Victorian Music and Culture: A Reflection

This semester has been a wonderful exploration of the music and culture of Victorian England.  Although we still have several weeks to go, I felt as if a reflection was in order for this, my final blog.  As one can tell immediately from viewing my blog in this class, my primary focus during this era are the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.  As a specialist in this field, it has been wonderful to really explore a variety of areas both directly and indirectly connected to these works.  The other subjects covered, such as the music hall, the opera house box, various gender concerns, other composers of the time; these all help me contextualize my work with the Savoy Operas, and I hope open my eyes to the full environment in which these works were created. 

I have enjoyed sharing my G&S expertise with my classmates, and look forward to next week’s discussions of Princess Ida. I have had a little experience with the show, having twice performed it for fun with a group called The Sunday Afternoon Gilbert and Sullivan Society, singing Cyril both times.  I was a finalist in the fall 2007 auditions for NYGASP’s production of Princess Ida, one of four tenors seriously considered for the role of Cyril, out of 35 who auditioned.  Finally, there was a ‘pot-luck’ Princess Ida one night at the Festival Club in Buxton last summer.  They had a Cyril, but were lacking a Hilarion.  I spent 1 hour learning as much of the role as I could, and sight-read the show.  It was a crash-course in the other principal tenor, but then again, very few of the Savoy Operas give you the chance to have two lead tenor parts.

Princess Ida has a lot to say, and can cause varying degrees of controversy.  In an earlier conversation with one of my classmates, there was a degree of anger expressed at the way in which Princess Ida is presented in the Youtube clips posted for our class.  However, when I explained my own take on the topics of controversy, my classmate said that that was nothing like what they got out of the videos.  It will be an interesting discussion next week, and I hope to add to the debate by presenting the thoughts of Dr. Carolyn Williams, whose new book, Gilbert and Sullivan: Gender, Genre and Parody I just received directly from the author.  I will be reading the chapter on Princess Ida this weekend.

This kind of lively debate / discussion is what has made this class so interesting and enjoyable throughout the semester.  It will be be a shame to see it all go in a few weeks.

Gilbert and Sullivan Parody

  An interesting, and sometimes frightening, thing can occur when music moves from the realm of copyright into the public domain.  In the case of the music to the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, there has been plenty of both.  There have been parodies ranging from Forbidden Broadway’s original season (‘Poor Warbling Star’, ‘I am a Kevin Kline’, etc.) to a version of ‘Baby Got Back’ sung in the ‘style’ of G&S with video footage from the Pabst Pirates of Penzance movie staring Kevin Kline.  The latter is found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4

Gilbert and Sullivan tunes have been used for advertising purposes from nearly the moment they became public domain.  One example I know is an advertisement for Brillo pads to the tune of “Willow tit-willow” from The Mikado.  Another is for Blue Bonnet margarine, to the tune of “I’m called little buttercup” from H.M.S. Pinafore.

Then there have been very witty parodies that have been used for sending messages, or educational purposes.  A few are linked below:

Here, Pinky and the Brain sing about the importance of knowing your history to the tune of “When I was a lad” from H.M.S. Pinafore. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPlTB0eJbQQ

In this video, the elements of the periodic table are identified by Tom Lehrer, to the tune of “I am the very model of a modern major-general” from The Pirates of Penzance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM-wSKFBpo

Finally, one of the most recent uses of that same song comes from a video about President Barrack Obama.  In this video, the lyrics are brilliantly set to send the political message of Obama’s success in office thus far.  A professionally edited video, the cast is impressive.  Not only does Ron Butler look fairly like Obama, but he has a clear voice that effectively presents the words intelligibly and musically.  One of the most impressive aspects of this video, in my opinion, is the incorporation of a chorus of office employees that wrap up each verse and add a layer of fun and amusement that most other parodies of this song miss.  If only more parodies of the music to the Savoy Operas were this well presented...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM-wSKFBpo

Topsy Turvy: The other characters portrayed

In class on Thursday we began the landmark G&S film Topsy Turvy.  This work is well known in the G&S realm, and on the whole, I believe, rather well-liked  Early reviews from Savoyards truly in the know praise the accuracy of the work in its entirety, seeming willing to put aside the relatively minor anachronisms in favor of this very real portrayal of these people at this point in their famed careers.  The G&S Archives has several reviews of the work, the most telling by SavoyNet notable Peter Parker.  In his review, he emphasizes that the highlight performance in a movie filled with good performances was that of Jim Broadbent as W.S. Gilbert.  It is true that Broadbent stands out, and his very true-to-life portrayal of the famed librettist is a delight to watch.

What might be a bit confusing to my classmates are some of the other characters portrayed in the movie.  As man undoubtedly know (and which is of course obvious from what we've seen), Richard D'Oyly Carte was the impresario of the Savoy.  It was at his urging that Gilbert and Sullivan first worked together, and he was a strong point in keeping the team working throughout their long joint career.

