Fin-de-Siècle Britain: Imperialism and Wagner in the Music of Gustav Holst.

Abstract

Scholarship on the life of the composer Gustav Holst has been dominated by the writings of his daughter Imogen, which are increasingly in dispute in light of fresh data and interpretation. The present dissertation offers a fresh view of Gustav Holst’s life in this respect, in relation to two important elements of his cultural environment: British Imperialism, and the music of Richard Wagner. The first section of the dissertation considers the role of Imperialism in Holst’s formative years in Cheltenham, as well as illustrating his portrayal of the East as both inferior and “other” to the West in King Estmere (1903) and Beni Mora (1910). This demonstrates that Holst’s view of the East was multifaceted and not simply the reverent approach found in Sanskrit inspired works such as Savitri (1908) and The Cloud Messenger (1912). The second section of the dissertation examines the development of Holst’s personal music idiom through his dynamic relationship with the music of Richard Wagner. Holst’s three operas, Sita (1899-1906), Savitri, and The Perfect Fool (1908-1923), illustrate his progression from emulation, to personalization, and finally to parody of Wagner, questioning received interpretations that Wagner was detrimental to Holst’s development. The consideration of Holst and his music in this way highlights the many questions that characterize our understanding of his life and music, and contributes to the ongoing process of reconnecting Holst to the culture in which he lived.

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