The Quarterly review Stanfrod: Music and the War

p.393 Stanford holds national convulsions and the international wars as awakening influencers of
musical art. Its an interesting problem both historically and psychologically. The evidence of its
influence is cumulative at no time has a great country failed to produce great composers when its
resources have been put to the supreme test of war provided there is scope for a genuinely heroic
effort. The emergence of great artistic endeavours is just as likely during moments of success as
times of need.

397. The modern developments of German music since the deaaths of wagner and brahms throw a
lurid light on the change in trend of German music. The anti militarist and peace loving character in
England have emerged. German militarism has been reliant upon numbers, rapidity of
concentration, perfection of machinery, repression of individual initiative, and in action the attack in
close formation of which repression is necessarily cororrolary. In their recent music all these
elements can be clearly traced. Strauss is the counterpart of Bernhardi and the General Staff. He
relies increasingly upon the numbers of his executants, upon the technical facility of his players,
upon the additions and improvements to musical instruments, upon the subordination of invention
to effect, upon the massing of sounds and the superabundance of colour to conceal inherent
poverty. A review of his career is convincing of these facts. Strauss began work as a chamber music
wrier of average ability.

405. Arts are a fundamental element in the development of nations in terms of national evolution
and refinement. No man need be a literary critic or even a great writer to grast the importance of
the concept of a sound for a nation. If the importance of arts as a national asset can be grasped then
there will be enough conviction to induce a more wholesome artistic contribution.

405. Music has escapepd the most heavily as a result of the disastruous effects of ww1. It has earned
far less than its coleagues and has less savings from better days to rely on. Many singers and
msuicians filled the ranks of the Army in terms of both active and auxillary participation.

406. Stanford also identifies that Germany was the centre of musical production and publication.
The commercial ramifications, which it has so sedulously fostered for so long is far reaching.
Supplied the world with great works of great masters while the emergence of British music primarily
existed on the shelves of composers and in manuscript form. English society followed the trend of
society so british composers would find it impossible to obtain any value for their music. The results
of music publiushers would see a sharp increase in the prominence of ballads. For English composers
a quartet symphony orconcerto would be seen as far too ephermal to be be considered in the same
league as a balad as there is no demand for it, the author will be pitied for being overly ideal

408. War has its blessings as well as its curses. One of the greatest of its blessings is the awakening
of patriotism. Much has been written about patriotism in business and its utilisation in giving
stimulus to the nations manufacturers and inventions. Litlle has been said of its influence in the arts,
and especially in the music, the most wholesome aid to patriotism within and outside the field. To
stimulate artistic patriotism is the need of the moment. We must cultivate a trust in British ideals
and British effort at least as great as other nations have long shown in their own. If this patriotism
has been long dormant it is not too late to wake it. Ifi it is restricted in amount it can be extended.
But what is needed is a strong lead in terms of direction of positivitiy, an encouragemtn of all that is
good within and in terms of equal ability a preference to the men and productions of our own
country,

Stanford and War in Music and Letters, Heward

The war was a great trial to Stanford. Like most super sensitive people (refer to the notion that he
usually forgot the importance of performing when conducting due to his emotional overinvolvement
in the music as per Dubhill some aspects of his work and influence p.55). Heward comments on the
physical cowardice of Stanford and due to his paranoia he travelled to Windsor to avoid the
raids.Having known strauss well Stanford completely detested about his attitude to England and
although admiring rosenkavelier it ultimately provided a level of decadence to the german character.
Even Wagner could not escape stanfrods tirade. The war also ended the Royal Colleges presentation
of opera much to the distaste of Stanford.