The characters that particularly interested me were the performers who were shown.  Of course, the lead comic man, George Grossmith, was a very important figure in the realm of the Savoy Operas.  Making his debut with G&S as John Wellington Wells in The Sorcerer, Grossmith was from that point on the primary patter man for the company.  The original patter man, for both Thespis and Trial by Jury, was Fred Sullivan, Sir Arthur's brother.  Unfortunately, Fred died before The Sorcerer came into being.

In the upcoming conclusion, you will get to see more of the performers.  I encourage anyone who has any interest to look at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte on the G&S Archives to get a better idea of who these people were, historically, before seeing them all at work in the premiere of Mikado.  I believe this film is a wonderful portrayal.

Women in the Hall

The two readings for Tuesday were very interesting.  A major connection between the two of them were women working in the Music Hall.  However, two very different approaches were discussed taken by women who performed.  In the first reading, performing women were discussed via their portrayal in fictional writing.  The focus was on actresses and the various ways they were portrayed.  Acting was not considered the most 'appropriate' profession, but there were some views that women were doing an honest work to support themselves or their families.  It was seen by some as a viable option for work-class women, who really only had the option of shop work if they wanted to be out of the house.

The second chapter we ready focused on a very different way for women to make a living in the Hall.  The naked tableaux vivants were a phenomenon that caused much controversy.  The trick into making these nude portrayals acceptable in the public was the concept of comparing the women to statues.  By becoming stationary recreations of noted works of art, there was a decrease of the perceived vulgarity of the naked female form.  While there was certainly no way to completely avoid accusations of vulgarity on the stage, there was nonetheless an acceptance by enough to consider this a legitimate entertainment at the Hall.

The tableaux vivants saw life again, in controversy, in the 1930s and 40s at the Windmill, under the sponsorship of Laura Henderson (made popular to today's population in the 2005 film Mrs. Henderson Presents).  The 'Windmill Girls' presented tableaux vivants in the nude under a legal loophole that basically said 'if it moves, its rude'.  As long as the girls stayed still, there was no legal course that could be taken against them for vulgarity.

I wonder if the rise of the tableaux as a separate art form is connected to the popularity of the final tableaux in works of theater.  It was considered a powerful theatrical device, to reinforce the final image seen by the audience by re-showing the pose after a brief drop of the curtain.  I was in a production once that used this technique, and as the final pose was rather tragic, it proved to be quite effective.  I could easily see this inspiring a whole 'performance' of tableaux images.

Exploitation Journalism

Thursday's class brought up an interesting idea, especially with the discussion of music hall critic Henry Mayhew.  Mayhew, also a co-founder of Punch magazine, focused much of his writing on the 'penny gaff' crowds at the music hall.  This was the entertainment for the working-class people (named 'panny gaff' because the original price was, in fact, a penny).  One particular quote given in our class reading focused on a group of gaff audience members waiting in line outside the hall.  The majority of these were allegedly kids, ranging in age from 8 - 20, and it was apparently a sexually charged group.  Mayhew reports an inappropriate comfort level shown among both the boys and girls with sexual behavior, and particularly describes dancing of an unacceptable nature among them.

Critics of Mayhew suggest, however, that his calls for the cessation of this crude entertainment are, at best only half the story.  These suggestions state that Mayhew was just as enamored by this culture as offended by it.  What we see with him is a form of exploitation journalism that has maintained popularity to the present day.  Mayhew exposes what he knows will be a controversial situation, and he profits from it.  In class, we compared this to modern 'journalists' such as Jerry Springer or Heraldo.  In these cases, we see a story that's only value is that it will get attention for the wrong reasons, featured in a public venue.  No longer do magazines or newspapers need to feature these stories; we have cable television for that now.  Like Mayhew exposing what high society would consider the utter abasement found among the more socially unrestricted youth of the lower class, these modern exploitation journalists thrust into the public light stories of a highly controversial nature, often focusing on examples of social or moral depravity.  In Mayhew's case, he and all his readers were not at all part of the portion of society getting the focus; they were outsiders making judgments to those whose lives they could never hope to understand.  From their removed soapbox, of course they could find the flaws that, in their minds needed to be eradicated for the 'improvement' of society; in other words, for those of this other culture to conform more to the life of those making the judgments.

The Music Hall - Thoughts on the entertainment

Our readings this week have focused on the British music hall, one of the first distinctly British entertainments that we have come across in our studies this semester.  Entertainment at the music hall included a variety of types of acts, very similar to the American vaudeville that would thrive until the advent of talking motion pictures.  (This is an interesting comparison, as we have identified in class that a current form of entertainment that is comparable to the music hall is, in fact, the cinema.)  These acts included vocal music ranging from classical / operatic arias to more popular music; comic acts including such gimmicks as men dressed as women (and vice versa); dance acts; ventriloquists; trampoline acts; magic acts; and aerial acts, among others.  The study of this for of 'variety entertainment' has lead me to another current analog:  the television talent competition.

