ABSTRACT 
 
 

Title of Dissertation: MUSIC OF THE BRITISH ISLES: AN EXPLORATION 
OF MUSIC WRITTEN FOR THE VIOLIN BY 
COMPOSERS FROM ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND 
SCOTLAND DURING THE ROMANTIC ERA  

 
 
     Myles Mocarski, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2023 
 
 
Dissertation directed by:  Professor James Stern 
     School of Music 
 
 
 
 This project focuses on music written for the violin by composers from England, Ireland, 

and Scotland during the Romantic era. The specific composers represented here include Ethel 

Smyth, Edward Elgar, Michele Esposito, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, 

Charles Villiers Stanford, Ina Boyle, John B. McEwen, Alexander Mackenzie, and Alfred 

Moffat. In highlighting the particularly unique and creative aspects of each composers’ 

compositional aesthetic, this study examines the many ways composers of the British Isles 

created particularly memorable works with impactful musical moments. In addition, in 

representing a variety of composers with varying backgrounds and interests, this study highlights 

the diversity of the British musical community. This study aims to encourage an interest in these 

composers and their work, especially because many of them, and their work, are relatively 

unknown. As a performance dissertation, this project consists of this written document as well as 

three recitals which were performed on December 13, 2021, in Smith Recital Hall, October 24, 

2022, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall, and December 12, 2022, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the 

University of Maryland. The recordings of the recitals can be accessed on DRUM. 



 
 

 
MUSIC OF THE BRITISH ISLES: AN EXPLORATION OF MUSIC WRITTEN FOR THE 

VIOLIN BY COMPOSERS FROM ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND DURING THE 
ROMANTIC ERA  

 
 
 

By 
 
 

Myles Mocarski 
 
 
 
 

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment 

of the requirements for the degree of 
Doctor of Musical Arts 

2023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
Advisory Committee: 
 
 Professor James Stern, Chair 
 Associate Professor Adriane Fang 
 Professor Katherine Murdock 
 Professor Rita Sloan 
 Professor Michael Votta 
 
 



ii 
 

Acknowledgements: 
 
 Over the past four years, I have developed significantly as a violinist and as a scholar. I 

owe so many people so much, including my parents Kristen and Doug, my sister Marissa, my 

partner Xiao, and my many cherished friends. I could not have persevered without them.  

 None of this would be possible without the tireless work of Dr. Stern, who committed 

many years of his life—6 in total!—to mentoring me. I would not have grown as much as I have 

without his intelligent and insightful stewardship. He challenged me to demand more of myself 

and I am very grateful for this. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



iii 
 

Table of Contents 
				Acknowledgements: 	 ii	

   Table of Contents                                                                                                                                     iii 

Program, Recital No. 1	 1	

Program, Recital No. 2	 2	

Program, Recital No. 3	 3	

Introduction	 4	

Ethel Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 7	 4	

Edward Elgar: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor, Op. 82	 16	

Michele Esposito: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Op. 32	 25	

Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending, Romance for Violin and Orchestra	 31	

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Two Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano	 38	

Charles Villiers Stanford: Irish Rhapsody No. 6 for Violin and Orchestra	 45	

Ina Boyle: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra	 52	

John Blackwood McEwen: Two Poems for Violin and Piano	 60	

Alexander Campbell Mackenzie: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano	 66	

Alfred Moffat: Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano	 76	

Conclusion	 83	

Annotated Bibliography	 85	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 



 
 

1 

Program, Recital No. 1 
December 13, 2021, Smith Recital Hall 

Guzal Isametdinova, Piano 

https://youtu.be/-D2Rqbh5h3w  

Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 37          Alexander Campbell Mackenzie 

I Gavotte 

II Berceuse 

III Benedictus 

IV Zingaresca 

V Saltarello 

VI Tema con variazationi 

 

https://youtu.be/-TB_Yp3LNT8  

Irish Rhapsody for Violin and Piano, No. 6, Op. 191           Charles Villiers Stanford 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/Hka9y1QGNrw  

Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor, Op. 82.     Edward Elgar  

I Allegro 

II Romance: Andante 

III Allegro non troppo 

 
 

 

 

 



 
 

2 

Program, Recital No. 2 
October 24, 2022, Gildenhorn Recital Hall 

Leili Asanbekova, Piano 

Yihan Sun, Piano 

https://youtu.be/sxsJb1Tv_RM  

Sonata No. 1 in G major for Violin and Piano, Op. 32            Michele Esposito 

I. Moderato 

II. Lento 

III. Allegro Vivace 

 

Leili Asanbekova, Piano 

 

https://youtu.be/Kam2nek8SXw  

Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano                                             Alfred Moffat 

I. Allegro 

II. Lento con Espressione 

III. Allegretto Animato 

 

Leili Asanbekova, Piano 

 

https://youtu.be/F-ItLtxAzYg  

Sonata in A minor Violin and Piano, Op. 7                                                   Ethel Smyth 

I. Allegro Moderato 

II. Scherzo; Allegro Grazioso 

III. Romanze; Andante Grazioso 

IV.  Finale; Allegro Vivace 

 

Yihan Sun, Piano 



 
 

3 

                                    Program, Recital No. 3 
December 12, 2022, Gildenhorn Recital Hall 

Leili Asanbekova, Piano 

 
https://youtu.be/NKW6XkLpRhY  

Two Poems for Violin and Piano                                            John Blackwood McEwen 

I. Breath O’June 

II. The Lone Shore 

 

https://youtu.be/CC-WTpE4KPI  

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra                                                                          Ina Boyle 

I. Lento ma non troppo  

II. Adagio 

III. Allegro ma non troppo 

 

https://youtu.be/zj8GmbLWfZc  

The Lark Ascending, Romance for Violin and Orchestra              Ralph Vaughan Williams 

 

https://youtu.be/-dbHNRaBGcY  

Two Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano                               Samuel Coleridge Taylor 

I. Lament 

II. Merry-Making 
 

 

 

 

 

 



 
 

4 

Introduction 
 During the Romantic era, composers throughout Europe became interested in heightening 

the dramatic effect of their work through longer and more expansive formal and harmonic 

structures, more elaborate and impactful melodies, and more varied contrasts in dynamics and 

articulation. While many British composers were influenced by these general trends in the 

Romantic era, many of them also implemented highly original and innovative compositional 

strategies which resulted in works with many particularly memorable musical moments. 

Originally, I sought to identify qualities of this music which could be considered characteristic of 

a broader British style of composition, as well as qualities which could be characteristic of a 

specifically English, Irish, and Scottish style of composition. While some underlying themes did 

emerge between these pieces in relation to this, I became more interested over the course of this 

process in simply highlighting and exploring the special musical devices that made each 

composer unique. In cases where I point out similarities to standard Romantic era works by other 

Europeans or identify the presence of an element of that aesthetic, the purpose is to provide a 

backdrop for the new and unfamiliar aesthetic or expressive elements that I discovered over the 

course of this process. It is possible the mere fact that these British composers were not from 

continental Europe gave them a kind of freedom that resulted in the originality I will describe in 

this study.  

Ethel Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 7 
Born in London in 1858, Ethel Smyth received instruction in piano and music theory as 

part of her basic education like so many girls of the upper-class Victorian Era. However, it was 

her innately ambitious, rebellious, and unapologetic nature that would lead to her not only 

pursuing that instruction to the highest level, but also becoming a great pioneer. At the age of 17, 



 
 

5 

she decided to pursue musical composition professionally. Her father was strongly opposed to 

this, so, in response, she staged a hunger strike, refusing to eat or come out of her room until her 

father approved her decision. Her father acquiesced, and she subsequently moved to Leipzig 

where she studied composition at the Leipzig Conservatory under Carl Reinecke.1 During her 

time in Germany, she became personally acquainted with some of the most important musical 

figures of the late nineteenth century, including Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Clara Schuman.  

After graduating from the Leipzig Conservatory, Smyth began working professionally in 

Leipzig as a violinist and as a composer. As her music became introduced to the community, she 

frequently received inappropriate comments relating to her gender by reviewers. For example, in 

1887, a reviewer characterized her recently completed Sonata for Violin and Piano as, “devoid of 

feminine charm and therefore unworthy of a woman”2. Despite this sexist remark, among others, 

her tenacity and ambition drove her to persevere. She drew on the support and encouragement of 

her mentors. Tchaikovsky said of her that, “She had composed several interesting works, the best 

of which, a violin sonata, [he] heard excellently played by the composer herself. She gave 

promise in the future of a serious and talented career”3.  

Smyth took an intense interest in the broader suffragette movement of the early twentieth 

century. She organized numerous protests and meetings in support of women’s suffrage. She 

wrote numerous letters to important musical journals advocating for more equitable treatment of 

herself as well as other women in composition.4 She was even arrested and jailed for two months 

after participating in a series of animated protests in London in March 1912. She was released 

 
1 Eugene Gates, “Dame Ethel Smyth: Pioneer of English Opera” 11 (January 2013). 
2 Eugene Gates, “Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don’t: Sexual Aesthetics and the Music of Dame Ethel 
Smyth,” Journal of Aesthetic Education 31, no. 1 (1997): 63–71. 
3 “Ethel Smyth: A Life of Music and Activism,” n.d., 
http://www.cmsomus.org/ethelmarysmythbiographyoct202018.pdf. 
4 Ethel Smyth, “The Hard Case of the Woman Composer,” The Musical Times, 1904–1995 69, no. 1026 (1928): 
736–736. 



 
 

6 

early after receiving a medical diagnosis of hysteria and delusion.5 The extent of her actual 

mental illness is unclear, and it is certainly possible, given her persistence and determination, 

that she may have been exaggerating her condition in order to be released early.  

