SINGING BRITAIN M aterials and suggestions for a unit on the English Folk-song and other early English music su itab le for use in a so cial liv in g course in the junior high school. A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Music The U niversity o f Southern C alifornia In P artial F ulfillm ent of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music by Ruth Anne MeKean June 19^2 UMI Number: ER61761 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP61761 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 This thesis) written by RUTH ANNE MCKEAN under the direction of Faculty Committee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill­ ment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC Dean Secretary Date 1942 Faculty Committee TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I THE PROBLEM........................................................................................................ 1 Statement of the p r o b le m ........................................ 1 Importance of the s t u d y ................................................................... 2 D efin ition of terms u s e d .............................................................. 3 Review of previous related studies .................................... 4 Methods of procedure and sources of d a t a ..................... 5 Organization of remainder of th esis .................................... 9 II MUSIC AND EARLY ENGLISH HISTORY.................................................... 11 Before the Norman Conquest ......................................................... 11 1066 to the time of D u n sta b le.............................................. 14 1400 to the heyday of the m a d r ig a l............................... 18 1588 to 1630, the Golden Age oft he madrigal . . . 23 III MUSIC AND THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE............................................... 42 The English fo lk -s o n g ........................................................................ 42 D efin ition and origin of fo lk -s o n g ................................. 42 C ollecting o f English folk-song ................................... 44 The folk-song so ciety ......................................................... 46 Later p u b lic a tio n s................................................................... 47 Form and character .................................... 47 Folk scales ............................................................................. 48 Rhythm and f o r m ........................................................................ 48 Types of the English fo lk -s o n g ......................................... 50 IV SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................... 83 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................ 86 LIST OF CHARTS CHARTS PAGE I Typical English Songs of the Period 1066 to 1630 . . 31 II Recordings of Early English Music ....................................... 37 Vocal M u s i c ............................................................................................ 37 Instrumental M u sic ............................................................................. 40 Modern Settings o f Early English Music .......................... 4l III Types of the English Folk-Song from D efin itiv e Sources 39 H istorical and Legendary B a lla d s ........................................ 59 Love Ballads and L y r i c s .............................................................. 60 Ballads of the Sea and S h a n t i e s ......................................... 64 Songs of Rural L ife and Occupations .......................... 66 Ballads of Adventure and Hunting, Highwaymen and Poacher Songs .................................................................................. 67 Traditional Carols ............................................................................. 69 IV Folk-Songs and Traditional Songs from School Texts and other Supplementary Books .............................................. 70 V Recordings of Folk M u sic ................................................................. 8l Settings of F o lk -S o n g s................................................................... 8l Compositions Using Folk M aterial ......................................... 82 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Recent changes in the curriculum of the junior high school have given music a place of greater importance and have also created the need for redirecting music work offered in general classes . Some years ago in a class of history or litera tu re a song or dance by a chosen few was added to a program as an illu str a tio n o f the music of a country. It performed th is function w ell and aroused so much in terest that educators realized that music had unsuspected charms. Instead of Its being a sid elin e for the improvement of the more talented it was to become a v ita liz in g and integral part o f the curriculum. Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of th is study, (l) to present in terestin g and authentic m aterial on the h istory and use of early English music for a so cia l liv in g course in the eighth or ninth grade lev e l of the junior high school; (2 ) to emphasize the folk-song and the madrigal and to include charts of actual music in these and other related forms which may be sung or played in c la s s ; also (3 ) to suggest, through a fle x ib le plan and treatment of the subject of English music, p o s sib ilitie s for adapting th is m aterial to a particular teaching situ a tio n and for developing original u n its . 