Although the venue is drastically different, there is a major similarity to them both:  the vast array of entertainments forms considered appropriate.  However, in typical 21st century mentality, we take something that was once purely for entertainment and thrust it into a competitive atmosphere.  It seems there is very little interest in 'reality' entertainment on television unless people are pitted against one another.  While the entertainment (especially music and theater) world is very competitive, it is a different kind of competition that thrives in the television markets.  And it leads to the question:  how does one compare one type of entertainment with another?  Can a good magician and a good dance team really be placed side-by-side for the determination of which is better?  I believe good is good.

This was not something to be worried with in the Victorian music hall, thankfully.  Here, the entertainment was purer in its intent:  it was simply presented to entertain.  When placed in extensive competition, the true reasons one should perform get overshadowed by the pending rewards for winning (often monetary above all).  Because of this, I fear that much of the more important reasons to entertain are lost today.  A return to the environment of the music hall would be welcomed.

International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival: GETTYSBURG

This summer will see the second International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Gettysburg, PA.  9 of the 13 G&S operas will be performed there, by groups from New Jersey, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania, and several British companies.  Also, there will be a Festival Production of Pirates of Penzance and a Festival Youth Production of The Mikado.  These productions comprise the core matinee  and evening Festival events.  Highlights include the productions by Charles Court Opera, a small professional company out of London known for doing creative small-cast versions of shows (I saw them do a wonderful 9-person production of H.M.S. Pinafore in Buxton last year) and the productions from Trent Opera (Iolanthe and The Yeomen of the Guard).  I saw Trent's Iolanthe at Buxton last year, and it was quite good.  Yeomen, being my favorite of the canon, should be a real treat.

Outside of the core productions, there is an entire Fringe Festival that will be going on with smaller performances, presentations, and much more.  Examples of Fringe events include reviews, such as "We Are All Single Gentlemen" by the group Utopia Unlimited out of New York (of which I am a member);  The Pirettes of Penzance, a switch-gendered version of Pirates; or Di Yam Gazlonim, a Yiddish-language version of Pirates of Penzance, performed by The Gilbert and Sullivan Yiddish Light Opera Company of Long Island, New York.

Beyond the Fringe events, this year will see a first:  A scholarly symposium entitled 'Papers, Presentations, & Patter:  A Savoyards' Symposium'.  This symposium, organized by the top G&S Scholar in the U.S., will feature three sessions with presentations from a wide variety of G&S Scholars.  I was honored to have my own presentation chosen to be among these.  It will be an expanded version of the presentation I am preparing for this class, and will feature not only the project I am working on in regards to Yeomen of the Guard, but also my work last semester on Trial by Jury.  It will also be a venue in which I can introduce my intention to work on my performance guides to a wide range of North America's Savoyards.  Hopefully some assistance will be found in that crowd.

I strongly encourage anyone who will be around for part of the Festival to attend.  The events run from Friday, June 24 - Sunday, July 3.  If there is any interest, please let me know and I can help you find more details.

Alternative Means of Research

Since this week was our Spring Break, with no classes or assigned readings for the week, this week's blogs will be about things going on in my life that are connected to Victorian music.  Of course, being a Savoyard, much of what I do is connected to Victorian music.  As I have mentioned in many of my previous blogs, I have designed a Fulbright project in which I would prepare performance guides for the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  I have just recently learned that my project proposal has been turned down for the Fulbright Scholarship.  This has lead me to consider what other means of research I can undertake.  I believe that I can at least lay the foundation for the guides doing work here in the U.S.  I can certainly do the libretti analyses here, and I have enough contacts around the world to do some of the research from afar.  It will certainly take longer, and be a more complicated process, but I believe the work is important enough to do nonetheless.

These guides will be a wonderful benefit to both the repertoire, and to university music programs in the U.S. (and abroad, hopefully).  The first installments will focus on the lesser-known operas in the repertoire, with the intent that they can be realized to be accessible to modern audiences.  This will hopefully increase the frequency with which these works are performed.  Emphasis will be placed upon the aspects of the Savoy Operas that make them ideal for students (their own language, singability, witty language use, the ability for both classical and music theater performers to work together on the show, FUN, etc).  With luck, these will help guide university music programs towards choosing a Savoy Opera when looking for a show for their students to perform.  With the other Savoy Operas already being a bit more familiar, and thus more performed, these guides will hopefully increase the overall number of G&S performances at the university level.  By exposing students, it will hopefully create a greater number of the next generation who will continue to perform the works, keeping the Savoy Operas alive and thriving for years to come.