Smyth forged her own path as a composer of unusual depth and sensitivity. She 

composed significant pieces in every major genre, including chamber works, orchestral works, 

vocal works, and solo instrumental works, among others. In 1903, her opera, Der Wald, was 

performed at the Metropolitan Opera. This was the first work written by a woman ever 

performed at the Met. The Met did not perform another work by a woman until 2013. In 1922, 

she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the first female composer 

to be granted such an honor. 

Despite her many achievements, Smyth’s work has been continuously sidelined, 

neglected, and underperformed. According to musicologist Eugene Gates in 2006, “Smyth’s 

music was seldom evaluated as simply the work of a composer among composers, but as that of 

a ‘woman composer’. This worked to keep her on the margins of the profession, and, coupled 

with the double standard of sexual aesthetics, also placed her in a double bind. On the one hand, 

when she composed powerful, rhythmically vital music, it was said that her work lacked 

feminine charm; on the other, when she produced delicate, melodious compositions, she was 

accused of not measuring up to the artistic standards of her male colleagues.”6  

Smyth defied these simplistic criticisms by writing music of a highly complex and 

ambiguous character. Her Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor showcases her mastery as a 

composer. She wrote this piece in 1887. The first movement, marked Allegro moderato, 

 
5 Kathleen A Abromeit, “Ethel Smyth, ‘The Wreckers,’ and Sir Thomas Beecham,” The Musical Quarterly 73, no. 2 
(1989): 196–211. 
6 Gates, “Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don’t: Sexual Aesthetics and the Music of Dame Ethel Smyth.” 



 
 

7 

establishes a bleak atmosphere right away as the violin and piano play a gloomy melody in 

octaves. The oscillating sixteenth notes in the piano propel the music forward with nervous 

energy.   

Example No. 1: Opening Melody, Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, 

Measures 1–5.7 

 

This austerity gives way to contrasting passages of sunniness, and some that are richly 

complex, as in Example No. 2, which shows polyrhythms and multiple interweaving lines.  

Example No. 2: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 45–48. 

 
7 Musical Examples drawn from the following edition: Ethel Smyth, Ethel, Sonata for Violin and Piano (Leipzig, 
Germany: J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1887). 



 
 

8 

 

As the exposition continues, she pits the violin and piano against each other in 

rhythmically complex, argumentative passages. The music here has a Brahmsian quality, with its 

setting of triplet eighth notes against eighth notes, its contrapuntal textures, and in its 

superimposing a two-beat pattern on the triple meter. These musical arguments serve as pivot 

points where the music modulates from the tonic and moves towards the development section, 

which features highly emphatic and expressive musical moments.  

Example No. 3: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 52–64. 



 
 

9 

 
 

The development uses faraway key areas and more rhythmic variation to heighten the 

dramatic significance of the music. There are particularly memorable and passionate expressive 

moments here, as shown by Example No. 4. This example highlights one of the most emphatic 

and expressive points in the movement. 

Example No. 4: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 96–104. 

 

 In addition, throughout the development, the piano plays in a lower register. In 

emphasizing the lower register, the music acquires a darker and more menacing quality. While 



 
 

10 

the opening theme is presented again at the beginning of the recapitulation, as shown by 

Example No. 5, this time, the violin carries the theme alone, set against an accompaniment that is 

richer harmonically and contrapuntally. It is as though the protagonist in this musical story, 

represented by the opening theme, has emerged changed by the experience of the development. 

After the secondary theme is presented again in the recapitulation, there is a powerful coda 

section which ends the movement in a dark and mysterious way.  

Example No. 5: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 96–104. 

 

 Like most four-movement sonatas, this one has a short scherzo movement. However, 

while most scherzos are written in a three-part “ABA” form, with a contrasting trio section, this 

scherzo does not contain a trio section. In order to provide a sense of structure and continuity in 

this scherzo, she replaces the trio section with a repeating secondary theme presented in 

contrasting keys. These secondary themes can be seen in Examples No. 6 and No. 7 respectively. 

Example No. 6: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, Measures 30–46. 



 
 

11 

 
 

Example No. 7: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, Measures 100–116. 

 

 
   

 The repetition of this passage creates a familiar structural point to assist listeners in 

navigating the landscape of the music. By first presenting the passage in a heightened key and 

then presenting it in the tonic, these structural points create a sense of tension and resolution. 



 
 

12 

They invite the listener to recall and compare the two presentations of the theme. This formal 

device mimics the role contrasting presentations of secondary material play in music written in 

sonata form.  

Aside from this formal structure, there are a few other interesting aspects of this scherzo. 

While scherzos are often written to encourage a light and fleeting quality from the players, the 

writing here makes the musicians work hard to achieve lightness: there are beats not emphasized 

by the piano, superimposed triplets on sixteenths, and heavy repeated notes. In addition, there are 

continuous passages of awkward sixteenth notes marked pianissimo and staccato in the piano 

and the violin. These items, shown in Example No. 8, add to the humor of the movement.  

Example No. 8: Opening Theme, Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, 

Measures 1–11. 

  



 
 

13 

 The third movement, Romanze. Andante grazioso, bears the cryptic marking “Dante. Inf. 

V. 121” at its head. Smyth is referencing line 121 of Canto V from the Inferno section of Dante 

Alighieri’s Divine Comedy which reads, “there is no greater sorrow than thinking back upon a 

happy time in misery”.8 The words “sorrow” and “misery” from this verse, when understood in 

context, highlight the power of nostalgia and reflection as a sort of visceral and experiential way 

of connecting the past with the present. The character of this movement, with its rocking 6/8 

meter and lilting dance figure, resonates with Dante’s verse.  

Example No. 9: Opening Theme, Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, 

Measures 1–11.  

 

In setting this verse to music, Smyth uses the A sections in this three-part “ABA” form to 

express a deep sense of sadness. Both A sections use open fifths in the key of E minor to 

represent the darkness and emptiness of loss. The second A section is substantially more intricate 

than the first, with much more imitative counterpoint. In contrast, the B section, marked Allegro, 

has a bright and upbeat character, representing the happy memory that has vanished. The open 

fifths here become the drone of a bagpipe and the dance rhythm features a dotted rhythm with 

 
8 Alighieri Dante, The Divine Comedy (Aegitas, 2017). 



 
 

14 

the short note preceding the long note, known as the “Scottish Snap”. Two sudden outbursts, 

marked quasi fantasia, disturb this happy memory.  

Example No. 10: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, B Section, Measures 

65–89. 

 
  

While the final movement is the expected sonata rondo, Smyth is particularly inventive 

and imaginative in the way she transitions from the repeating main theme to the subsequent 

episodes. The form of the movement can be represented as follows: A B A C A B’ A C’ coda. In 



 
 

15 

transitioning into the C sections, she changes the meter from 2/4 to 6/8 and features a hemiola in 

the piano. These transitions, which feel off-balance and confusing, transform into surprisingly 

joyous and triumphant musical moments in a faster tempo, marked molto animato. It is 

significant that these triumphant sections feature the same open fifths in the piano part that were 

so important as an expressive device in the third movement. 

Example No. 11: Smyth Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 4, Measures 111–130. 

 

 



 
 

16 

This sonata, with its vivid musical imagery, imaginative use of form and harmony, and 

many special and significant musical moments is, in this opinion, comparable to any of the 

standard Romantic warhorses of the violin sonata repertoire. In performing this piece, a few 

moments stood out to me as unique. The way she illustrates the mood of Dante’s poem through 

the limping rhythm of off-beat bass notes, also using this same figure to create a wide variety of 

moods in other sections, shows great ingenuity. Her way of transitioning between sections in the 

rondo is different from what I’ve encountered in other rondos, and the development section of 

the first movement is particularly powerful and dramatic. Even though Smyth was following 

European Romantic tradition in her compositional aesthetic, she could not help but be original.  

Edward Elgar: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor, Op. 82 

 Sir Edward Elgar was born in Worcester, England in 1857. His father, William Henry 

Elgar, was a musician and business owner; he operated a piano-tuning and general music shop in 

Worcester for many years. Although his family was of modest means, Edward Elgar’s parents 

encouraged him to take an interest in music. He studied the violin and the piano as a child, 

although he had no formal training besides lessons with his father. At the age of fifteen, he began 

making a living for himself in a local solicitor’s office. After a few months of this work, at the 

age of sixteen, he decided to become a freelance musician.9 

 From the age of sixteen until his late thirties, he supported himself through a variety of 

musical activities. He was frequently employed as a professional violinist in orchestras in 

Worcester as well as in Birmingham. He continued to work in his father’s shop, he taught violin 

and piano lessons, he accompanied soloists in vocal and instrumental performances, and he tried 

 
9 Jerrold Northrop Moore, Edward Elgar: A Creative Life (Clarendon Press, 1999). 



 
 

17 

to sell his compositions to publishers. Despite his numerous musical engagements, he 

encountered financial challenges during this time. He wrote in 1884, “My prospects are about as 

hopeless as ever. I am not wanting in energy I think, so sometimes I conclude that ‘tis want of 

ability. I have no money, not a cent”.10 

 Towards the end of the 1880’s, he met Caroline Alice Roberts, the daughter of an 

important English General, General Sir Henry Gee Roberts.11 Despite the disapproval of 

Caroline’s mother, and even in the face of Caroline being disinherited, she and Elgar were 

married in 1889, and this union greatly improved his mindset and confidence as a musician and 

composer.  

After moving to London in the 1890’s, he began establishing himself as a composer and 

musician. His short piece, Salut d’amour, began attracting attention. In addition, his overture 

Froissart was accepted by the London publishing company Novello, his oratorios The Light of 

Life and Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf were produced, and his Imperial March was 

performed at the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.  

Towards the end of the 1890’s, Elgar gained unprecedented national prominence with the 

publication of his orchestral work, Variations on an Original Theme Op. 36, also known as the 

Enigma Variations. The word enigma is written over the first few measures of the piece. He 

suggested that the enigma refers to an unheard theme that runs through and over the whole set, 

although he never identified this specifically. Each variation is dedicated to one of his friends. 

