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Chapter 4 THE DECLINE OF ENGLISH MUSIC

Word Count: 6330    |    Released on: 01/12/2017

oldiery-Facts as to life of Calvin-Effects of change of dynasty-The Stuarts and music-The Restoration and resulting excitement-England rid of the Stuarts-Jonathan Swift a Church dignitary-First appear

llo and Company-Services to English music-Revival-T

of a foreign Court, and the settlement in England of large numbers of foreign musicians, among whom was one of the greatest musica

e very soil that gave birth to the plant. The first blow it inflicted on music-and in those days that meant English music, not as now-and it was a deadly one, was its suppressio

her seemed dependent on the solidity of their union; or, at least, how inseparable a part the services of the Church

able to understand the significance of the elaborate ceremonial that characterised medi?val forms of worship, were able to join in t

by highly trained singers in the employ of bishops or abbots governing the cathedrals or monasteries, possessing sufficient wealth to command their services, and were listened to by a class of people far

s of the plain-song that the

eir last breath before the new and fantastic doctrines that were destined

th that tenacity so characteristic of the English race, they not only absorbed but put into practice tenets that, a century before, would have bee

ging for it, any memory of it, even, was considered a duty and the indulgence in it a sin, though clothed in ecclesiastical garb. The strength to resist the yearning for that which for so many ages had been, to say the least, one of the greatest sources of consolation and happin

possibly, irresponsible life that had been theirs for centuries, to the fearful sear

urn to the writings of the poet, William

from which he suffered and which led him, on more than one occasion, to attempt to commit suicide, was the outcome of his be

how he

ngeance, my et

ndure delay

atient readin

in a

das; more abhor

pence sold h

Jesus me, the

the pr

s, and Deit

ford my miser

keeps her ever-h

again

passed with a t

embling with a t

anquish'd! to re

than A

ictive rod of

howling to the

dgment, in a f

above g

s in an Italian city or "on the coast of Bohemia," the life depicted in them is that of England and the spirit embodied that of the robust Elizabethan age. Such reform as had taken place in the Church was little calculated to affect the character or temperament of the people, and although it is quite within ordinary knowledge that there were a considerable number of people already who had accepted

England, that he had loved and so glorified by his genius, bend under the burden of the foreign intrusion that was to completely alter the aspects of her life as he had known them. A vital aid doubt

ve had the support of the reigning house. Happily such days are past. It must be granted, however, that it was as natural on the par

due, its effect on the nation generally was deplor

loathing and contempt, and what was found impossible to achieve by legislation was effected by local tyranny. In the conventicles that sprung up all over the country,

ch teaching must necessarily have had on people who had c

ate the very sense of the art among the masses-that art, t

hewn, and the terrible evidence that the ancient churches of the country supp

urch desecration. The shocking and stupid brutality of the excesses perpetrated is, at once, a proof of the ferocious spirit that had been aroused, and the unappeasable hatred towards everything that could, in any way, suggest Catholic te

aised to the glory of God, and the unceasing call to the piet

resentations of the Saviour, the Holy Virgin or the saints, was

ruments and the burning of manuscri

was capable of absolute extinction by the agency o

ce of the splendour of Catholic devotion and enthu

rs to build, into stables for the horses of Cromwell's cavalry was only one feature of many o

r and indignation seem infantile to express the emot

us, seems of comparatively little consequence, unique and of priceless value as they were. It is, neve

l of Gloucester Cathedral is a striking example. It was finished only a few years before the Reformation, and was more fortunate than the majority of

ns of a building on the outskirts of a cathedral city, as happened not long ago, that leads to the discovery of mutilated fragments of statues, broken arteries of altars of untold age, and powdered remains of stai

must indeed have been insatiable. The majestic strength of those venerable fanes, that seem to defy the flight of ages, was theirs to successfully resist such enemies as th

eautiful in art was hateful to the Puritans, and it was only when every vestig

ned, their work may be sa

s destined, through the instrumentality of his teaching, to so

was sent to Paris, where he soon exhibited remarkable intellectual powers. It was not long, however, before he began to evince a distinct spirit of rebellion against the course of study pursued there, and, with his father's s

lv

sed world. He here came under influences that, aided by his early misgivings in Paris, impelled him to

less, men of genius many, but men who, added to genius, ha

ch time he both wrote and preached in the interests of the reformed faith, he, for personal safety, finally left the country and took ref

d is all that it is, here, incumbent to recall. Of the man himself, in view of so much that is contradictory having been written, it is difficult to speak, but it wo

xecution of Lady Jane Grey, she little realised how disastrous to the country the event would prove. Not only had this interesting and unf

was destined to ha

ied by blood and intimate intercourse with her enemies, succeeded to an inheritance that immediately placed