The Window, or the Loves of the Wrens

This past week, I was informed of one of Sullivan's works that, previously, I had not known anything about.  The work is entitled "The Window, or the Loves of the Wrens" and it is a song cycle after the style of Die Schöne Müllerin by Schumann.  This cycle, with the words by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was initially suggested by none other than our old friend George Grove, of later Grove's Dictionary of Music fame.  The project was initially supposed to be a joint effort of Tennyson, Sullivan, and painter Sir John Millais.  Unfortunately, Millais was unable to complete the paintings for the work.  A later publication features a preface by Sullivan, in which he wrote:

"This Song-cycle was written by the late Lord Tennyson at my request and set to music by me in 1869-70. It was to be illustrated by the late Sir John Millais R.A. so that the work might form a combination of Poetry, Painting and Music: but for reasons unnecessary to enter into here, the drawings were never completed, and after various delays the words and music only were published as an Album in 1871."


The song cycle tells a love story of a youth who sees the glint of his love's window pane in the distance, traverses the distance, wins her love, and ends on the day of their wedding.  Songs tell of a letter her writes her, and depict his various moods throughout;  a dirge to tell of his longing for her while she is not there; a challenge to the coming winter, which may bite into the heart of the earth but not into his own heart; and the welcome coming of spring, are just some examples.

I intend to order the score and hopefully prepare the cycle for performance at some future date, perhaps as a Fringe event at either the Gettysburg or Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festivals.  The Fringe events provide the perfect outlet for Gilbert and / or Sullivan works or discussions that are not full performances of the Savoy Operas themselves.  A Fringe event that I am likely participating in at this year's Gettysburg Festival is a Symposium on Gilbert and Sullivan scholarship, headed by America's leading G&S Scholar, Ralph MacPhail.

Suggested Familiarity of Gilbert and Sullivan in 1920

One thing that truly stood out to me from our Vaughan Williams reading about Holst was the implied familiarity his target audience must have had with Gilbert and Sullivan.  This is shown through two quotes he takes from two different Savoy Operas and uses without any explanation.  The first occurs on p. 133, when Vaughan Williams is discussing Holst's ethnic background.  Referring to Holst's last name (from his Swedish ancestory), Vaughan Williams writes:

"...'in spite of all temptations' which his name may suggest, Holst 'remains an Englishman'."

This is a quote from Act 2 of H.M.S. Pinafore, in which it is sung about Ralph Rackstraw:

"Despite of all temptations to belong to other nations, he remains an Englishman."

The fact that this quote is inserted and given no explanation, not even mentioning the show or that it is a reference to Gilbert and Sullivan, suggests rather strongly that whoever this essay about Holst was intended to reach, they would have at least a cursory familiarity with one of the most popular of the Savoy Operas.

The second quote used by Vaughan Williams occurs on p. 146, in his discussion of Holst’s flaws.  This reference is:

“…say ‘nothing in particular and say it very well’.”

While technically a paraphrase, this is a reference to the less-familiar Gilbert and Sullivan show Iolanthe.  Unlike Pinafore, which, according to the G&S Archives "ran for 571 performances and became a huge fad in England," Iolanthe had a still-successful but more modest run of 398 performances.  It refers to a line in the song "When Britain Really Ruled the Waves":

"When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte, as every child can tell, the House of Peers throughout the war did nothing in particular, and did it very well."

To me, the use of this more obscure reference, and especially the paraphrasing of it, without any explanation does, in fact, imply that Vaughan Williams and his intended readership had a more than passing familiarity with these shows.  It would be an interesting experiment to see what other, if any, similar references can be found in other writings of this time period.  Perhaps a project for another time.

Quote Reaction: George Bernard Shaw about Arthur Sullivan

Another interesting quote about Sullivan:

"Goss and Bennett…trained him to make Europe yawn; and he took advantage of their training to make London and New York laugh and whistle."

This quote is from celebrated playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was a regular attendee of G&S shows. He attended many, and was a great admirer of Sullivan's music for the penultimate Savoy Opera, Utopia, Limited, where he expressed that he enjoyed the music more than in any preceding G&S show.  In this quote, Shaw is referring to two of Sullivan's teachers:  John Goss and William Sterndale Bennett.  Bennett in particular should be noted, as not only did his pupils include Sullivan, but also Sir Hubert Parry.  Parry's conservative compositional style could also be said to make Europe yawn.  It certainly can make me yawn.  However, Parry could NOT be said "to make London and New York laugh and whistle".  While Parry was certainly admired by many of his contemporaries, and younger composers such as Elgar, he did not have the ability to entertain the way that Sullivan did.