This work was appreciated for its charm, creativity, and beauty. It is still a worldwide staple of 

the orchestral concert repertoire. 

 
10 Michael Kennedy, Portrait of Elgar (Oxford University Press, USA, 1987). 
11 General Henry Gee Roberts achieved distinction for his role in the military campaign against the people of Sindh, 
Pakistan in the 1840’s. 



 
 

18 

Following the success of his Enigma Variations, he composed numerous other pieces, 

including a violin concerto and cello concerto. He is perhaps best known for the first of his five 

Pomp and Circumstance marches, which is frequently played at high school and college 

graduation ceremonies today. Although he was influenced by many important continental 

European composers like Strauss, Berlioz, and Wagner, Elgar had a distinctive compositional 

voice. The tone of his writing is often sweeping and broad, his melodies are bold and 

recognizable, and his orchestration and use of harmony create vivid and contrasting colors.  

 Elgar’s Sonata for violin and piano in E minor was composed in 1918 alongside a piano 

quintet and a string quartet at a country house in West Sussex called the “Brinkwells”, where he 

was recuperating from poor health.12 These three pieces are his most significant instrumental 

chamber works.  

The violin sonata is in three movements, with the first movement marked Allegro. The 

character of this movement is stormy and energized, with the violin and piano engaging in an 

active musical dialogue right away. Marked risoluto, the opening theme is powerful and 

passionate.  

Example No. 12: Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 1–8.13 

 
12 Moore, Jerrold Northrop. Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Clarendon Press, 1999. 
13 Musical Examples are drawn from the following edition: Elgar Edward, Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Minor, 
Op. 82 (London, England: Novello and Company, 1919). 



 
 

19 

 

The energy slowly dissipates as the music transitions to a very beautiful and haunting 

secondary theme. This secondary theme features string crossings in the violin which highlight 

alternations to and from principal melodic notes. 

Example No. 13: Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, Measures 68–78. 



 
 

20 

 

The second movement of this sonata is marked Romance: Andante. In the A section of 

this three-part da capo movement, it is difficult to articulate a single overarching mood because 

the texture is so varied. The opening, with its chromatic theme in the violin and rolled chords in 

the piano, evokes a sincere and almost romantic character at first, but quickly acquires a sinister 

quality as it continues down lower and lower. The subsequent rolled pizzicato chords and figures 

that require ricochet bowing in the violin feel playful and whimsical. The violin continues with 

quick rhapsodic scales which transform, first, into slower more serious passages marked 

allargando, and then, into a playful figure featuring jumps separated by breaths of sixteenth 

notes. This ambiguity in the character reveals Elgar’s ingenuity as a composer; all the descriptors 

of this opening section can work at the same time.  



 
 

21 

Example No. 14: Opening theme, Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, 

Measures 1–10. 

 

In stark contrast to the opening, the middle section features a sacred and powerful theme 

with a clearly defined mood and quality. The emotional pathos of this theme is stunning on its 

own, but it is heightened by the juxtaposition of the two highly ambiguous sections surrounding 

it. The second A section, played con sordino, feels as though an imaginary protagonist has been 

subdued and humbled by the power of the middle section. 

Example No. 15: Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, B section, Measures 

44–51. 



 
 

22 

 

 
The final movement of this sonata, marked Allegro non troppo, is in E major and begins 

with a steady pulse of eighth notes in the piano and a flowing theme in the violin.  

Example No. 16: Opening theme, Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, 

Measures 1–6.  

 

While this opening melody is calm and flowing, there is a contrasting secondary section 

of music featuring tempo changes and more dramatic musical moments. 

Example No. 17: Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, Measures 20–26. 



 
 

23 

 

One of the most interesting aspects of this movement can be seen in Elgar’s use of the 

beautiful melody from the B section of the second movement as transitional material between the 

end of the recapitulation and the final coda section.  

Example No. 18: Elgar Sonata for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, Measures 160–168. 



 
 

24 

 

Given that the form of this movement is so tightly knit, with a recapitulation that is so 

faithful to the exposition, the inclusion of this extra material, outside of the formal argument of 

the movement, calls for special explanation. Elgar dedicated this piece to one of his close friends, 

Marie Joshua, who was in poor health at the time. Elgar had almost finished the piece when he 

wrote to her about dedicating the piece to her. She received the letter but passed away before 

replying. As a tribute to her, he incorporated this solemn theme into the last movement of the 

sonata.14 

This sonata highlights Elgar’s distinctive compositional style with its varied textures, 

moving melodies, and grand vision. I was particularly moved by his use of the theme from the 

second movement to pay tribute to his late friend in the third movement. This theme, with its 

sacred and solemn quality, was powerful to present to an audience. In addition, the amazingly 

ambiguous and varied quality of the opening section of the second movement as well as the 

 
14 Percy Marshall Young, Elgar, OM: A Study of a Musician (Praeger, 1980). 



 
 

25 

gorgeous secondary theme in the first movement, really stood out to me. Elgar was clearly a 

product of the Romantic era and was incredibly creative in his compositional technique and 

aesthetic. He is remembered today as one of the most important English composers of the 

twentieth century. 

Michele Esposito: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Op. 32 
 Michele Esposito was born in Castellamare di Stabia, Italy in 1855. He entered the 

Conservatory of Naples at the age of ten, where he studied piano under Beniamino Cesi and 

composition under Paolo Serrao for eight years. In 1873 Anton Rubinstein visited the 

conservatory and heard Esposito perform at a student concert. Upon hearing his performance, 

Rubinstein introduced him to some of his friends as a rising star. He said to Esposito, “You are 

young now and the sky of Naples is too beautiful for your work. You must go away”.15 Five 

years later, in 1878, Esposito left Italy for Paris, where he established himself in musical circles 

as a talented pianist and composer. He frequently performed with artists such as Bruneau, 

Chevillard, and Messager.  

 He stayed in Paris for four years. In 1881, he met his old friend Luigi Caracciolo, then a 

vocal professor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. Esposito expressed an interest in 

finding a more stable position so Caracciolo subsequently recommended him to fill a position as 

a professor of pianoforte at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin.16 From 1882 when he 

was appointed to this position until his death, he remained at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. 

In this role, he developed a number of societies aimed at promoting classical music throughout 

Dublin as well as more broadly throughout Ireland. These included The Royal Dublin Society 

 
15 “Michele Esposito,” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 44, no. 729 (1903): 705–7. 
16 “Michele Esposito.” 



 
 

26 

and the Dublin Orchestral Society, both of which organized regular concerts of high-profile 

artists in Dublin.  

 Although he was a very accomplished and influential pianist, pedagogue, and conductor, 

he was also a successful composer, writing several pieces that were recognized by societies and 

organizations throughout Britain. He earned recognition and awards from organizations 

including the London Incorporated Society of Musicians, La Société Nouvelle, and the 

Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna. Although he was born and trained in Italy, he made a 

big impact on the musical community in Ireland through his role at the Royal Irish Academy 

of Music, among other organizations, as described above. I chose to include him in this study 

for this reason. 

 His Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major is written in three movements, with the first 

movement marked Moderato. The opening theme is energized and optimistic, with the piano 

establishing a rhythmic motor right away. The violin enters on a metrically weak beat and plays 

a simple melody that is highly sentimental. His inventive use of syncopations saves the music 

from feeling excessively sweet, although the opening may still make one wonder if Esposito will 

always succeed in this regard. Ultimately, though, he does succeed in this through imaginative 

contrasts in the music. 

 Example No. 19: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 1, 

Measures 1–9.17 

 
17 Michele Esposito, Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G Major, Op. 32 (London, England: Schott, 1890). 



 
 

27 

 

The music becomes more dramatic as it builds to punctuation points featuring double 

stops in the violin. These punctuation points draw a parallel to similar moments in Schumann’s 

A minor violin sonata. 

Example No. 20: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 1, 

Measures 33–37. 

 



 
 

28 

 The second movement is marked Lento with the expressive indication con molto 

sentimento. This movement has the special quality that the main theme is essentially hidden in 

plain sight at the beginning when it appears in the piano as a sort of minimal and 

accompanimental vamp. When the violin enters four bars later playing this same theme, it 

becomes clear that it is not simply accompanimental material; it is a beautiful continuous melody 

created from seemingly minimal component parts. This quality of spinning surprising richness 

out of a minimum of raw materials seems to be part of the magic of Romanticism, especially 

when one considers the parallel between this movement and the slow movement of Brahms’s F 

minor quintet, which likewise takes what at first sounds like a repetitive vamp and spins out it an 

impossibly long and varied thread of melody. 

 Example No. 21: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 2, 

Measures 1–8. 

 

 



 
 

29 

The middle section is divided into two halves, both marked animando and highlighting 

Esposito’s sense of drama. The texture here draws parallels to that of preludes by Chopin, 

particularly to that of the F sharp minor prelude with its virtuosic wash of color. 

 Example No. 22: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 2, 

Measures 39–42. 

 

After these climactic moments, the opening theme is presented again, this time down an 

octave in the violin. This register change evokes a different, throatier sound from the violin. The 

violin ends the movement on a soaring high E, after climbing through an E major arpeggio. In 

varying the presentation of the thematic material presented earlier, it creates a dialogue with the 

middle section, as though the experience of the middle section affected the presentation of the 

opening material.  

 To round out this three-movement work, Esposito makes a surprise shift into the minor 

mode, presenting a brilliant, Hungarian-style rondo in the tradition of Liszt and Brahms, marked 

Allegro vivace and—inevitably—accelerating to presto at the end.  



 
 

30 

 Example No. 23: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 3, 

Measures 1–25. 

 

 
 

In addition, like the brilliant Hungarian-style rondo, this movement employs fun stop-

action stomps which create exciting and energizing musical moments. 

Example No. 24: Esposito Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Movement 3, 

Measures 41–43. 

