Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan Williams: a comparative analysis of selected wind bands compositions

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.