Percy Grainger collected English folk song only for a short period between 1905 and 1909 as part of the revival of interest in all things English among antiquarians, folklorists, and nationalists. Grainger’s publication of his transcriptions and analysis in the Journal of the Folk Song Society in 1908 is considered one of the most insightful and groundbreaking examinations of English folk song of its time, far removed from the dilettante activities of many other collectors. His article was, however, harshly criticized by the Editorial Committee of the Journal, and Grainger subsequently never again published any significant transcriptions of English folk music. Grainger’s English folk song transcriptions have received their fair share of attention from ethnomusicologists. Thus far, however, no one has examined the connections between this aspect of his musical activities and his modernist philosophy of music. I contend that Grainger’s article contains the seeds of what would eventually become his mature, though never fully realized, musical aesthetic, and that it was this aesthetic that allowed him to examine English folk song in a manner never before imagined by other collectors. This dissertation follows the thread of his aesthetic throughout his numerous musical interests in order to demonstrate the potency of his philosophy as manifest in his examination of folk song in the Journal. To this end, I bring to bear a wide range of critical methodologies, including those of ethnomusicology, aesthetics, and critical theory. Grainger never spelled out with any clarity the fundamental tenets of his aesthetic, but I believe that such an aesthetic can be reconstructed through a broad examination of his writings and his music. Grainger shares his role in this dissertation with many other characters including Benjamin Britten, Evald Tang Kristensen, Cecil Sharp, Bela Bartok, Ferruccio Busoni, and even Jacques Derrida, often even ceding his place in the spotlight to them. This is, however, a crucial occurrence, for as my examination demonstrates, this fully realized version of his aesthetic means that Grainger emerges as a far more important and revolutionary thinker in the history of music than he has thus far been considered.

Percy Grainger collected English folk song only for a short period between 1905 and 1909 as part of the revival of interest in all things English among antiquarians, folklorists, and nationalists. Grainger’s publication of his transcriptions and analysis in the Journal of the Folk Song Society in 1908 is considered one of the most insightful and groundbreaking examinations of English folk song of its time, far removed from the dilettante activities of many other collectors. His article was, however, harshly criticized by the Editorial Committee of the Journal, and Grainger subsequently never again published any significant transcriptions of English folk music. Grainger’s English folk song transcriptions have received their fair share of attention from ethnomusicologists. Thus far, however, no one has examined the connections between this aspect of his musical activities and his modernist philosophy of music. I contend that Grainger’s article contains the seeds of what would eventually become his mature, though never fully realized, musical aesthetic, and that it was this aesthetic that allowed him to examine English folk song in a manner never before imagined by other collectors. This dissertation follows the thread of his aesthetic throughout his numerous musical interests in order to demonstrate the potency of his philosophy as manifest in his examination of folk song in the Journal. To this end, I bring to bear a wide range of critical methodologies, including those of ethnomusicology, aesthetics, and critical theory. Grainger never spelled out with any clarity the fundamental tenets of his aesthetic, but I believe that such an aesthetic can be reconstructed through a broad examination of his writings and his music. Grainger shares his role in this dissertation with many other characters including Benjamin Britten, Evald Tang Kristensen, Cecil Sharp, Bela Bartok, Ferruccio Busoni, and even Jacques Derrida, often even ceding his place in the spotlight to them. This is, however, a crucial occurrence, for as my examination demonstrates, this fully realized version of his aesthetic means that Grainger emerges as a far more important and revolutionary thinker in the history of music than he has thus far been considered.

abstract: The Concerto for Oboe and String by Ralph Vaughan Williams is often described as a pastoral work without any consideration for what makes that an accurate description. This paper outlines the connections to English folk song that create what are considered the pastoral qualities in the work. Vaughan Williams' relationship with English folk song, as collector and arranger, is well-documented, as is his advocacy for their use in compositions. By the time he wrote the Oboe Concerto at the end of his career, folk song elements had completely infused his compositional style. The Oboe Concerto shares many stylistic traits with English folk song. These stylistic elements: mode, melodic structure, form, and rhythm and meter are first analyzed in terms of English folk song, then how these features are utilized in the Oboe Concerto. Another connection to English folk song is in the manner of accompanying the Concerto. Vaughan Williams had firm opinions on how to accompany folk songs and wrote many sample accompaniments, which bear a marked resemblance to the accompaniment for the Oboe Concerto. The same is true for the accompaniment he wrote for a specifically folk song-inspired work, the Six Studies in English Folk Song for Violoncello and Pianoforte. Specific examples from both works are compared to the Concerto accompaniment. Finally, several motives and melodic figures found in folk songs included in the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, which was edited by Vaughan Williams, are also found in the Oboe Concerto. An understanding of the use of English folk song elements and specific quotes in the Oboe Concerto, as well as the folk song-style treatment in accompaniment provide concrete evidence of the pastoral quality prevalent in many works of Vaughan Williams. Not only can this support a well-informed and more rewarding performance of the Oboe Concerto, but the same analysis can be applied to many of his other works as well, in addition to the works of a generation of English composers whose style he influenced. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2013