 

Throughout the multiple times I performed this piece leading up to and after my recital, I 

was always drawn in and inspired by the innocence and sentimentality of the opening. In 

addition, I was always excited to play the second movement, with its luscious opening melody 



 
 

31 

which first appears to be just accompanimental material. However, my favorite section to play 

was always the middle section of the second movement, where Esposito used textures inspired 

by Chopin to create music with a very heartfelt and soulful quality. These examples, among 

many others which I discussed above, highlight his originality as a composer grounded in the 

traditions of the Romantic era. 

Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending, Romance for Violin and 
Orchestra 
 Born in Gloucestershire in 1872, Ralph Vaughan Williams spent most of his life in and 

around London. His paternal relatives were prominent lawyers and judges, and his maternal 

relatives included scientist Charles Darwin. He studied the violin and piano as a child.  

Throughout his youth, he felt dissatisfied with the state of English music. He had 

difficulty envisioning how his musical ambitions could be realized in this musical community.18 

This dissatisfaction motivated him to develop the highest professional standards. In 1890, he 

enrolled as a student at the Royal College of Music in London. Here, he studied organ with 

Walter Parratt and composition with Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford. 

As with Stanford and his mentor Reinecke, Vaughan Williams had an affectionate yet 

stormy relationship with Stanford. Although Stanford assisted Vaughan Williams in developing 

his compositional technique, Vaughan Williams was not interested in following in the footsteps 

of Brahms and Wagner as Stanford had. Stanford did not appreciate Vaughan Williams’s interest 

in modal music although he recognized that Vaughan Williams was talented and had great 

potential.19 Despite the objections of Stanford, Vaughan Williams forged ahead with his own 

 
18 Frogley Alain, Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge University Press, 1996). 
19 Michael Kennedy, The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Oxford University Press, 1966). 



 
 

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musical interests. He felt that as a British composer, he could take advantage of uniquely English 

musical idioms to develop a convincing compositional palette that would stay true to his sense of 

national pride; he notably took great interest in English folk song in his work. He was also 

passionate about music’s ability to affect its listeners, being interested in, “every situation, 

however humble, for which music was needed”.20  

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, Vaughan Williams continued to 

develop his compositional career in London. He gained prominence in the 1910’s with the 

publication of Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and The Lark Ascending. With these 

works, his distinct personal voice became well known and beloved in the public, both 

domestically and abroad.  

He volunteered for military service at the outbreak of World War One in 1914. This 

experience had a profound impact on him; he lost many friends in the war and developed hearing 

problems from combat. While he did not compose during this time, he became a professor of 

composition at the Royal College of Music after the war.  

For the remainder of his career, Vaughan Williams continued to explore modal 

harmonies and the influence of folk music in western art music. He was appreciated for his 

storytelling abilities as a composer. According to music critic Edward Sackville-West, Vaughan 

Williams style, “is not remarkable for grace or politeness or inventive color; it expresses a 

consistent vision in which thought and feeling and their equivalent images in music never fall 

below a certain high level of natural distinction”21. He goes on to say that his music has two 

contrasting moods, “one contemplative and trance-like, the other, pugnacious and sinister”22. The 

 
20 Hugh Ottaway and Alain Frogley, “Vaughan Williams, Ralph” (Oxford University Press, 2001), 
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42507. 
21 Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor, The Record Guide, vol. 10 (Greenwood, 1978). 
22 Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor. 



 
 

33 

first mood is shown through, “the stained-glass beauty of the Tallis Fantasia, the direct melodic 

appeal of the Serenade to Music, the pastoral poetry of The Lark Ascending, and the grave 

serenity of the Fifth Symphony”23. His many compositions have greatly contributed to the 

diversity and development of many genres, including the symphonic and chamber genres.  

 The Lark Ascending is a single-movement work originally composed for violin and piano 

in 1914, although the piece was not performed until after World War One. At this time, Vaughan 

Williams reworked the piece for solo violin and orchestra. Inspired by a poem written by George 

Meredith in 1893, this piece showcases Vaughan Williams’s compositional aesthetic, featuring 

modal harmonies, luscious orchestration, and vivid musical imagery. He inscribed the following 

lines from Meredith’s poem on the score of The Lark Ascending: 

 

He rises and begins to round, 

He drops the silver chain of sound, 

Of many links without a break, 

In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake. 

For singing till his heaven fills, 

‘Tis love of earth that he instills, 

And ever winging up and up, 

Our valley is his golden cup 

And he the wine which overflows 

To lift us with him as he goes. 

‘Till lost on his aerial rings 

 
23 Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor., pg 786. 



 
 

34 

In light, and then the fancy sings.24 

 

In setting this poem to music, Vaughan Williams used the violin to both imitate a bird 

and sing the bird’s song. In her biography of him, Ursula Vaughan Williams, his second wife, 

wrote that he, “had taken a literary idea on which to build his musical thought and had made the 

violin become both the bird’s song and its flight, rather than simply illustrating the poem from 

which the title was taken”.25 

 The piece is marked Andante sostenuto and begins with a quiet accompanimental 

statement in the piano. In the orchestral version, this melody is played by the winds and strings. 

Following this, the violin plays a cadenza marked sur la touche. Throughout the cadenza, the 

violin imitates the sound of birds with rhapsodic, improvisatory figures. These figures ultimately 

lead to a melody in 6/8 which becomes the main theme when the orchestra re-enters.  

Example No. 25: Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending, Measures 1–9.26 

 
24 Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending, Romance for Violin and Orchestra (London, England: Oxford 
University Press, 1926). 
25 Ursula Vaughan Williams, “Ralph Vaughan Williams,” A Biography, London, England: Oxford University Press 
1964. 
26 Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending, Romance for Violin and Orchestra. 



 
 

35 

 
In addition to the vivid musical imagery, the musical example above also highlights 

Vaughan Williams’s use of modal harmonies. At the beginning, the presence of the E pedal in 

the accompaniment solidifies the harmonic center around E. The presence of the flat 7th, D, and 

the raised 6th, C sharp, firmly establishes E Dorian. This is restated when the violin enters with 

the accompaniment later in the example.  

After a poco animato section based on the opening melody, and a largamente section 

featuring double stops in the violin, there is another cadenza featuring the same flourishes from 

the opening. The cadenza leads to an interesting section marked Allegretto tranquillo (quasi 



 
 

36 

Andante) which features modal scales and harmonies. In contrast to the previous section with its 

slow, rocking theme in 6/8 and cadenzas which have a sense of timelessness, this new section 

features a jaunty dance in a duple meter introduced by the flute.  

Example No. 26: Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending, Measures 76–85.

 

 At the beginning of this section, E Aeolian is established. Here, as in the rest of the piece, 

Vaughan Williams limits himself for long stretches to the 7 pitches of this mode without 

introducing accidentals to modulate. In doing this, he evokes a folkloric and pastoral mood. 

Despite this limitation, he achieves both color and a sense of direction; his use of seventh chords 

throughout this example infuses a western-European Romanticism in his otherwise folkloric 

style. The seven-note pitch field that he limits himself to provides a kind of natural ambiguity 

that enables him to shift the tonal center from E to G to D.  

 The next section, Allegro tranquillo, features a new jaunty dance, this time in 6/8 time. It 

is carried by the oboe and clarinet in turn, decorated by ornamental figurations from the solo 

violin and off-beat dings from the triangle. After first playing this ornamental and coloristic role, 



 
 

37 

the soloist finally joins the winds in their playful volley of the thematic material as shown in 

Example No. 27. 

Example No. 27: Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending, Measures 123–142. 

 

 
  



 
 

38 

 After another largamente section featuring double stops in the violin, the solo violin 

plays another cadenza, ending the piece like it began. The character throughout the cadenza is 

uplifted and sacred. The analogy of the lark ascending to another world is well translated 

throughout this piece.  

Ultimately, The Lark Ascending is a great example of Vaughan Williams’s compositional 

aesthetic and personal voice; he combines folk idioms with modal harmonies in a well-

orchestrated and well developed way to create interesting and vibrant pieces of music, often with 

a pastoral and nostalgic character. In bravely abandoning the legacy of German Romanticism 

against the wishes of his teacher, Vaughan Williams created a style that was truly individual and 

irreplaceable. The many powerful moments, particularly the entrance of the orchestra and solo 

violin together for the first time, and the inventive Allegro tranquillo section featuring the 

bouncing 6/8 melody and jolly triangle dings, were very powerful to me personally. With his 

innovative way of incorporating modes into a Romantic aesthetic, he seems to have clearly 

defined a uniquely British compositional aesthetic. 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Two Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano 
 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London in 1875 to Alice Hare Martin, an English 

woman, and Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor, an African man.27 Alice and Daniel never married and, 

furthermore, Daniel was unaware Alice was pregnant before he moved to Africa for work.28 

Alice lived with her father, Benjamin Holmes, after Samuel was born. In naming him Samuel 

 
27 Specifically, he was Krio, a member of a Sierra Leonean ethnic group consisting of descendants of freed African-
American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the Western Area of Sierra Leone between 
1787 and 1885. 
28 Avril Coleridge-Taylor, The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Dobson, 1979). 



 
 

39 

Coleridge-Taylor, his mother, possibly expecting big things from him, was making a reference to 

the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the author of the famous poem Kubla Khan.  

