Abstract:
Among the first composers to write for the wind band in the
twentieth century were Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan
Williams. While analyses of individual works of each of these composers exist, there are no comparative studies which show the relation
of the compositions to one another and the composers to one another.
Of interest to the writer is the relationship of the three to one
another, to their music, and to subsequent composers of band
literature .
Biographical information is supplied for each composer. The
analyses, which are based on the theories of Heinrich Schenker, are
presented in prose form with the following categories providing an
outline: tonality, harmony, melody, rhythm, form, instrumentation,
and performance practices. Schenker graphs are provided to show the
organization of the compositions.
The analyses of the compositions yield the following
conclusions:
1. All three composers used elementary structural forms with
little or no melodic development.
2. While Holst and Vaughan Williams seemed content to state
the themes in a straightforward manner without supportive elaboration , Grainger was concerned with reflecting the image and character of the
folk singer and varying the supportive elements.
3. While the harmony of the music of Holst and Vaughan
Williams is conservatively functional, that of Grainger's is extended
and developed.
4. W hile th e rhythm of the music of H olst and Vaughan
W illiam s is b a sic a lly co n serv ativ e, a basic p rin c ip le of the music of
G rainger is the subservience of rhythm to melody.
5. W hile th e scoring of the music of H olst and Vaughan
W illiam s provides a foundation and a model fo r subsequent com posers,
th e im portance of G rain g er's sco rin g is far-reach in g and consequen
t i a l , u tiliz in g techniques w hich, in the very early tw en tieth century,
were q u ite novel fo r wind in stru m en ts.