Throughout musical history, comic themes and works have, by and large, been relegated to lesser artistic value than their serious counterparts.  Parodists are deemed less accomplished than 'serious composers' in many circles.  However, I am a huge fan of parody, and especially admire intelligent parody.  That's one thing that Sullivan was:  an intelligent, tasteful parodist.  He understood bel canto operatic techniques to the degree that he could parody the La Sonnambula sextet with his "A nice dilemma" in Trial by Jury.  However, I do not believe that this is a 'lesser' quality of composition just because it's parody.  For further examples of quality parody, just look at P.D.Q. Bach (one of my all-time favorite parodists).  There is a degree of compositional genius to take an existing work and alter it.  One of my favorite examples is "Eine kleine nichtmusik" (A little not-music).  It can be heard here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enT9oAE0TxM

The insertion of so many other tunes, some by Mozart and many by others, into such a brilliant work as 'Eine kleine nachtmusik' requires an advanced and complex compositional understanding, just like what was possessed by Sullivan.

Quote Reaction: Ralph Vaughan Williams about Sir Arthur Sullivan

While re-reading some of our material from Ralph Vaughan Williams, I came across the following quote mentioning Sullivan:

"We shall never know of the numbers of "mute and inglorious Miltons" who failed because the place and time were not ready for them…Was not Sullivan a jewel in the wrong setting?"


This quote is from National Music, and I have to say that at first it certainly rubbed me the wrong way.  One can hardly look at the career of Sir Arthur Sullivan and reasonably argue that it was the career of a failure.  Thirteen comic operas with Gilbert that are performed today, hymn settings and ensemble numbers that are sung regularly (including an alternate version of "It came upon a midnight clear" that is more popular in England than what we Americans consider the 'standard' version), a grand opera that was nominated for a Grammy award this year, societies around the world dedicated to his music...if only we could all fail so spectacularly in our musical careers.  I for one would LOVE such a failure.


Those were my initial reactions.  However, once that first instinct to defend Sullivan passed, I did recognize that Vaughan Williams was not disparaging Sullivan's compositions or his talent; rather, he was suggesting that Sullivan would have been better appreciated at a later time.  That is likely a true suggestion, as his works did look to the future.  His operettas, especially those with Gilbert, paved the way for the modern musical.  Certainly the audiences that loved Lehár and Romberg in the early 20th century would have been as supportive, or even more so, than the Savoy audiences of the late 19th century.


The concept of a jewel mis-set is interesting image, when you think about it.  He still shone forth, like a well-cut diamond would even in the worst of settings.  But, with a better 'setting', could Sullivan have shone forth all the brighter?  It is an interesting idea.  Certainly, there were points in his career when he felt that he was not realizing his full potential.  However, it is undeniable that he was successful, and used his talents well.  A specific example will be examined in the next post.

Sullivan and Elgar - Connections?

It is interesting, for me, to see that the big discussion on Elgar's qualities as a composer were questioned during his time by comparing him to predecessors such as Parry.  Not once is Sullivan mentioned as a worthy predecessor, which of course has me a bit irked.  So, I looked for possible writings out there connecting the two.  I didn't find much, but one thing I did find proved a little interesting, more for where it lead than for the brief discussion given of Elgar and Sullivan.

In December of 1988, Nigel Burton, a musicologist noted for his writings on the music of Sullivan, contributed an article to The Musical Times entitled 'The Yeomen of the Guard': apogee of a style.  This article discusses Sullivan's music through a focus on Yeomen (personally my favorite of the Savoy Operas).  Points are made about his music that are very fascinating, and certainly something I will go into in more detail on my own (perhaps to be shared here, as well), but for the sake of this week's topic, I focus on a brief discussion found near the end of the article.  Burton writes refers to Edgar as Sullivan's "greater successor".  There is no doubt that by and large Elgar is considered the next great British composer, and it can be argued that his music surpassed Sullivan's music of a similar nature.  However, Burton states that Elgar's "debt to Sullivan is still underestimated" and even provides a direct example in which he feels Sullivan is anticipating Elgar: apparently Sullivan's 'Imperial Institute Ode' at one point "seems to anticipate Elgar's motif for Henry V in Falstaff."  Not being familiar with Elgar's Falstaff, I cannot confirm or deny this assessment; however, it is interesting to see the noted similarity.

By looking further in Nigel Burton's background, I discovered that he is a Vice President with the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, the very group that produced the Grammy-nominated recording of Ivanhoe that I blogged about previously.  This society was under the presidency of the late Sir Charles Mackerras, the noted Mozart and G&S conductor and authority.  Other notable officers of the Society include Vice President Dr. David Russell Hume, who is a regular contributor to Savoynet; Vice President Dr. Ian Bradley, who is possibly the most-published authority on G&S; Secretary Stephen Turnbull, another regular Savoynetter; and Librarian and Archivist Robin Gordon-Powell, the noted conductor and the man who arranged the full-score for multiple Sullivan works, including the Grammy-nominated version of Ivanhoe (also a regular Savoynet contributor).  This Society will be a major resource for my Fulbright, should I get it.