 Coleridge-Taylor began his musical studies on the violin under the direction of his 

grandfather, Benjamin Holmes, who was a talented musician. As Coleridge-Taylor’s musical 

ability became apparent, his grandfather arranged private violin lessons for him. Coleridge-

Taylor later enrolled in the Royal College of Music. After initially studying the violin at the 

College, he shifted his focus to composition, enrolling as a student of Stanford. While Vaughan 

Williams had a stormy relationship with Stanford, it appears that the relationship between 

Coleridge-Taylor and Stanford was more amicable. Stanford assisted him in his career by 

organizing and conducting the premiere of his Hiawatha Wedding Feast in 1898, for which 

Coleridge Taylor became well known. There are no accounts of major disagreements or rifts 

between the two men, and Coleridge-Taylor, as a great talent, likely impressed and excited 

Stanford. Coleridge-Taylor excelled as a composer and upon graduating, took up a professional 

position as a professor of composition at the Crystal Palace School of Music in Sydenham, 

London.29 

 As Coleridge-Taylor developed, he became interested in his African heritage, particularly 

in how idioms and musical devices from the African musical tradition could influence and be in 

dialogue with the traditions of western classical music. He is well known for a collection of 

cantatas called The Song of Hiawatha. He composed other pieces like The African Dances for 

violin and piano as well as a violin concerto. These pieces presented African folk melodies and 

rhythmic devices in western classical contexts. His music appealed to a broad audience, and 

although often tokenized and compared crudely to his white counterparts—he was often referred 

 
29 Jeffrey Green, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Musical Life (Routledge, 2015). 



 
 

40 

to as “Black Mahler”30—he was recognized and appreciated for his talents throughout his life. He 

unfortunately passed away at the young age of 37 after a battle with pneumonia.  

 Coleridge-Taylor wrote his Two Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano in 1895. While 

these pieces do not demonstrate his interest in African musical idioms like some of his other 

pieces, they highlight his creativity as a composer. Despite its title, the first piece, Lament, is 

optimistic if soulful in character. An optimistic lament being unusual, Coleridge-Taylor could 

have been trying to illustrate a positive memory or experience which only exists in the past. This 

name is certainly a unique and creative choice. 

Although the piece is notated in 6/4 time, the first measure has only five beats, and metric 

ambiguity pervades the first nine bars. The piano answers the violin’s throaty lament at irregular 

intervals with rolled chords and fragments of melody echoed with surprise quickenings and 

hesitations. Even when the main body of the piece begins at measure 10, metric ambiguity 

remains, as the piano divides the bar into two dotted half notes, while the violin divides it into 

three half notes. 

Example No. 28: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Lament, Measures 1–4.31  

 

Example No. 29: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Lament, Measures 10–11. 

 
30 Charles Elford, Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story (Grosvenor House Publishing, 2012). 
31 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Two Romantic Pieces for Violin and Pianoforte (London, England: Augener, 1896). 



 
 

41 

 

The melody weaves through different key areas and registers. Initially beginning on an A, 

it appears again on an E as well as a D, before finally returning to its original statement on A.  

 

Example No. 30: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Lament, Measure 31. 

 

Example No. 31: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Lament, Measures 36–39. 

 

In structuring this piece, he places music with a sorrowful and darker character in 

between the two more optimistic sections of music.  



 
 

42 

Example No. 32: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Lament, Measures 22–26. 

 

In addition to the form, the melody and harmonic structure feel exciting and original; a 

reviewer in the Musical News Vol. 10 No. 262 in 1896 wrote of the Lament specifically, “This 

piece is marked by a great depth of feeling and also by its striking originality. The 

accompaniment is laid on an unusually large scale for a piece of this kind, and taxes the pianist 

considerably.”32 

 Like the title of the first piece, the title of the second also seems to conflict with its 

character. Merry-Making, written in F sharp minor, has a nervous and sometimes menacing 

quality. In addition, as he did in the Lament, Coleridge-Taylor structures Merry-Making such 

 
32 “Musical News,” NYPL Digital Collections, accessed March 3, 2023, 
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/584ca540-0026-0134-c509-
00505686a51c.https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/584ca540-0026-0134-c509-00505686a51c, 223. 



 
 

43 

that the music one might describe as more “merry-making” is in between two sections of music 

that are serious and dark.  

Example No. 33: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Merry-Making, Measures 1–

12. 

 

The joyful B section includes double stops in the violin and numerous modulations to 

distant key areas, including B flat major, B major, and C major. The example below shows the 

version in B flat major. 

Example No. 34: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Merry-Making, Measures 65–

72. 

 



 
 

44 

When the A section returns, its final modulation is altered so as to present a clever 

deception: what sounds like a return to the B section turns out to be just a fragment that 

immediately transforms into an exciting flourish of an ending in the tonic major.  

Example No. 35: Coleridge-Taylor Two Romantic Pieces, Merry-Making, Measures 179–

195. 

 

A musical review organization called the Monthly Musical Record in 1896 reviewed 

these pieces as follows: “A most artistic ‘Lament’ and an excellently devised ‘Merry-Making’ by 

S. Coleridge-Taylor, show the hand of a true musician in the highest sense, and in the latter are 

some passages of very remarkable merit and originality”.33  

I particularly enjoyed how the characters of each piece conflicted with their respective 

titles; this irony greatly assisted me in conceptualizing a specific style and sound for these two 

pieces. In addition, with its brief use of the B section material in leading to a final flourish, I 

 
33 The Monthly Musical Record, v. 31 (Augener., 1901), 
https://books.google.com/books?id=WtcqAAAAYAAJ.https://books.google.com/books?id=WtcqAAAAYAAJThe 
Monthly Musical Record., 44. 



 
 

45 

always felt the ending of Merry-Making was especially exciting and fun. These examples, among 

numerous others which I described above, highlight Coleridge-Taylor’s creativity and 

individuality as a composer in the Romantic era. 

Charles Villiers Stanford: Irish Rhapsody No. 6 for Violin and Orchestra 
 Born in Dublin in 1852 to a wealthy family of prominent lawyers, Charles Villiers 

Stanford was encouraged to cultivate his musical abilities from a young age. His family 

supported him through private lessons in the violin, piano, organ, and composition. He continued 

these lessons throughout his teens. His father approved his decision to become a professional 

musician on the condition that he have a classical education before pursuing further musical 

studies. He consequently enrolled at Queen’s College in Cambridge studying classics.  

 Stanford excelled musically throughout his studies in Cambridge. He became the 

conductor of the choir and also composed numerous pieces, including a piano concerto, several 

short religious and secular vocal works, and incidental music for a fellow student’s play. He 

revolutionized the choir by encouraging women to join, thereby expanding the repertoire options 

for the group dramatically. Through his role with the choir, he met John Larkin Hopkins. 

Hopkins was another conductor of the College Choir and was also employed as an organist at 

Trinity College. After Hopkins fell ill and passed away in 1874, Stanford was appointed as 

organist for Trinity College.34 He negotiated a contract that allowed him to take time off to study 

composition abroad every two years.  

 Stanford used this time off to study in Germany with Carl Reinecke. While Reinecke 

taught Stanford a great deal about composition in these formative years, Stanford was dismayed 

 
34 Jeremy Dibble, Charles Villiers Stanford: Man and Musician (Oxford University Press on Demand, 2002). 



 
 

46 

at Reinecke’s lack of interest in some of the more progressive German composers of the time, 

like Brahms and Wagner. Stanford wrote, “Of all the dry musicians I have ever known he was 

the most desiccated. He had not a good word for any contemporary composer…He loathed 

Wagner…sneered at Brahms and had no enthusiasm of any sort.”35 It is possible that this 

experience drew him even more towards composers like Brahms and Wagner, as a sort of 

rebellious impulse.  

In 1882, Stanford became a founding professor of the Royal College of Music in London. 

In this position, he taught and mentored many of Britain’s rising stars, including Vaughan 

Williams, Holst, and Coleridge-Taylor, among others. He is best known for his work as a 

pedagogue at the college, where he remained for the rest of his career. Although he composed a 

number of popular, highly regarded pieces over the course of his career, many of his students 

went on to achieve greater notoriety and recognition than he did. Unfortunately, the first world 

war had a serious impact on his physical and mental well-being, and he passed away from a 

stroke in 1924. 

 In addition to his interest in the Romantic aesthetic of composers like Brahms and 

Wagner, Stanford was also interested in showcasing traditional Irish musical idioms. His Irish 

Rhapsody No. 6 for violin and orchestra displays his interest in both of these. 

Stanford composed his Irish Rhapsody No. 6 for violin and orchestra in September of 

1922. Rhapsodies often include a slow first section and fast, virtuosic second section. Hungarian 

Rhapsodies are a good example of this, with their two parts lassu (slow and stately) and friss 

(fast with high leaps). In his Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Stanford applies Irish idioms to this existing 

structure. Within the first section of music, there are four subsections. In the first subsection, 

 
35 Charles Villiers Stanford, Pages from an Unwritten Diary (E. Arnold, 1914). 



 
 

47 

which we can call the A section, the tonic key of D minor is established through improvisatory 

flourishes in the violin and harp. The music here has a pastoral and distant quality.  

Example No. 36: Stanford Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Measures 1–13.36 

 

 

In the following B section, the music modulates to the relative major and a clear melody 

is established in the solo violin. The character in the B section is more optimistic and joyful than 

in the A section.  

 
36 Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish Rhapsody No. 6 for Violin Solo and Orchestra (London, England: Boosey and 
Company, 1923). 



 
 

48 

 

Example No. 37: Stanford Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Measure 66–81. 

 

 

Unlike the B section, the following C section does not present a theme, but instead, uses 

various scalar and arpeggiated figures in remote key areas in both the solo violin, string, 

woodwind, and brass parts to create a stormy and dramatic character. This section ends with a 

long orchestral tutti featuring fragments of the figures presented earlier. 



 
 

49 

Example No. 38: Stanford Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Measure 94-106. 

 

A return to the theme of the B section completes the slow first part of the piece with a 

drawn-out cadence. 

 The second larger section of Stanford’s Irish Rhapsody No. 6 features continuously 

running sixteenth notes in both the violin and accompaniment parts. Like an Irish reel, the music 

here is in a duple meter. In addition, Stanford frequently repeats the two middle notes of a group 

of four sixteenth notes. This is a musical idiom commonly heard in Irish fiddle playing. 



 
 

50 

 

Example No. 39: Stanford Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Measures 171–192. 

