Musical nationalism influenced by ethnic music
History
As a musical movement, nationalism emerged early in the 19th century in connection with political independence movements, and was characterized by an emphasis on national musical elements such as the use of folk songs, folk dances or rhythms, or on the adoption of nationalist subjects for operas, symphonic poems, or other forms of music. As new nations were formed in Europe, nationalism in music was a reaction against the dominance of the mainstream European classical tradition as composers started to separate themselves from the standards set by Italian, French, and especially German traditionalists.More precise considerations of the point of origin are a matter of some dispute. One view holds that it began with the war of liberation against Napoleon, leading to a receptive atmosphere in Germany for Weber's opera Der Freischütz (1821) and, later, Richard Wagner's epic dramas based on Teutonic legends. At around the same time, Poland's struggle for freedom from the three partitioning powers produced a nationalist spirit in the piano works and orchestral compositions such as Chopin's Fantasy on Polish Airs or Revolutionary Etude; slightly later Italy's aspiration to independence from Austria resonated in many of the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. Countries or regions most commonly linked to musical nationalism include Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Scandinavia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Latin America and the United States.Ethnomusicological perspective
Ethnomusicological inquiries frequently involve a focus on the relationship between music and nationalist movements across the world, necessarily following the emergence of the modern nation-state as a consequence of globalization and its associated ideals, in contrast to a pre-imperialist world,Modern studies of instances of music used in nationalist movements include Thomas Turino's research of Zimbabwe's independence movement of the 1970s and 80s. ZANU nationalists and their ZANLA guerrillas used political songs as a means for engaging a wider variety of socioeconomic classes; traditional Shona cultural practices, including music, were cited as areas of common ground. Revolutionary leader Robert Mugabe formed the Youth League, which regularly organized and performed tribal dances as part of party meetings. The Youth League utilized pre-colonial African tribal music through association with the independence movement to ignite popular desire for a return to pre-colonial African rule. However, Turino also explains that "cosmopolitan" musical styles as well as traditional music intersect to ultimately define national Zimbabwean music.Other research has focused on recording and broadcasting technology as conducive to the dissemination of nationalist ideals. In early twentieth century Afghanistan, music played on Afghan radio blended Hindustani, Persian, Pashtun, and Tadjik traditions into a single national style, blurring ethnic lines at the behest of nationalist "ideologues." Around the same time, the nationalist Turkish state failed in their attempt to make Turkey a "Western" nation by broadcasting European classical music to rural areas when these areas instead simply tuned in to Egyptian radio.Hungary
Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók (1881–1945) collaborated with fellow Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály to document Hungarian folk music, which they both incorporated in their musical pieces.
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) studied at the Academy of Music in Hungary and had an interest Hungarian folk songs and would often take prolonged trips to the Hungarian countryside to study the melodies which were then incorporated into his music compositions.Poland
Jan Stefani
Jan Stefani (1746–1829) composed the Singspiel Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i górali (The Supposed Miracle, or the Cracovians and the Highlanders), which premiered in 1794 and contains krakowiaks, polonaises, and mazurkas that were adopted as if they were Polish folk music by audiences at the 1816 revival with new music by Karol Kurpiński. The suggestive lyrics of many of the songs could scarcely have been interpreted by the Polish audiences at the verge of the outbreak of the Kościuszko Uprising as anything other than a call for revolution, national unity, and independence. In this sense, despite his obscurity today, Stefani must be regarded as a precursor and founder of nineteenth-century musical nationalism.
Frédéric ChopinFrédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was one of the first composers to incorporate nationalistic elements into his compositions. Joseph Machlis states, "Poland's struggle for freedom from tsarist rule aroused the national poet in Poland. ... Examples of musical nationalism abound in the output of the romantic era. The folk idiom is prominent in the Mazurkas of Chopin". His mazurkas and polonaises are particularly notable for their use of nationalistic rhythms. Moreover, "During World War II the Nazis forbade the playing of ... Chopin's Polonaises in Warsaw because of the powerful symbolism residing in these works."
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872) has become associated above all with the concept of a national style in opera. Moniuszko's opera and music as a whole is representative of 19th-century romanticism, given the extensive use by the composer of arias, recitatives and ensembles that feature strongly in his operas. The source of Moniuszko's melodies and rhythmic patterns often lies in Polish musical folklore. One of the most visibly Polish aspects of his music is in the forms he uses, including dances popular among upper classes such as polonaise and mazurka, and folk tunes and dances such as kujawiak and krakowiak.
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1880) was another important composer using Polish folk melodies—he wrote several mazurkas for solo violin and piano accompaniment, one of which being the popular "Obertass" in G major.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860–1941) was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, and spokesman for Polish independence, who also became Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland in 1919. He wrote several pieces inspired by Polish folk music, such as polonaises and mazurkas for solo piano or his Polish Fantasy for piano and orchestra. His last work, the monumental Symphony in B minor "Polonia", is a programme symphony representing the Polish struggle for independence in the early 20th century.United Kingdom
Joseph Parry
Joseph Parry (1841–1903) was born in Wales, but moved to the United States as a child. In his adulthood, he traveled between Wales and America, and performed Welsh songs and glees with Welsh texts in recitals. He composed the first Welsh opera, Blodwen, in 1878.
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie (1847–1935) wrote a Highland Ballad for violin and orchestra (1893), and the Scottish Concerto for piano and orchestra (1897). He also composed the Canadian Rhapsody. In his life, MacKenzie witnessed both the survivals of Jacobite culture, and the Red Clydeside Era. His music is heavily influenced by Jacobite art.
Charles Villiers Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) wrote five Irish Rhapsodies (1901–1914). He published volumes of Irish folk song arrangements, and his third symphony is titled the Irish symphony. In addition to being heavily influenced by Irish culture and folk music, he was particularly influenced by Johannes Brahms.
Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) is best known for the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, the most famous of which is played every year as part of the "Last Night of the Proms" concert.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) collected, published, and arranged many folksongs from across the country, and wrote many pieces, large and small scale, based on folk melodies, such as the Fantasia on Greensleeves and the Five Variants on "Dives and Lazarus. Vaughan Williams helped define musical nationalism, writing that "The art of music above all the other arts is the expression of the soul of a nation."