Front cover image for Imperialism and music : Britain, 1876-1953

Imperialism and music : Britain, 1876-1953

This is the first book to consider the relationship between British imperialism and music. With its unique ability to stimulate the emotions and to create mental images, music was used to dramatize, illustrate and reinforce the components of the ideological cluster that constituted British imperialism in its heyday: patriotism, monarchism, hero-worship, Protestantism, racialism and chivalry. It was also used to emphasize the inclusiveness of Britain by stressing the contributions of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to the imperial project. Music was specifically written to promote the idea of the Empire and was used in pageants and tattoos to bolster and underpin imperial ideology. At the same time a common musical culture was disseminated within the Empire, partly by emulation of the Home Country but also by the activities of touring British bands, choirs, singers, and conductors. This study examines every musical form from high culture to popular culture: the symphony, the overture, the ode, the hymn, the ballad, the march, the film score and the music hall song. It covers composers such as Elgar and Sullivan, and performers from Dame Nellie Melba to Peter Dawson. Written in a lively and accessible style, this book will be enjoyed by both specialists and the general reader alike, and will appeal to anyone interested in cultural history, musical history and the wider history of the British Empire
Print Book, English, 2001
Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
Criticism, interpretation, etc
x, 534 pages ; 25 cm
9780719045066, 9780719061431, 0719045061, 0719061431
48978861
Meanings: Empire and music; Sullivan's empire; Elgar's empire; Music for official occasions; Imperial days - Armistice Day and Empire Day; Teaching the lessons of Empire - Exhibitions and festivals; "All the King's horses and all the King's men" - The Aldershot Tattoo; "Bring on the girls" - Opera, operetta and ballet; "The sun never sets" - The music for imperial films; Sing a song of empire; "From Greenland's icy mountains, from India's coral strand" - the imperial hymn; imperial march; "Hearts across the sea" - the Dominions musical tour of 1922; the empire's queens of song - Dame Emma Albani, Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Clara Butt; the troubadour of empire.