 

In this highly virtuosic section, the music often requires the violinist to execute 

techniques like octave double stops, quick arpeggios across a wide range, and long passages of 

quick 16th notes, as discussed above. The piece ends with an exciting flourish, mimicking the 

exciting effect many performances of quick Irish fiddle pieces have.  

Example No. 40: Stanford Irish Rhapsody No. 6, Measures 304-319. 

 



 
 

51 

 

With the many modulations to faraway key areas, heartfelt melodies, and luscious 

orchestration, this piece highlights Stanford’s Romantic aesthetic. As the reviewer John Fielder 

Porte wrote in the early twentieth century, Stanford’s compositions are, “sonorously scored, 

classical in outlook, and contain many passages of an expressive and somewhat poetical 

freshness. There are no very special features to note, but [they] make useful and interesting 

items.”37 While this reviewer found, “no very special features to note”, the idea of placing Irish 

folk idioms in the framework of the traditional rhapsody would seem to be just such a feature. 

 Many of the other composers featured in this project can trace their pedagogical roots to 

Stanford; Vaughan Williams and Coleridge-Taylor studied with Stanford and Ina Boyle studied 

with Vaughan Williams. Just as Stanford found himself disagreeing with Reinecke’s 

compositional aesthetic, Stanford’s students had their own interests and aesthetic preferences. 

 
37 John Fielder Porte, Sir Charles V. Stanford: Mus. Doc., MA, DCL (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1921). 



 
 

52 

Although some of his students achieved greater fame and enduring popularity as composers than 

Stanford, his influence as a pedagogue and mentor remains important.  

While Stanford highlighted uniquely Irish folk idioms in his work, this, alone, is not a 

technique unique to the Irish musical community, since many composers draw upon folk music 

native to their culture in their work. Despite this, there were many features that stood out in this 

music. I particularly enjoyed his very evocative and dramatic stormy middle section, as shown 

by Example No. 38. I also particularly enjoyed his uniquely pastoral and sweeping opening 

which featured flourishes in the harp and solo parts. His imitation of an Irish reel was also great 

fun for me to present in my recital. These details highlight his ability as masterful composer. 

Ina Boyle: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra 
 Born in Enniskerry, Ireland in 1889, Ina Boyle began studying the violin with her father, 

Reverend William Foster Boyle, who was a curate at St. Patrick’s Church, Powerscourt. After 

studying music theory and harmony with Irish composers Samuel Spencer Myerscough, Charles 

Wood, and Percy Buck, she began composing at the age of 14. By the age of 24, Boyle had 

achieved success in Irish composition competitions, including both first and second prizes for a 

cello concerto called Elegy and for a setting of Walt Whitman’s The Last Invocation at the 1913 

Sligo Feis Ceoil composition competition.38  

In 1922, Boyle began traveling on a regular basis from Enniskerry to London for private 

lessons with Ralph Vaughan Williams, a journey which could take 10 to 12 hours one way over 

land and water. He quickly became one of her most important mentors and advocates.39 She 

 
38 Feis Ceoil, which means “festival of music” in Irish, refers to a series of music competitions that occur annually in 
various parts of Ireland. Sligo is an Irish city on the western coast, so the 1913 Sligo Feis Ceoil refers to the Feis 
Ceoil that occurred in Sligo, Ireland in 1913.  
39Ita Beausang and Séamas De Barra, Ina Boyle (1889-1967): A Composer’s Life (Cork University Press, 2018). 



 
 

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continued these lessons until the beginning of the Second World War when traveling across the 

Irish sea became too dangerous. 

 Many of Boyle’s career highlights were groundbreaking for women. Her orchestral 

rhapsody, The Magic Harp, was published by the prestigious Carnegie United Kingdom Trust in 

1920. She was the only Irish composer from 1911 to 1959 to write a full-length symphony, the 

first movement of which was performed in 1925 by the London Symphony Orchestra.40 She was 

honored in 1948 with an honorable mention at the Olympics Art Competition in music for her 

piece, “Lament for Bion”, for solo tenor and string quartet.41  

While Boyle’s oeuvre is impressive in its size and scope, her music was, and has 

remained, underperformed. Although she displayed considerable ability as a musician and 

composer, she had a shy and retiring manner and lived in relative isolation at her family home in 

Enniskerry. As a family-oriented person, she devoted a significant amount of time to caring for 

her ailing family members, including her mother, father, and sister Phyllis until the end of the 

Second World War. In addition, according to musicologist and Boyle biographer Séamas Da 

Barra, “rarely in advance of putting pen to paper does [Boyle] seem to have inquired what kind 

of composition might best stand a chance of gaining a hearing. The systematic identification of 

existing or likely performance opportunities and tailoring her work accordingly was not really 

part of her thinking, and this led to the expenditure of a great deal of energy on the creation of 

scores, often quite substantial scores”42. Unfortunately, many of these substantial scores were not 

 
40 Beausang and De Barra. 
41 From 1912 until 1948, art competitions were a component of the Olympic Games. These competitions awarded 
medals for works of art inspired by sport. There were five different categories: architecture, literature, music, 
painting, and sculpture. These competitions were abandoned after 1948 and replaced with a series of cultural events 
in the host city, coined the Cultural Olympiad. The Cultural Olympiad continues at the Olympic Games today. 
42 Beausang and De Barra, Ina Boyle (1889-1967): A Composer’s Life. 



 
 

54 

performed. This attitude toward her creativity made it more difficult for her to establish herself in 

the greater British musical community. 

When understood in the context of the significant obstacles all professional women 

encountered in the early twentieth century, it is remarkable that Boyle achieved as much as she 

did. She displayed a quiet tenacity in her approach to self-advocacy; she continued to promote 

her music and curate performances of her work even in the face of almost constant rejection for 

decades. Vaughan Williams wrote to her that, “I think it is most courageous of you to go on with 

so little recognition. The only thing to say is that it sometimes does come finally” 43. While she 

has been dubbed, “the most prolific and significant female composer from Ireland before 

1950”44, after studying her music and learning more about her life and achievements, I believe 

she is one of the most prolific and significant Irish composers of any gender. 

 Boyle’s devotion to her family became the creative impulse for many of her works. Some 

of them were dedicated to specific family members on special occasions and holidays. For 

Christmas of 1928, she composed a carol called “All Souls Flowers” for her mother. After her 

mother passed away in 1932, she composed a violin concerto featuring that carol. The entire 

concerto is actually a grand setting of this carol, with the first two movements preparing the way 

for an extended setting of it in the third movement. 

 In analyzing Boyle’s concerto, it is important to first understand the musical qualities of 

the setting of her carol in the third movement. In the third movement, the carol tune appears in 

the woodwinds after an exciting opening which features an active melody followed by a 

powerful orchestral tutti. As the orchestral tutti fades away, at rehearsal 22, Boyle writes, “this 

 
43 Beausang and De Barra. 
44 Julie Anne Sadie and Rhian Samuel, The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (WW Norton & 
Company, 1994). 



 
 

55 

movement is based on a carol tune “All Soul’s Flower”, written for my mother, Christmas 1928, 

to words by Pamela Grey of Falloden”. The carol melody can be observed in the following 

musical example.  

Example No. 41: Boyle Concerto, Movement 3, Measures 193–200.45 

 

 
45 Ina Boyle, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Dublin, Ireland: Contemporary Music Center, 1935). 



 
 

56 

 As the example shows, Boyle puts the text of the carol into the score for the benefit of the 

musician’s understanding, even though there is no vocalist in the ensemble. The text of the carol 

reads as follows: 

A Flower has blossomed in this land 

‘Twas planted by the Lord’s command 

A Flower so fair 

So clear of hue 

Ever its leaves are fresh and new 

Come, Lords and Ladies see this thing 

It grows for our souls’ bettering 

O, lovely Flower 

Blossom and thorn of Mary’s bower. 

This flower, it is so pretty a thing 

It holds remede for sorrowing,  

So sweet a sap runs in its veins 

As may subdue all griefs and pains 

If any man lack heart of mood 

Straightway it maketh these losses good 

O, Flower of Price! 

Sing we, sing we of Paradise.46 

Initially, the carol tune is presented in the flutes and clarinets while the solo part plays 

quick sixteenth note figurations. While doing this gives the soloist an opportunity to demonstrate 

 
46 Boyle. 



 
 

57 

virtuosity, it draws attention away from the carol. In contrast, when the violin finally plays the 

carol melody, the orchestra, particularly the B flat clarinet, is lyrically contrapuntal. It is possible 

that in doing this, Boyle may have been trying to imbue the carol with more dramatic 

significance when it is finally played by the soloist.  

Throughout the setting of the carol, Boyle reframes the 6/4 time signature every other 

measure, with alternating bars of 3 plus 3 and 2 plus 2 plus 2. In addition, the carol tune has 

alternations between duple and triple rhythms within each measure. These same musical 

characteristics are present throughout the first and second movements in significant ways, as 

though preparing the way for the third movement. 

 The first movement of the concerto is marked Lento ma non troppo and the key signature 

has no sharps or flats. Despite the key signature, the music immediately establishes A major as 

the harmonic center. The melody begins in the woodwinds, horns, and strings on the third scale 

degree, C sharp, and then moves to a B, G, and A. This is actually a quotation of the carol tune 

from the third movement.  

Example No. 42: Boyle Concerto, Mvmt 1, Measures 1–6.

 

Although Boyle’s voicing and orchestration establish a pastoral musical landscape, she 

infuses a wandering and uncertain quality here by avoiding the tonic in the melody and by 



 
 

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frequently using appoggiaturas. The solo violin enters after a 10-measure orchestral tutti. The 

violin wanders through a slow and lonely cadenza which ultimately fades away into an orchestral 

tutti featuring the carol tune. The violin returns 10 measures later with another cadenza. This 

cadenza becomes more sure of itself in character and ushers in a larger orchestral tutti without 

the violin. This finally leads to a more integrated section of music where the solo violin is in 

active dialogue with the orchestra. The music moves through a few different key areas in this 

middle dialogue section before gravitating back to A major towards the end of the movement 

when the short cadenza sections return again.  

