| Unit name | Heirs and Rebels? Vaughan Williams and Holst |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSI39007 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Heldt |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Close colleagues and friends (albeit not always uncritical of each other), sharing interests in folksong, early music, the development of musical life in Britain, mysticism (albeit of rather different kinds) and socialism, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst were at the centre of crucial developments in British art music just after 1900 - Vaughan Williams increasingly close to the institutional centre of that musical life, Holst in a more marginal position as a music teacher and adult educator. But the musical consequences they drew from seemingly similar perspectives show both obvious parallels and drastic differences (which puzzled the two themselves). In comparing both their careers and their music across different genres and decades, we can trace key ideological battle lines of the 'English Musical Renaissance' (and listen to and analyse and think about a lot of wonderful music).