, the line of Sovereigns of English descent might have been perpetuated

, and in their extreme form, took root in Scotland long before the

the new teaching had taken a complete hold over that country, and been almo

age with Anne of Denmark, signifi

fluence, if not of active hostility, at least of indifference to music, ca

to settle in London, and gave them all the patronage that her position enabled

ous weed, was spreading far and wide, so that English music

hings lasted throug

the voice of music w

possibilities of harm to the musical instincts

dren born and brought up bereft of the ha

d disuse of muscles first renders them ineffec

ent to it, and eventually lost all ear for it. Insistence upon the immense number

recedented display of license, in which the common people seemed to vie with the Court for supremacy. To account for this latter fact, one need only recall the policy pursue

erform it. For such innovations, the wives of Charles I. and Charles II. were doubtless largely responsible, one being French and the other Portuguese, but the Continental wanderings

he viols and other instruments, would astonish the common people. In the diaries, Pepys is frankly c

ent of the monarchy was to change to national dejection and disgust, caused not

y, both financial and political, the latter to a sense

temptuous disregard, not only of national religious feeling, but of the merest

teaching, now fled to them for protection against infection by the wave of immorality which was flooding the

ed monarch, so did it go to further intensify the ever-growing force of Calvinistic conviction, w

and undeserved, the terrible incubus, but once relieved from it by the death of his successor, they rose as one man and

tle room for other than religious exercise, and so far as music is concerned, beyond the lugubrious chanting of psalmody-well, there was none

ely have been one in which, at least among the ruling classes, the moral sense must have sunk low. At any rate, it may be said that the extreme liberty of thought, en

facts. Opera, even in its most primitive state, had not been known in England before the Stuart times, and, though the genius of Purcell was fascinated by it, yet even he was unable to imbue his countrymen with any tas

abroad. Such operatic work, as Purcell was responsible for, was given in English, but it was not long before an Italian company was invited to London

e most celebrated composer of this f

he establishment of another theatre for its exploitation, at the head of which was the great German master. It may be mentioned that at this period of its expansion and introduction to the various countries of Europe, the liberty was granted

accept. In this connection, it is strange to observe that, notwithstanding his long residence in England, he not only never mastered the intricacies of the pronunciation of English, but never learnt to appreciate the relative importance of the words of a sentence. Of this, t

urce from which money was to be earned, naturally relegated the English singer to a position of comparative neglect. His energies were confi

cian in this new and strange form of art, found themselves in a position that offered little opportunity of making the barest provisio

that, at least, had some effect in th

me and fortune which he had previously acquired. This decision, momentous as it was for the whole world, was peculiarly so for England. It had two results that may be said to be diametrically opposed, for while he soon began to make converts to music by presenting it in a religious guise, among thousands who had for long eschewed it as being

it ever was, and it is a common-place among those who cater for public entertainment, that the p

individuality or national genius can

oment that because the composer is an Engli

t slow to recognise the fact. At any rate, they came to believe in him, and the reception accorded to his "Golden Legend" proved t

stress of time, but it disproved once and for ever the absurd contention that the English peo

want of sufficient national character, redolent of the s

ly Telegraph after a recent performance at the Norwich Festival, 1911. They were contained in

ot go so far as some one was heard to go yesterday, who vouchsafed the opinion that even the singers seemed somewhat abashed. That is a gross exaggeration. But it is no exaggeration to say that none of them ... seemed

that had ever touched the imagination of the English people. To go still further, it may be said with absolute truth, that it was the most su

rk that is not typical of the country from which it ema

rned; hence the revival of public interest in this form of art was, naturally, a source of gratification. Unhappily, however, the fact cannot be ignored that instead of pursuing their w

to few, and at the time of which we write, there wer

ut cite o

t of taking one of Purcell's greatest compositions, and revising and adding to it, in order to bring it into conformity with the great school which had arisen. There are two kinds of imitation, conscious and unconscious. Such an act as this can only belong to the former. From this date may be said to have commenced that system of imitation of foreign music that has been the bane of English musicians ever since. However unconscious it may have,

ished an observer as Vincent Novello, and to this remark

ere. He was organist in turn of several London churches, and thus gained the opportun

libraries and, with the permission of the authorities, copied

re generally unacquainted. He thus furnished the means of bringing into general use much of the splendid musi

ng fact that this great firm has never deviated from its early traditions, since it is at the present day as em

of still greater import to the musician, for it caused a commercial value to b

selling it for actual gold; not, perhaps, simply on account of the happiness that it might bring to his home, but of the fame that might accrue to his name. Nor is it otherwise than quite easy to imagine with what different feelings he would start

perhaps the most notorious of them, once known familiarly as "Jackson in F," retained its hold on the affections of the people until well into the nineteenth century. Happily, the revival was near at hand, and, as densest darkness heralds the dawn, so the bi

he brought enthusiasm, tempered by deep l

s an interesting fact that the Mass he wrote, when entering the Roman Communion, bears every evidence of its illustrious descent. With the birth of his son, this

" "Blessed be the God and Father," and, perhaps above all, "The Wilderness," seem as if secure of lasting as long as the Christian religion is the dominant factor in human li

TNO

g the South African war, by the relief of Mafeking, was not

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