Like the first movement, the second movement wanders through numerous key areas 

without feeling like it finally arrives home; it has two flats in the key signature but does not ever 

fully cadence in G minor or B flat major. The carol melody is not presented in this movement as 

it is presented in the first movement. However, throughout the second movement, the 5/4 time 

signature is frequently reframed as either 2 plus 3 or 3 plus 2, forecasting similar metric shifts in 

the carol’s presentation in the third movement.  

Example No. 43: Boyle Concerto, Mvmt 2, Measures 129–134. 



 
 

59 

 

A lonely character is established at the beginning of the second movement as the solo 

violin plays a wandering, sinuous line with intermittent interjections and silences from the 

strings. The music elaborates a few rhythmic figures throughout this movement, gradually 

building in intensity and then decaying without creating many larger structural points. The 

woodwinds and horns join the larger orchestral moments as the movement progresses. At the end 

of the movement, the music finally finds a sense of direction as the violin trills and crescendos 

into the virtuosic figurations that accompany the carol at the start of the third movement.  

When understood in the context of the setting of the carol, the wandering first two 

movements take on more meaning and vitality as expressions of the uncertainty, grief, and 

reflection that come with the passing of a loved one.  

Boyle was clearly a deeply thoughtful composer. I was wholeheartedly moved by the 

vulnerability she displayed in centering the entire concerto around the carol she wrote for her 

mother. This personal and intimate compositional choice made me want to champion her music. 



 
 

60 

I think her intelligence, creativity, and intimacy are very rare. It is fortunate that her prolific 

output is being rediscovered today. 

John Blackwood McEwen: Two Poems for Violin and Piano 
 Born in Hawick, Scotland in 1868, John Blackwood McEwen spent his formative 

childhood years in Glasgow, where his father was a Presbyterian minister. After graduating from 

Glasgow University in 1888, McEwen worked as a choirmaster for three years. In 1891, he 

moved to London to further his musical studies, entering the Royal Academy of Music in 1893. 

After winning the Charles Lucas composition medal and graduating from RAM in 1895, he was 

invited to return to the Academy in 1898 as a professor of harmony and composition by Sir 

Alexander Mackenzie.47 In this role, he influenced a generation of young English composers. His 

pedagogical legacy is cemented through the many musical textbooks he wrote over the course of 

his tenure, including Text-Book of Harmony and Counterpoint, Exercises on Phrasing in 

Pianoforte Playing, First Steps in Musical Composition, and The Principals of Phrasing and 

Articulation in Music, among others. He also continued composing throughout his time at RAM. 

 Like many composers of the late Romantic era, McEwen was influenced by the music of 

a broad range of composers in developing his compositional style, from the aesthetic of Wagner 

and Strauss to that of Berlioz and that of Debussy. His Two Poems for Violin and Piano were 

written in 1913 and published in 1918 by a small publishing company called the Anglo-French 

music company. Despite its name, this organization published very few pieces by French 

composers. The majority of the 300 pieces it published in its 10 years of operation were written 

by a small number of pianists and violinists. In fact, many of the violin pieces published by the 

 
47 Benoliel, Bernard. "McEwen, John." Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.  



 
 

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company were written by McEwen. The company was purchased by Humphrey Milford in the 

mid 1920’s and incorporated into the newly developed music department of the Oxford 

University Press. 

 McEwen’s Two Poems for Violin and Piano, entitled, “Breath O’ June” and “The Lone 

Shore” respectively, are short pieces that evoke the sentiments of their titles. Marked Adagio, 

“Breath O’ June” begins with flourishes in the piano which outline an inverted major seventh 

chord, presenting the listener with a wash of color and texture. These flourishes continue for four 

bars until the violin enters con sordino playing a simple melody over major seventh chords in the 

piano. The character here is both nostalgic and dream-like.  

Example No. 44: McEwen Two Poems, Breath O’ June, Measures 1–8.48 

 
 

48 John Blackwood McEwen, Two Poems for Violin and Pianoforte (London, England: Anglo-French Music 
Company, 1918). 



 
 

62 

 
 

This section of music is contrasted with a secondary section of music marked tempo 

giusto. In this second section, the music moves through different key areas and includes rhythmic 

variation in both instruments. The first section of music returns towards the end of the movement 

with the violin playing up an octave. This register change seems to intensify the dramatic 

potency of the music as the movement ends. 

 The second poem, entitled, “The Lone Shore”, centers harmonically upon the key of G 

minor. In the first section of this poem, the harmonies are created by joining stacks of perfect 

fifths. As a result, many of the harmonies, like in “Breath O’ June”, have extra intervals, like 

6ths and 7ths, which obscure the tonal center. Despite the clashing intervals, the perfect fifths, 

particularly in the violin part, evoke a lonely and broad character.  

Example No. 45: McEwen Two Poems, The Lone Shore, Measures 1–11. 



 
 

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As with Breath O’ June, The Lone Shore is in ABA form with a more assertive middle 

section. The music in this secondary section has a clear pulse in the piano which accompanies a 

very soulful and soaring melody in the violin.  

Example No. 46: McEwen Two Poems, The Lone Shore, Measures 12–20. 

 



 
 

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The music becomes more agitated over the course of this secondary section until the 

pulse in the piano gradually fades to slower blocked chords, leading to a return of the opening 

material. The movement ends with a surprising G major chord, as if a ray of sunshine finally 

reached the lone shore. 

 Unlike many of his contemporaries, McEwen took little interest in the dissemination of 

his own compositions. In a series of letters he wrote to musicologist Henry Farmer, McEwen 

shares some important insights into his feelings and opinions about the role composition played 

in his life. In 1947, he wrote: 

My composing activities since the beginning of the century have merely been the occupation of 
my leisure and have been more in the nature of escapism and distraction from the serious 
business of earning a living. I have never been or tried to be a professional composer, and that is 
the reason for what my old friend Corder regarded as an undue preoccupation with chamber 
music. It takes less time to write a string quartet than a symphony, and in the old days one could 
have the satisfaction of hearing one’s work without undergoing the mortification and annoyances 
of suing for a performance from a swollen-headed conductor or a[n] arrogant impresario or board 
of Directors.49 
 

In another letter he wrote: 

 
49 John Blackwood McEwen, “Letters: Sir John McEwen,” Manuscript, n.d., University of Glasgow, Farmer 
Archive. 



 
 

65 

My MSS. are now safely housed in the Library of Glasgow University. I am now grateful to you 
for suggesting this course. Otherwise, I think I should probably have piled them in a heap in my 
back garden and set fire to them. I shrunk from having my intimate thoughts and feelings 
revealed posthumously, although no “uninitiated” eye would have understood what the notation 
conceals, [such] a fate seemed to me like a violation of my personal and intimate privacy.50 

 McEwen’s perception of composition as a private, leisurely activity may be the reason 

why he did not actively seek out performances of his music and consequently, the reason why his 

music has not become well known. Unfortunately, this may also be the reason why it is difficult 

to find musicological information about McEwen’s work; it is difficult, for example, to find 

information about what poems, if any, McEwen’s “Breath O’ June” and “The Lone Shore” are 

referring to. One Scottish poem published in 1884 was in fact titled, “The Morning Breath of 

June”, but the relationship between this and McEwen’s piece remains unknown. However, it can 

certainly be said that McEwen’s vivid writing in the two poems evoke sentiments that match 

those suggested by their respective titles. 

It is tempting in listening to and studying these poems to ascribe something uniquely 

Scottish to McEwen’s vivid musical imagery. However, McEwen’s compositional aesthetic 

seems to be strongly rooted in the traditions of composers of continental Europe. I found his 

writing, particularly the opening of Breath O’June, very moving and consequential. I always 

enjoyed playing the moving theme in the middle section of The Lone Shore, with its soulful and 

soaring quality. These examples, among the numerous others I illustrated above, highlight 

McEwen’s authenticity and originality.   

 

 
50 McEwen. 



 
 

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Alexander Campbell Mackenzie: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano 
 Alexander Campbell Mackenzie was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1847. Mackenzie’s 

parents encouraged him to study the violin from a young age. After playing in his father’s 

orchestra for years as a child, at the age of 10, he went to Germany to study composition under 

the direction of Stadtmusiker August Bartel at the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in Thuringia. At 

the age of 15, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied violin 

with Prosper Sainton and composition with Charles Lucas.  

 After completing his studies in 1865, he returned to Edinburgh where he remained until 

1881. In Edinburgh, he established himself as a versatile violinist, frequently performing 

chamber, orchestral and solo concerts. Throughout this time, he was also active as a composer. 

His many compositions—including a piano trio, a string quartet, a violin concerto, Six Pieces for 

violin, a cantata called The Bride, an opera called Colomba, and an oratorio called The Rose of 

Sharon—helped establish him as a leading composer in Britain. 

 After suffering from poor health, in 1881, he decided to move to Florence in the hopes 

that the warmer weather would improve his health and mindset. Upon the death of Sir George 

Macfarren, the principal of the Royal Academy of Music, in 1887, Mackenzie was appointed to 

succeed him. He remained in this role until his retirement in 1924. As principal of the school, he 

sought to improve its reputation in London, as it had fallen behind the Royal College of Music in 

terms of student enrollment and perceived academic rigor. He secured funds from numerous 

donors to offer more scholarships to prospective students. This, in turn, drove enrollment. He 

also founded organizations aimed at the Royal Academy of Music and the RCM, including the 

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, ABRSM for short. The ABRSM established a 

set of examinations aimed at assessing musical progress and achievement in an impartial and 



 
 

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authoritative way. These assessments ultimately helped establish clear benchmarks and standards 

for young British musical students to aim for. These exams still function as an important 

assessment for many young musicians today.  

