35 Behold, the Tabernacle of God, mm. 16-17. 54 Ex. 2.36 Behold, the Tabernacle of God, mm. 18-19. 55 Ex. 2.37 "Benedictus qui venit" , Missa Brevis 59 No. 4 . Ex. 2.38 Scherzo (Five Pieces for Organ), 60 mm. 5-12. Ex. 2.39 0 King,-all Glorious, mm • 30-32. 61 Ex. 2.40 Matins, mm. 18-27. 61 Ex. 2.41a 0 King of Glory, mm. 1- 4. First Manu- 63 script version Ex. 2.41b 0 King of G1o ry, mm. 1- 4. Second Manu- 63 script version Ex. 2.41c 0 King of Glory, mm. 1- 4 . Final, 63 printed version Ex. 2.42 God is Gone Up with a Shout, mm. 25-28. 64 Ex. 2.43 Hodie, Christus natus est, mm. 43-47. 65 Ex. 2.44 Ave Maris Stella (Five Preludes on 65 Plainchant Melodies), mm. 1T4. Ex. 2.45 The Spirit of the Lord, mm. 5-11. 66 Ex. 2.46 An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts, 66 mm. 97-99. Ex. 2.47 Ring Out, Ye Crystall Shears from the 67 Coronation Suite, mm. 10-11. Ex. 2.48 Eternity, mm. 59-61. 67 Ex. 2.49 This Endris Nyght, mm. 7-13. 68 Ex. 2.50 0 Trinity, Most Blessed Light, mm. 47-50. 69 Ex. 2.51 The Shepherds from The Mystery of 7 0 Bethlehem, mm. 45-47. vii Ex. 2.52 Come, Thou Beloved of Christ from page 71 the Coronation Suite, mm. 98-100. Ex. 2.53 Hodie, Christus natus est, mm. 48-57. 72 Ex. 2.54 Weep You No More, Sad Fountains, 73 mm. 44-48 Ex. 2.55 Gloria Deo per immensa saecula, mm. 60-63. 74 Ex. 2.56 Who is She that Ascendeth?, mm. 10-12. 74 Ex. 2.57 Rise up, my Love, my Fair One, mm. 1-10. 75 Ex. 3.1 Prelude and Fugue in c minor, mm. 5-8. 77 Ex. 3.2 Deirdre, Act I, mm. 9-13. 78 Ex. 3.3 Deirdre, Act III, mm. 1-3. 79 Ex. 3.4 Deirdre, Act III, mm. 842-846. 79 Ex. 3.5 Urbs Hierusalem beata, mm. 58-59. 80 Ex. 3.6 Passacaglia and Fugue No. 2, in E minor, 81 mm. 1-3. Ex. 3.7 Christ ist erstanden, mm. 26-29. 81 Ex.. 3.8 Nun preiset alle, mm. 32-39 . 83 Ex. 3.9 Festival, mm. 30-35. 84 Ex. 3.10a Martyrdom, mm. 16-19. 85 Ex. 3.10b Martyrdom, mm. 35-38. 85 Ex.