JJ Ryan Opera iIreland before 1925 in Irish Music in The Twentieth Century

p.39 - Throughout the late 19th century music in Ireland was following its own individual channel
determined by the need to corroborate the emergin nationalist sentiment than by any
cosmpololitan trend. Europe by contrast was in thrall to the utter spectacle of opera. For some
reason Ireland did not use opera asa avehicle for promoting political sentiments.

p.40 - A country that created a miasma of literary talent mught be predicted to parallel in terms of
musical talent, particularly as opera is a discipline which combines the musical and the dramatic.
Stanford did have the most consistent promotion. At least some of the notions of independence
would be promoted in opera as nationalists would try to idealize a future which is both glorious and
equally lamentative of the past. This is not what happened but was essentially the essence of high
European romanticism of the time.

- The touring of opera companies was proinenet as Stanford emerged. They frequented local
societies such as clonmel galway and Waterford. Some of these were long lived and annual
productions and their presentation of light opera in the vernacular was a source of great pride amd
focus for community endeavour. For pragmatic reasons they only visited urban centres so the
influence of opera on morale was really only conflated whith Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Stanford
himself quotes that opera is the most direct in its appeal to every class giving the maximum
employment and incentive to the profession, as well as to many other crafts, scenic, poetic, and
scientific. 1.

p.45- Limitation of city focus was not the only shackles; The whole musical infrastructure primary
education, technical education, resources, venues, and many other prerequisites for a healthy

1
Stanford The Case for National Opera in Studies and Memories 5
musical life was fairly deficient in Ireland in comparison to London. Consequntly the opera base was
low and its influence was a minuimum. In addition opera was een as decadent and streets away
from the noble pursuits of the Gaelic League.

Colman Pearce Contemporary Irish Music.

p.50 and p.51

Demonstrably true that all nations that have managed to withstand oppression have also contrived
to establish a recognisable national identity in the Arts. Important schools have flourished in the
netheralnds, Germany, Austria and England However there does not seem to be any Irish School
I terms of the arts that does not precede medieval times.

- The pivotal figure in our renascanse is Sir Charles Stanford Too audible to brahms at times.
Foreign influences direct and indirect. Composer trying to find an individual were open to
the prevailing leading influences at work in Europe at the time. Without dwelling on the
obvious isms All irish composers are indebted to ravel Debussy prokofiev etc. In other words
we were in exactly thje same position as other civilised European countries cross pollination
has always been a healthy and detectable activity in the arts, not least music. These
elements mixed with our by now surging nationalist strain and aided and abetted by folk
song revival in England helped to promote our composers personalities.
- English composers with bonds to Ireland whihch do make them equate to spiritual Irishmen
are Moeran born in London with an Irish Father and English Mother. Avid songwriter, 7
poems of Joyce are masterpieces. Bax was a high preist of the celtic twighlight movement
and was a great lover of Irish folklore and Intimate of Yats and Greagory. He regreted he had
no trace of irish ancestry in his forebears.

A Trade Union History of Musicians in Ireland:

p.25

- 1912 witnessed the boost of an Askwith award which benefitted musician in rovincial music
halls. Although no minimum rates were imposed it allocated rates for overtime, additional
rehearsals and matinees. That same year the Memebershi of the AMU rose by 2000. This
was. At that time the Dublin labourers weekly wage was 2 per week so the Dublin
musicians wage of 25c (1.5s.od) was indeed paltry. (THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE ROLE
OF THE NOTION OF MUSICIAN AS A PROFESSION WAS GROWING BUT NOT FULLY
RECOGNIZED WITH PROTECTION)

TO TALENT ALONE: p.279, Dr. Annie Patterson.

- War Barely affected the RIAM losing no students or staff were Killed in action only several
governors lost family in action. In 1915 a recruitment poster was erected at the bequest of
 the Lord Lietenant but only one member of staff actually joined up and that was before the
appearance of the poster. Of a much more serious nature was a letter from the Treasury
that in view of the imperative necessity of restricting expenditure in all possible directions
the gmnt grant was to be suspended. The academy with the lord lieutenant prepared a
lengthy statement redolent of those drawn up in the 1860s in pursuit of the original grant
and asserted the usefulness of the institution. Dublin Corporation asl osupported the
request and by 1916 the Grant was reintroduced.

