Elgar, Vaughan Williams and the New English Renaissance



Overview

After a century in which it was dismissed as a “land without music”, Britain underwent an extraordinary musical renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The groundwork was laid by Parry and Stanford, in particular, but it was the generations that followed them that burst upon the world as artists of international stature. Elgar, after struggling until he was nearly 40, charmed audiences with his Enigma Variations and had his choral masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, championed by Richard Strauss.

Meanwhile, Ralph Vaughan Williams was striving to forge a new musical style, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Tudor polyphony and English folk song.

These two composers bestride the early 20th century but they were just a part of, although perhaps a major impetus to, a burgeoning of compositional activity. This course explores their lives and works before considering the other significant composers of the first half of the 20th century, including Holst, Delius and Walton.

Programme details

Course starts: 2 Oct 2024

Week 1: Parry, Stanford and the young Elgar.

Week 2: Elgar’s first successes: “Enigma” Variations (1899), and The Dream of Gerontius (1900).

Week 3: Elgar: The two symphonies. The Music Makers. Cello Concerto.

Week 4: Vaughan Williams’s early works. Studies with Ravel. On Wenlock Edge. Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis. The London Symphony.

Week 5: Vaughan Williams: Mass in G minor. Pastoral Symphony. Four Poems by Fredegond Shove.

Week 6: Vaughan Williams: The later works. Serenade to Music. Symphony no. 6. The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Week 7: Gustav Holst. Friendship with Vaughan Williams. The Planets. Egdon Heath.

Week 8: The English "pastoral" composers. Delius, Bax, Finzi, Moeran.

Week 9: The modernists. Bliss, Walton, Rubbra, Berkeley.

Week 10: The inheritors: Britten, Tippett and beyond.

Certification

Digital badge

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add your badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £285.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Mr Jonathan Darnborough

Jonathan Darnborough is Director of Studies in Music and Departmental Lecturer in Music at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. He is the author of Oxford University’s first three online Music courses.

Course aims

To gain an overview of the revival in British composition in the first half of the 20th century.

Course objectives:

  • To study the creative development of Edward Elgar.
  • To study the creative development of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
  • To identify the influences that led to the burgeoning of compositional activity in Britain at that time.
  • To analyse the legacy of this on later generations of British composers.

Teaching methods

The course will be illustrated by audio and video extracts, co-ordinated by computer.  All visual illustrations, including scores, choral texts, video and DVD extracts will be projected on to a large screen.  Audio recordings will be played through high quality hi-fi.  In any musical analyses the tutor will play passages on the piano to provide clear aural comparisons before playing the relevant recordings.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • be able to describe the creative development of Edward Elgar;
  • be able to describe the creative development of Ralph Vaughan Williams;
  • identify the influences that led to the burgeoning of compositional activity in Britain in the first half of the 20th century;
  • name British composers of later generations and say how they were influenced by their predecessors.

Application

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)

Level and demands

No prior knowledge is needed for enjoyment of this course.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support