The Classical Music Book

nationalism with operas in his

native language on Czech themes.

Later Czech composers included

Antonín Dvorˇ ák and Leoš Janá cˇ ek.

Nationalism in music spread

north into Scandinavia, too, with

folk-inspired music from Edvard

Grieg, Carl Nielsen, and Jean

Sibelius, and south to Spain, where

composers such as Isaac Albeniz

and Manuel de Falla tapped into a

particularly rich source of folk music.

American sounds

As Antonín Dvorˇák discovered

when he visited the US at the end

of the century, America had also

developed its own musical voice,

a mix of styles and traditions that

reflected the diversity of its people.

It was also a young culture, finding

its way after centuries of following

Europe’s lead. Although Native

Americans had a long-established

folk culture, the more recent settlers

had yet to develop one. As a result,

composers such as Louis Moreau

Gottschalk borrowed from the

songs and dances of slaves in the

Southern States and the melting

pot of sounds in places like New

Orleans. These forms eventually

evolved into ragtime and jazz.

The spirituals of the African

slaves influenced popular song

writers, such as Stephen Foster.

Along with the hymn tunes sung

by the early settlers, they formed

the basis for an American classical

tradition pioneered by Edward

MacDowell and Charles Ives.

In Europe

Some countries did not feel the

same need to flex their nationalist

muscles. Italy and Germany were

in the process of unification, but

their cultures—especially their

musical cultures—needed little

reinforcement. The same was true

to a lesser extent of France, but

composers such as Gabriel Fauré

and Camille Saint-Saëns sought

to distance themselves from the

Germanic Romantic-style and

wrote music that was lighter

and more transparent.

In Britain, where composers

generally accepted German

domination of music, Edward

Elgar embraced the richness of the

orchestral sound and harmonies

of German music but pursued a

nationalistic intent, with evocations

of the English landscape and

themes. Later English composers,

such as Ralph Vaughan Williams,

came to use this style as a vehicle

to carry folk tunes. ■

1896

1898

1900

1900 1908

1919

The seven-scene opera

Sadko by Nikolai

Rimsky-Korsakov

evokes a Russian epic

poem about a merchant

from Novgorod.

In England, Edward

Elgar’s The Dream of

Gerontius applies the

dramatic devices of late

Romantic opera to a choral

work with great success.

Jean Sibelius’s

Finlandia is

composed as a form

of protest against the

actions of the Russian

Empire in Finland.

Isaac Albéniz’s

Iberia suite conjures

up the landscapes of

Southern Spain and

the Jewish quarter

of Madrid.

American composer

Edward MacDowell,

a member of the

Second New England

School, publishes Ten

Woodland Sketches.

Spanish composer

Manuel de Falla’s

ballet El sombrero de

tres picos premieres

in London, with sets

by Pablo Picasso.

NATIONALISM 1830 –1920 205

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