March Away My Brothers Irish Soldiers and Their Music in The Great War Brendan MacQuaile

p. 11 Myers Forword The music forms a part of the unconscious mind of everyone and is
aconstant in society (CC) Many people have both nostalgic and not memories of the music of the
time. To here keep the home fires burning may evoke human emotions that accumulate to fleeting
sadness. This is one way in which the atrocities of the war live on. The Songs that the Irish soldiers
sang were largely those that British soldiers also sang although with exceptions. The returning to
hostility was upsetting of course. Brendan MacQuaile measures human emotion by looking at
specific people which diffuses the fact that it is impossible to measure human emotion statistically.

p. 17 It is difficult to envisage how important music and sining were a century ago. Our modern
times have given us a myriad of communication techniques and options through the
technologisation of society.Music for the masses by contrast was sheet music being sold for one to
take home and play on their piano.

P.18 Subsequently this was also the era of the music hall and Dublin had many of them including the
Theatre Royal. R&R founded here in 1913 while many operatic stars also presented performances
here. By this time Ireland also had its own rising superstar in John McCormack.

Music played a major role in the morale of soldiers on the front and in the trenches. Many of the
diary entries of the soldiers refer to concert performances singsongs whoch took place usually with
ht eaccompianiment of an accordion or harmonica.

p.19 Slump in record sales hindered the popular development of the record. Smash hit of long way
to Tipperary recorded by Daily Mai lcorespondant George cornock and later recorded by mccormack
adding to its popularity. Initially played by Connaught rangers on the march and later picked up by
Biritsh counterparts.

Ivor novellos keep the home fires burning was also recorded by the versatile Stanley Kirkby in 1916.
The wars beginning saw the expansion of many forms of musical entertainment from stirring
marches to trench parodies. Music halls were well attended and Popular.
Salonika: The opportunity of enlistment provided the opportunity to get away from poverty. One of
the main peculiarities of ballad makers is to laugh at a situation where you cant do anything else
about it. Salonika is quite bawdy and was prominent in Cork during the war. Its an anti recruiting
song and the terms soldiers and slackers are used to describe both who left and came home. While
the soldiers were away wives were entitled to separation pay. They were knows as separas and were
despised by other women. Tomas o Canainn included it in his down erins lovely lee songs of cork. He
notes that it is a cork city song from the ww1 but gives no credit. He suggests the reference to Sinn
Fein in the final stanza suggests the malleability of ballads to political situations.

Its a long way to Tipperary:

The Chorus clearly is not concerned with the army but rather it is a statement of homesickness
experienced by ex-pats in the British capital. In 1912 the way from London was long. Initially heard
by a number of Connaught rangers soldiers the song was published in the Daily Mail and
subsequently other units began to sing it while civillians went out to purchase sheet music en masse.
It was also translated into dozens of other languages and snippets used on posters.

"It's A Long, Long Way To Tipperary" was written by Jack Judge, who by trade was a
fishmonger, although he also worked as a semi-professional music hall entertainer.
In January 1912, he was appearing at the Grand in Stalybridge, Manchester. Just
after midnight one night, while leaving the club, he bet someone that he could
compose and sing a new song before the day was over. On the way back to his
lodgings he heard someone say "It's a long way to..." somewhere or other, and the
following morning he sat down and wrote the song, choosing Tipperary as the
destination.
The conductor of the orchestra at the Grand wrote out the band parts, and Judge
sang it the same night. By the end of the week it had become the centerpiece of his
performance. Bert Feldman (of music publishers B. Feldman) bought the song from
Judge and Henry Williams for five shillings, and published it in October the same
year, but after the outbreak of war in Europe it had become such a massive hit that
he agreed to pay them 5 a week for the rest of their lives. By the end of 1914, ten
thousand copies of the sheet music were being sold every single day, it was
translated into seventeen languages, and went on to sell eight million copies by the
time the War was over.