Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. Vol. 2. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - Jan Smaczny: The stuff of life' - aspects of folksong in the fabric of art music in the British Isles

the influence of folksong, the manner in which his musical voice had been refined by his contact with this native resource. The direct impact of folksong is to be felt in Vaughan Williams' first two symphonies. French influence, in the introduction of the first movement of 'A London Symphony' (no. 2) more especially that of Debussy than Ravel, is again to be found set against the background of broadly conceived symphonic structures. In a 'A Sea Symphony' the scherzo contains folksong elements, namely 'The Golden Vanity' and'The Bold Princess Royal'; in 'A London Symphony' (described almost as accurately as a 'Symphony by a Londoner'; Vaughan Williams spent much of his creative life in the capital city) the ambience is much enhanced in the atmospheric slow movement by the song of a lavender-seller played by a solo viola. These picturesque aspects of the use of folksong are charming, but they are relatively slight set against the extended span of the symphonic canvasses involved. The crucial feature of the involvement of folksong is the way in which it focuses vital musical elements such as melody and consequently harmony. Folksong is a potent presence in terms of both explicit reference and more general melodic outline in Vaughan Williams' operas Hugh the Drover (described as a Ballad Opera) and Sir John in Love, from which perhaps his most famous folksongbased piece derives, The Fantasia on Greensleeves.

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4 While folksong quotation is less obviously part of Vaughan Williams' compositional armoury in later works, the folk affinities remain in melodic outline, modal inflection and many aspects of harmonic detail. Later generations may have challenged many of the precepts of Vaughan Williams' practices, but the lessons learned early in the twentieth century have been well assimilated. The definition of folksong may need to be extended to blues, spirituals, jazz and beyond in the work of such composers as Michael Tippett, James MacMillan and Mark-Anthony Turnage, but the principle is still there with folksong continuing to be very much 'the stuff of life' as far as contemporary music in the British Isles is concerned. 1

4 Arranged by Ralph Greaves. 41