2 Importance of the stu dy. The pioneer days of music education were accented by hardships and slow recognition. W illiam Wrinkle remarked, "Music came into the curriculum of the secondary schools by way of the back door. tfl This fact is granted to be true and it may be added that music fir s t came into the school as a side issue during the noon hour and a fter school, no cred it being given. But fortunately those days are past and the present problem of the music educator is to ju stify the opening of the back door and the inclu sion of music into the curriculum. A well-known music educator, L ilia B elle P itts, has stated , "The demand for music as an integral part of so cia l n2 and educational schemes was never so urgentas now." It is in fu lfillm en t of th is so cia l need that music has become a part of the core curriculum which centers around the so cia l studies and includes English and the a r ts. There Is no cut- and-dried plan to be follow ed in the contribution of music in the junior high school. However, the problem is an in te r e st­ ing one and progress has been made toward its solu tion . ^ W illiam W rinkle, The New High School in the Making (New York: The American Book Company, 1938), p. 188. 2 L ilia B elle P itts, "Music Education and Important Curricular T rends," Music Educators National Conference Year­ book, Vol. 30, 1939-19^0, p. 131- 3 That music may he an aid to the b etter understanding of a n a tio n fs h istory and its culture is quite evid en t, but unless the music is studied in its rela tio n to the general history th is close connection is not apparent. Its various forms, both trad ition al and composed, are so largely a resu lt of a ll kinds o f influences that through the subtle undercur­ rent of melody and rhyme one gains much that the h istorian was unable to convey. I t was the b e lie f that music co n tri­ butes to a fu lle r understanding of a country's h isto r ica l and cultural progress which prompted the form ulation of th is study for music and so cial liv in g in the junior high school. D efin ition of terms used. The terms used in th is study may be interpreted as follow s: Popular song. In its general use the term "popular song” refers to a song made among the people and for the people, or a song which is generally approved by the m ajority of the people. Composed m usic. The work of an individual is termed "composed music" or art-m usic and is an expression of his ideals and aspirations only. Noted on paper, it is in one unchanged form. M adrigal. The "madrigal" is an elaborate form of secular song for two or more unaccompanied voices singing in combination, a ll the voices being of equal in terest. 4 Ayre. A vocal solo accompanied by the lu te , b a ss-v io l, or other voices is designated by the term Mayren or "air." Folk-song. "Folk-song" is that song which is the spontaneous musical expression of human emotion and experience of the unlettered cla sses, transm itted o rally from generation to generation and shaped by those through whom it is passed. B allad. A type of folk-m usic called the "ballad” originated among the people and is a song which usually t e lls a story of a dramatic incident or bold deed. The narrator has no role in the story and the characters occupy the center of the sta g e. Lyric song. A song which is the expression o f per­ sonal feelin g or emotion rather than of outward incidents or events is termed "lyric song." Review of previous related stu d ies. No previous studies clo sely related to th is subject have as yet come to the atten tion of the w riter. However, L ilia B elle P itts , Music Integration in the Junior High School, has presented a unit for the seventh grade en titled "Music in Merrie England." This unit includes: English songs from texts and community song books; reading m aterial to be correlated with the music; and ideas for integration with other su b jects. The m aterial is w ell chosen and shows Miss P it t s ’ understanding of the various in terests of the p u p ils. 5 Method of procedure and sources o f d a ta. In prepara­ tion for the study presenting m aterials and suggestions for a unit on English music su itab le for use in a social liv in g course in the junior high school, a general survey revealed the d ifferen t phases of the subject which would require study and research. A ttention was fir s t given to general social liv in g requirements to make p ossib le a selectio n of m aterials best adapted to the course. For th is purpose close study was made o f two texts used in the ninth grade, Story of Nations by Rogers, Adams and Brown,^ and S tu ll and Hatch’s Our World Today,^ and reference was made to other school texts:. Through v is its to c ity schools and conferences with the teachersthem selves, every effo rt was made to become acquainted w ith the actual situ ation and the requirements of the p u p ils. To discover the best methods of integrating music with the social liv in g program it was necessary to make a study of the organization of the new curriculum, p articu larly the "core” curriculum, and to study current educational methods. Previous education courses, texts recommended by professors of education, reading of a r tic le s from the Music Educators ^ L ester Rogers, Fay Adams and Walker Brown, Story of Nations (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 193*0* PP• 297-366. 1 > ^ DeForest S tu ll and Roy W. Hatch, Our World Today (Chicago: A llyn and Bacon, 1932), pp. 7-24.