Elgar: A Disappointed Peer-Wannabee

An interesting element in the readings about Elgar this week, for me, was his societal ambition.  Elgar seemed to care very much about his station in life, working hard to improve his lot in a society that discouraged vertical mobility among the classes.  He was honored greatly throughout his life, including being knighted in 1904 and made a Baronet in 1931, but he never achieved one of his great ambitions:  A hereditary peerage.  Now, I know a little about the peerage system from things like Iolanthe and my role as the title character in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, but not enough to understand what Elgar was missing.  This lead me to look into the British peerage system, and I'd like to share what I found here.

Apparently there are 5 degrees of peers within the peerage system in the UK.  The highest title is "Duke".  This is followed, in descending order, by Marchess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.  This was where my first confusion with Elgar came up, as he was made a Baronet, which is a hereditary title just like these peerages.  However, it seems that Baronets are commoners, not peers.  Their title is similar to a knighthood, but ranks above all but the two most prestigious orders of knights (the Most Noble Order of the Garter in England and Wales, and the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in Scotland).  So, it was indeed a 'promotion', societally speaking, for Elgar when he was made a Baronet after being a knight, but it was not the peerage he sought.

I began reading more about the peerage system on Wikipedia and found it very interesting.  For example, the Monarch of the UK is not technically able to hold a peerage, yet there is an honorary Dukedom associated with the throne (the Dukedom of Lancaster).  This ties directly into Henry IV, whose family held the Dukedom of Lancaster prior to his ascent to the throne.  In fact, one of his younger sons, Prince John, was of Lancaster.  It provided a wonderful personal connection for me into this topic, which was so near and dear to Elgar.

The Lost Chord

As one will of course expect, the reading of the two for the end of this past week that most caught my attention was "The Lost Chord."  This reference to the wonderful Sullivan song was quite apt for the article Temperley presented.  However, I will focus on the actual work itself.

"The Lost Chord" was a song composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan in 1877, and was an emotionally charged work.  Composed at the bedside of his brother Fred (it would be his deathbed), the song became an instant hit.  A brief word on Fred Sullivan:  he was apparently a very talented performer.  He was in the original production of Thespis, the very first collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan, and was the original Learned Judge in their second collaboration, Trial by Jury.  Fred was apparently supposed to be the title character in The Sorcerer, which opened in November of 1877.  However, poor Fred died on January 18, just five days after the date on the manuscript to "The Lost Chord".  Which brings us back to the song.

"The Lost Chord" is a setting of lyrics by Adelaide A. Proctor, and tells of the power of music.  The lyrics are:

"Seated one day at the organ,
I was weary and ill at ease,
And my fingers wandered idly
Over the noisy keys;
I know not what I was playing
Or what I was dreaming then,
But I struck one chord of music,
Like the sound of a great Amen,
Like the sound of a great Amen.

It flooded the crimson twilight,
Like the close of an Angel's Psalm,
And it lay on my fever'd spirit,
With a touch of infinite calm,

It quieted pain and sorrow,
Like love overcoming strife,
It seem'd the harmonious echo
From our discordant life.
It link'd all perplexed meanings,
Into one perfect peace,
And trembled away into silence,
As if it were loth to cease;

I have sought but I seek it vainly,
That one lost chord divine,
Which came from the soul of the organ,
And enter'd into mine.

It may be that Death's bright Angel,
Will speak in that chord again;
It may be that only in Heav'n,
I shall hear that grand Amen.
It may be that Death's bright Angel,
Will speak in that chord again;
It may be that only in Heav'n,
I shall hear that grand Amen."

One can see the appeal of this work to a man in Sullivan's position, watching his brother fade before his eyes.  The beauty of the song can be heard in this 1888 (yes, the year is right) recording, making it one of the first musical recordings of all time (it is just the tune, but still...it's 1888!!):

http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/other_sullivan/html/recordings/Lost%20Chord.mp3

 and the full song in these various recordings from youtube:

John McCormack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdh0lbIj-Bw

Enrico Caruso - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdh0lbIj-Bw

   *I must admit, his English is actually much better than I expected!!! (MUCH better than Pavarotti's was)

Nelson Eddie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKKi0vsGDNM

I hope you all enjoy!!

Opera House Boxes: A proud (and traditionally noisy) establishment

So, here we are talking about traditions in the opera house.  In the accounts given in Solie's chapter pertaining to this proud establishment, we learn that some of the traditions within the boxes of the opera house had not changed in the several hundred years between the first professional opera houses opening in Italy and the houses of the Victorian age.  Such traditions include the purpose of the box (as much to be seen as to see the show) and the fact that operas were not, as they are today, a rigidly scheduled evening out.  People still would arrive throughout the evening, making dinner plans perhaps at a nearby restaurant.  This was particularly common in an evening when multiple works were being presented.  A wonderful example is when one looks at the opening night of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, which was presented as the third show of an evening that featured as the main entertainment La Périchole by Offenbach.  In tradition for the times, the program of the evening had the starting times listed for each of the three works.  This was in order for the audience members to choose which portions of the evening they wished to attend.  Some would arrive in time for the main work, ignoring the opener.  Others might not be particularly interested in the Offenbach work and may come for the opener, make dinner reservations during La Périchole, and then return in time for the curtain of Trial by Jury.  Such was the normal etiquette for the Victorian house.

