Musical nationalism
Musical nationalism refers to the use of musical ideas or motifs that are identified with a specific country, region, or ethnicity, such as folk tunes and melodies, rhythms, and harmonies inspired by them.
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 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 and, later, Richard Wagner's epic dramas based on Teutonic legends. At around the same time, Poland's struggle for freedom from Czarist Russia produced a nationalist spirit in the piano works and orchestral compositions such as Chopin's Fantasy on Polish Airs and 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.
Poland
Jan Stefani
composed the Singspiel Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i górali, 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 Chopin
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
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
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
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.Germany
Carl Maria von Weber
was the composer the first German romantic opera, Der Freischütz, which was seen as a reaction to Napoleon. Ironically, he also composed an English-language opera Oberon.Richard Wagner
composed many epic operas that were pro-German. He had been a supporter of German unification throughout his life. However, his anti-Semitism would inspire Adolf Hitler.Italy
Giuseppe Verdi
would instill a sense of nationalism in his music. This is evident in Nabucco with the lyrics, "Oh mia Patria sì bella e perduta !" "Viva VERDI" would also be written as a way to support Italian unification. This translates to Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re d'Italia in support of King Vittorio Emmanuele II of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont.Russia
Mikhail Glinka
was a Russian composer and founder of the Russian nationalist school.The Mighty Five
were five prominent 19th-century Russian composers who worked together to create a distinct Russian classical music: Mily Balakirev, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin.Czech Republic
Bedřich Smetana
pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. He is best known for the symphonic cycle Má vlast, which portrays the history, legends and landscape of his native land.Antonín Dvořák
After Smetana, Antonín Dvořák was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition. Following Smetana's nationalist example, Dvořák frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák's own style creates a national idiom by blending elements of the classical symphonic tradition and extraneous popular musical traditions, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them. Dvořák also wrote nine operas, which, other than his first, have librettos in Czech and were intended to convey Czech national spirit, as were some of his choral works.Leoš Janáček
was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher.Bohuslav Martinů
is compared with Prokofiev and Bartók in his innovative incorporation of Central European ethnomusicology into his music. He continued to use Bohemian and Moravian folk melodies throughout his oeuvre, usually nursery rhymes—for instance in Otvírání studánek.Norway
Edvard Grieg
was an important Romantic era composer whose music helped establish a Norwegian national identity.Finland
Jean Sibelius
had strong patriotic feelings for Finland. He composed Finlandia.Sweden
Hugo Alfvén
studied at the music conservatory in his hometown, Stockholm. In addition to being a violinist, conductor, and composer, he was also a painter. He is perhaps best known for his five symphonies and three Swedish Rhapsodies.Denmark
Niels Gade
was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher.Carl Nielsen
was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist.Netherlands
Bernard Zweers
was a Dutch composer, he strived to develop a specifically Dutch brand of music, free from foreign influence. For instance, his vocal music only employs Dutch-language texts, and when it has a programme, that is frequently inspired by Dutch themes: Rembrandt, Vondel’s Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, Dutch landscapes, and so forth. His aim was the greater good of Dutch art, because “Never will art get a foothold with a people, when it uses a foreign language in song, or when it takes in art by means of foreign tongues”. His Third Symphony is regarded as a milestone in the development of Dutch music, combining folk tunes with a lyrical description of Dutch landscapes.Romania
George Enescu
is considered Romania's most important composer. Amongst his best-known compositions are his two Romanian Rhapsodies and his Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 25.Hungary
Béla Bartók
collaborated with fellow Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály to document Hungarian folk music, which they both incorporated in their musical pieces.Zoltán Kodály
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.Spain
Isaac Albéniz
was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor.Enrique Granados
composed his work Goyescas based on the etchings of the Spanish painter, Goya. Also of a national style are his Danzas españolas and his first opera María del Carmen.Manuel de Falla
was a Spanish composer.Joaquín Turina
was a Spanish composer.Joaquín Rodrigo
was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist.Mexico
A nationalistic renascence in the arts was produced by the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. Álvaro Obregón's regime, inaugurated in 1921, provided a large budget for the Secretariat of Public Education, under the direction of José Vasconcelos, who commissioned paintings for public buildings from artists such as José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. As part of this ambitious programme, Vasconcelos also commissioned musical compositions on nationalistic themes. One of the first such works was the Aztec-themed ballet El fuego nuevo by Carlos Chávez, composed in 1921 but not performed until 1928.Manuel M. Ponce
was a composer, educator and scholar of Mexican music. Among his works are the lullaby La Rancherita, Scherzerino Mexicana composed in the style of sones and huapangos, Rapsodía Mexicana, No 1 based on the jarabe tapatío, and the romantic ballad Estrellita.Carlos Chávez
was a Mexican composer, conductor, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra and the National Institute of Fine Arts. Some of his music was influenced by indigenous Mexican cultures. A period of nationalistic leanings initiated in 1921 with the Aztec-themed ballet El fuego nuevo, followed by a second ballet, Los cuatro soles, in 1925.Brazil
Carlos Gomes
The most representative composer of Brazilian romanticism, Carlos Gomes used several references from the country's folk music and traditional themes, chiefly in his opera Il Guarany.Heitor Villa-Lobos
traveled extensively throughout Brazil in his youth and recorded folksongs and tunes that he later used in his series Bachianas Brasileiras and all of his Chôros.Francisco Mignone
incorporated folk rhythms and instruments into his suites Fantasias Brasileiras nos.1–4, his 12 Brazilian Waltzes, Congada and Babaloxá, besides composing ballets based on major literary works from Brazilian literature.United Kingdom
Joseph Parry
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
wrote a Highland Ballad for violin and orchestra, and the Scottish Concerto for piano and orchestra. 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
wrote five Irish Rhapsodies. 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
is best known for the Pomp and Circumstance Marches.Ralph Vaughan Williams
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".United States
Edward MacDowell
's Woodland Sketches, op. 51 consists of ten short piano pieces bearing titles referring to the American landscape. In this way, they make a claim to MacDowell's identity as an American composer.Horatio Parker
was an American composer, organist and teacher.Charles Ives
was an American modernist composer, being one of the first American composers of international renown.Aaron Copland
Ironically, Aaron Copland composed "Mexican" music such as El Salón México in addition to his American nationalist works.Ukraine
In Ukraine the term "Music nationalism" was coined by Stanyslav Lyudkevych in 1905. The article under this title is devoted to Mykola Lysenko who is considered to be the father of Ukrainian classical music. Ludkevych concludes that Lysenko's nationalism was inspired by those of Glinka in Russian music, though western tradition, particularly German, is still significant in his music, especially instrumental.V. Hrabovsky assumes that Stanyslav Lyudkevych himself could be considered as significant nationalistic composer and musicologist thanks to his numerous composition under Ukraine-devoted titles as well as numerous papers devoted to use of Ukrainian folk songs and poetry in Ukrainian classical music.
Inspiration by Ukrainian folklore could be observed even earlier, particularly in compositions by Maksym Berezovsky , Dmytro Bortnyansky , and Artem Vedel . Semen Hulak-Artemovsky is considered to be the author of the first Ukrainian opera. Lysenko's traditions were continued by, among others, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Mykola Leontovych, Yakiv Stepovy, Alexander Koshetz, and later, Levko Revutsky.
At the same time the term "nationalism" is not used in Ukrainian musicology. Moreover, the article "Music Nationalism" by Ludkevych was prohibited in the USSR and was not widely known until its publication in 1999.