There is also discussion in the Solie article about how discussions, especially among the men in the opera boxes, would revolve around things far removed from the show they are 'watching.'  Men may discuss their business (especially the nouveau riche, who made their fortunes industrially).  This is similary connected to the etiquette of the old opera houses, where one might have people playing card games or otherwise gambling, or buying wares from vendors, during the show.  This tradition gave rise to the "aria di sorbett", or an aria by a lesser character.  This was literally the time where audience members might buy ice cream.  Not dissimilar to the vendors found at modern sporting events, which of course ties into the fact that, by the end of the chapter, the sporting events of the time were beginning to become as socially important, or more so, than the opera houses.

Grammy Awards Countdown: A Victorian Connection

As we passed the 2011 Grammy Awards, there is an important connection to the Victorian era.  Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) wrote one grand opera in his life.  This opera, Ivanhoe, has seen its share of performances, but has remained in relative obscurity to the opera world at large.  That being said, an important new recording was produced, sponsored by the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society in the UK.  Published on the Chandros label, and with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, top-level soloists and the choruses sung by the Adrian Partington Singers, this Ivanhoe recording, I hear, is considered the premiere recording of the work.  Apparently, those that are truly in the know have agreed with this assessment, as this recording was nominated for the Grammy Award in the "Best Opera Recording" category.  Although up against stiff competition, even being nominated has been huge in the realm of G&S enthusiasts, and more generally Victorian music enthusiasts.

As the Awards have passed, I can say that the recording did NOT win.  However, it still was a wonderful exposure for a lesser known opera written during the Victorian era.  Not much in the way of grand opera came out of England (as we have read, there was a strong love still for everything Italian and German in nature, but not much made in the native tongue) during this time.  Ivanhoe showed that there was indeed the ability to write quality opera among the composers of the UK.  Of course, British opera would truly reach its pinnacle under Benjamin Britten in the following century.  Sullivan, however, was given the opportunity to spread his compositional wings a bit and expand beyond his previous theatrical writing, which of course focused around the comic opera / operetta genre.

It is certainly a testament to the passion of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, that they went through the effort to put this project together.  The full score used was put together by conductor Robin Gordon-Powell, who has recently finished putting together a score for another lesser-known work, The Beauty Stone.  Word is that that work will be the next project recorded by the Society on the Chandros label.  Hopefully, it will meet with similar success.

'Girling' at the piano...a guy's reactions

In the chapter entitled " 'Girling' at the Parlor Piano", Solie covers an interesting and powerful aspect of life for the young women of the Victorian era.  The discussion revolves around the piano specifically, and music in general, in the development of a girl into a marriage-ready young woman.  It is explained that  young woman would be expected to learn the piano from a young age, and that this skill was considered a basic requirement of women ready to be married.  The skill was not so much expected for the quality of the performer created, but more for the ability to entertain her family, and when she had daughters, to help guide their own development.  In this was, the cycle was perpetuated.

From our own 21st Century perspective, this seems a rather ridiculous expectation and requirement.  Today, marriageability is determined by all manner of criterion that have to do with a person's quality and individuality, rather than adhering to a pre-determined pattern.


However, Solie shows the various other impacts that occurred from this 'girling' expectation.  Some girls took to the piano playing readily, such as future nurse Florence Nightingale.  It was fascinating to read how eager she was, and how much she enjoyed that part of her upbringing.  In contrast, you had some girls that would rather be doing anything other than playing.  This is where, as a musician, I most strongly disagree with the forcing of the instrument upon the girls.  Music is only meaningful, in my opinion, when it is accepted into your life willingly.  The last thing I would like to see is a person turned off to music because it was forced upon them.

While I can certainly appreciate the idea behind such measures in the much-stricter Victorian society, I am also quite happy that we have moved beyond this.  Society benefits most from the diversity found in individuality; by allowing that to be found, we improve the prospect for a better tomorrow.  Today, we find much more allowance for individuality; the best thing we can do for future generations is to encourage the continuity, and even expansion, of this acceptance.

An introduction to SavoyNet: The world's online Gilbert and Sullivan Community

As Gilbert and Sullivan play a prominent role in any discussion of Victorian music (indeed, we have an entire unit on them centered around Princess Ida), I feel it is important to use an early blog post to introduce everyone to SavoyNet, the very knowledgeable online Gilbert and Sullivan Society.  Anyone interested in joining the group after reading this, please let me know.  It is free to join, and there are some certifiable experts on the G&S shows specifically, and that entire era more generally, who contribute regularly.

SavoyNet is run primarily as an email forum.  The members are all part of a massive Listserv (I believe there are over 700 members world-wide) and threads are created covering myriad topics within the topsy-turvey realm of Gilbert and Sullivan.  Some interesting topics recently covered in threads include a discussion pertaining to the Savoy Theater, both in its original form and its current; a discussion about the views Stephen Sondheim holds about the G&S shows; and one of my personal favorites, a very diverse discourse on an incident that occurred in a production of The Mikado in Montana.  Missoula Children's Theater put on a production of The Mikado in which they observed a common tradition:  in Ko-Ko's 'Little List' song, they inserted current political figures into the intentionally obscure final verse.  I have seen productions that have targeted G.W. Bush, the Governator, and others.  In this particular version, the song included Sarah Palin in a list of those who "never would be missed" should the town's Lord High Executioner be forced to act professionally (anyone who would like a further explanation of this, please ask).  However a letter was written (I am not clear whether to the company itself or published as an editorial in a local paper) that called for an apology at this terrible insult.  Apparently, it was considered highly offensive by this individual that it be suggested that Sarah Palin could be decapitated and that no one would miss her.  The discussion has been very heated on SavoyNet, mostly concerning the fact that this is TRADITION and that Palin is not being singled out for any other reason than that she is an easily recognizable personage.  In the past, it was common to find references to Nixon, or Winston Churchill.  Gilbert intentionally wrote that verse in a vague manner so that references appropriate to the day could be insinuated.  Such political satire was a trait of his writing (and many others of the Victorian era).

Such discussions are common on SavoyNet, and it is very helpful to have many of the world's experts just a listserv message away.  Again, if anyone is interested in joining, please let me know.

Assumed Familiarity

So, with travelling home this past weekend, I completely failed to upload this before my crazy Monday started, so here are my missing blogs.  Number 1:  Assumed Familiarity.  This is a response to the Solie reading from last Thursday's class, in which it was discussed that there was a certain degree of musical savvy-ness taken for granted among the readers of MacMillan's journal.  This idea pertained not only to the musical articles written in the publication, but also to other subjects, and even genres of literature.  For instance, it was discussed that fiction writers would use familiar scenes from operas to set particular moments in their writing.  Similarly, certain musical styles were indicative of character traits (of the examples given in the reading, my personal favorite was "a rigid and unsympathetic woman is revealed as a 'most correct' pianist") by novelists.  I find this an interesting cultural trait, and it lead me to consider what would be equivalent in today's society?

In the U.S., an assumption on the public's opinion of certain reality TV shows / personalities, popular music acts, and other mass media-enhanced public spectacles could be considered reasonable.  How many references lately have been made about Snooki, American Idol, or the Super Bowl?  There is a reasonable degree to which such iconic aspects of the popular culture can be assumed as familiar.

Would that such familiarity still existed with the higher arts.  It would be lovely to be able to reference a particularly humorous moment of Il barbiere (other than Figaro's "Largo al factotum") in a general public setting and get an appreciative chuckle, instead of a look as if we suddenly sprouted another appendage.  Or, to tie this into the Victorian era specifically, how exciting would it be to say something is "often" done and have a room full of the general public respond with questions of whether you mean "often" frequently" or "orphan" a person who's lost their parents (I would love to know how many of you readers get that reference ;-) ).

Well, that is my two bits about the topic.  To conclude, it seems that we can draw current parallels to such assumed familiarity with an artistic topic, but the specifics of those topics sadly differ to a great degree.

Why take this course?

As we are now more than a decade into the 21st Century, what of the Victorian era still holds such a strong fascination?  Is it the social demands?  The clothes?  The facial hair?  Well, for me, the period holds a much more potent lure:  the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan (surprise, surprise, surprise, I know).  However, with this focus on my musical endeavors, and with my Fulbright prospects looming brighter and brighter, this course is very important to me.

While I certainly am working my way into the realm of "knowledgeable" when it comes to the shows themselves, I find myself sadly lacking in the finer details of the era surrounding those shows.  I am hoping that with this class, I will be able to further my understanding about the culture and lifestyle into which these shows were born, and which in turn informed the very conception of the shows themselves.  It will be particularly pertinent information if I am granted the Fulbright, as part of my work will be identifying what elements of the shows must be maintained in order to maintain the integrity of the original production.  By furthering my understanding of the culture, I will be more capable of identifying what things must be maintained, and what are elements specific to the Victorian culture that can be adapted to bring a 21st century perspective into the show, thus making it more likely to be successful with a modern audience.  These concepts will help me to produce production guides that will hopefully encourage university music departments to produce the shows more frequently, particularly those lesser-known works that seem to be deemed unapproachable by American universities.

With these goals, I am eager to explore this era in the small-seminar format.  It will allow me to benefit from the insight of a diverse group of people.  The combined effect of the discussions we will have should open my eyes to a fuller view of this time period than I could hope to gain in my own exploration of the materials we will cover this semester.  If 'American Opera since 1950' was any indication, this will be one of the most useful and important courses in my graduate studies.