Mackenzie was regarded as one of the most established and successful Scottish musicians 

of his time. According to musicologists Carnegie and Firman, “many of his programmatic works 

are based on Scottish subjects, but his music is cosmopolitan in style and somewhat old-

fashioned for its period, displaying influences of French and German composers, including 

Bizet, Gounod, Schumann, and Wagner. Particularly attractive is his imaginative and colorful 

use of the orchestra”.51 His powerful use of color can also be seen in his chamber works, 

including in his Six Pieces for violin and piano. 

 Throughout the Romantic era, composers often reimagined idioms and formal structures 

from the Baroque era through a heightened and more dramatic harmonic and formal aesthetic. 

Brahms, for example, used the Baroque chaconne in the last movement of his fourth symphony 

to establish a majestic, grand, and passionate quality. In addition, Grieg reimagined numerous 

Baroque dances in his Holberg Suite. In contrast to Brahms’s work, Grieg’s work in reimagining 

Baroque dances in his work conveys charm and nostalgia. Like these composers, Mackenzie 

explores a neo-Baroque, Romantic aesthetic. This can be seen in his witty Six Pieces for violin 

and piano.  

In order, the pieces in his Six Pieces for violin and piano are entitled: Gavotte; Berceuse; 

Benedictus; Zingaresca; Saltarello; and Tema con Variation. Although the phrase “six pieces” 

seems to separate each piece from their respective siblings, there appears to be a common 

narrative running through the six. This narrative relates to the Baroque dance suite. A number of 

 
51 Moir Carnegie and Rosemary Firman, “Mackenzie, Sir Alexander Campbell (1847–1935), Composer and 
Conductor” (Oxford University Press, September 2004), https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/34749. 



 
 

68 

dances are referenced in this, including the gavotte, zingaresca, and saltarello. In creating six 

pieces for this set and in placing the Baroque gavotte first, Mackenzie appears to be drawing a 

parallel to the Baroque dance suite which often has six movements, one of which can be a 

gavotte. In this context, his work appears to be a sort of remake of a Baroque dance suite, with 

each movement contributing to the larger narrative as in Baroque dance suites. There are exciting 

Spanish dances as well as a lullaby, a religious Benedictus, and a theme and variation movement.  

 Like a Baroque gavotte, Mackenzie’s Gavotte begins with a two-note pickup. The 

character is energized and stately. In contrast to Baroque gavottes, this gavotte does not arrive 

clearly on the metrically strong down beat of the first full measure. Instead, the second note is 

accented and is tied across the bar line. In doing this, Mackenzie lends the opening an 

unbalanced quality. The dramatic dynamic and tempo changes infuse the opening with a very 

witty and playful quality which is usually not found to this extent in Baroque gavottes.  

 Example No. 47: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Gavotte, Measures 1–5.52 

 

In addition, while Baroque gavottes are often in binary form, Mackenzie embraces a 

ternary form in his gavotte; the opening A section is repeated after a long contrasting B section 

featuring modulations to distant key areas. 

 Example No. 48: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Gavotte, Measures 31–39. 

 
52 Alexander Campbell Mackenzie, Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 37 (London, England: Novello and 
Company, 1889). 



 
 

69 

 

 The second piece in the set has the title Berceuse, indicating a lullaby, this one in a 

soothing 3/8 meter in the key of A major. In contrast to the simplicity that one might expect to 

find in a piece written for a child, this lullaby contains sophisticated three-part counterpoint. The 

idea of sneaking something for adult appreciation into a child’s piece seems to be a common 

aspect of the Romantic aesthetic when one considers, for example, the sophisticated harmonies 

in the Berceuse from Stravinsky’s The Firebird, or Ysaÿe’s Rêve d’Enfant.  

Example No. 49: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Berceuse, Measures 1–13. 



 
 

70 

 

The B section is shorter than the A section and features the key of C sharp minor. The 

character is more sorrowful and gloomy here.  

Example No. 50: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Berceuse, Measures 48–61. 

 

 

It quickly returns to the more upbeat and sunny A section. While the opening A section 

modulates, the second A section stays in the tonic until the end of this piece. 



 
 

71 

 Mackenzie again employs a three-part form in the next piece, entitled Benedictus, Latin 

for “blessing”. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Benedictus is a part of the Sanctus portion of 

the mass ordinary, in which a hymn of adulation is offered to God, and in which his blessings are 

enumerated. Mackenzie imbues the A section with a sacred and intimate quality. Its melody 

avoids the tonic and, instead, gravitates towards the third and fifth scale degrees, using the tonic 

only as an appoggiatura but not as an arrival point. It thus feels as though it is always searching 

for resolution without finding it.  

Example No. 51: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Benedictus, Measures 1–6. 

 

There is a Poco animato section which features a variation of the main theme in a 

different rhythm. Although it is more active than the opening, the music still has an unresolved 

quality. 

 Example No. 52: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Benedictus, Measures 34–

38. 



 
 

72 

 

 The title of the fourth piece, Zingaresca, is a common designation for classical pieces—

such as Liszt’s rhapsodies and many of Brahms’s last movements, for example—that imitate the 

synthesis of Romani and Hungarian music. This imitation is shown here by the quick flourishes 

which feature an improvisatory, exciting character. 

 Example No. 53: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Zingaresca, Measures 1–12. 

 

 This quick theme is contrasted with a slower and more melodic middle section which has 

a more intimate character. The quick rhythmic figure returns towards the end of the piece. 

 The fifth piece, Saltarello, is an Italian dance featuring a bouncing rhythm in a compound 

meter. This movement has a three-part form. The opening A section highlights the light and 



 
 

73 

playful quality inherent in the rhythm and meter of a saltarello. The character here is 

mischievous and fun. 

 Example No. 54: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Saltarello, Measures 1–13. 

  

 While the opening section is in E minor, the middle section modulates to C major. This 

section features longer stretches of continuous notes. The character is still light and playful. 

 Example No. 55: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Saltarello, Measures 56–70. 

 



 
 

74 

 The opening section returns after the B section ends. The movement ends with an 

exciting flourish featuring a harmonic in the violin. 

 The sixth piece in this set is a theme and variation movement. With eight different 

variations, this piece is the most elaborate and varied of the six. The main theme features a 

singing figure contrasted with peppier short notes. It has a stately and upright character. It could 

even be described as galant. 

 Example No. 56: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Tema con Variazioni, 

Measures 1–7. 

 

 There are variations featuring chromaticism, triplet rhythms, double stops, and 

modulations to remote keys.  

 Example No. 57: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Tema con Variazioni, 

Measures 16–22. 



 
 

75 

 

Example No. 58: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Tema con Variazioni, 

Measures 46–52. 

 

Example No. 59: Mackenzie Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, Tema con Variazioni, 

Measures 121–127. 

 



 
 

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The theme and variation piece ends with a restatement of the opening theme. These 

variations highlight his ability to create music with varied colors and textures.  

 With its pleasant melodies, clear phrase structures, and inventive use of Baroque and 

modern dance idioms, the Six Pieces for Violin and Piano highlight Mackenzie’s interest in 

creating music grounded in the traditions of the Baroque and Classical Era through the lens of his 

own Romantic aesthetic. While there were many meaningful moments throughout the set, I 

really enjoyed his syncopation in the opening Gavotte. This always felt like a great way to 

introduce a neo-Baroque aesthetic in a poignant way. In addition, I really enjoyed his 

imaginative use of things like Spanish dances and Romani dances to reimagine a Baroque dance 

suite. These specific examples highlight his originality as a composer in the Romantic era. 

Alfred Moffat: Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano 
 Alfred Moffat was born in 1866 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He attended Edinburgh 

Collegiate School while in his teens and subsequently moved to Germany to study composition 

under Ludwig Bussler at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin. After completing his studies and 

working in various German music publishing firms, he moved to London to continue his career. 

His compositional aesthetic is informed by his experience as a publisher and editor. 



 
 

77 

Moffat was intensely interested in folk music. In 1897, he published a collection of Irish 

folk songs he had discovered and subsequently arranged for voice and pianoforte.53 In the 

following two decades, he published similar collections of English and Scottish folk music from 

16th, 17th, and 18th century.54 In addition, he also published a collection of nursery rhymes as a 

children’s book, featuring his own arrangements of existing tunes as well as illustrations for each 

created by Dutch illustrator H. Willebeek Le Mair.55 All of these collections were well received 

within the English musical community. A review of his English folk music collection 

commented that, “Mr. Moffat’s achievements in this particular field are so favorably known that 

it is only necessary to say that there is no apparent deterioration in the present volume”.56 Moffat 

brought his interest in folk music and nursery rhymes to composition. 

Most of the compositions Moffat published are student pieces featuring folk music and 

nursery rhymes aimed at developing the technique of beginners. He composed pieces including 

Six Easy Pieces for Violin and Piano, Fantasia on Irish Melodies, and 3 Pieces in First Position. 

In featuring fun and energized folk melodies, these pieces offer students an exciting and 

manageable challenge. However, he did compose a more mature piece for violin and piano. This 

piece, entitled Concertino for Violin and Piano in A minor, highlights his ability as a composer. 

His Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano was published in 1905. The Italian word 

“concertino” is the diminutive version of the word “concerto”. Thus, the literal translation of 

“concertino” in English would be “short or simple concerto”. Many concertinos are used as 

 
53 Alfred 1866-1950. Moffat, The Minstrelsy of Ireland: 206 Irish Songs Adapted to Their Traditional Airs, 
Arranged for Voice with Pianoforte Accompaniment, and Supplemented with Historical Notes, 4th (enl.) ed., 
Augener’s Edition No. ; 8928 (London: Augener, 1897). 
54 Alfred 1866-1950. Moffat, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Highlands: A Collection of Highland Melodies, with 
Gaelic and English Words (London: Bayley & Ferguson, 1900). 
55 Alfred 1866-1950. Moffat, H. (Henriëtte) Willebeek le Mair 1889-1966, and Juvenile Collection (Library of 
Congress), Our Old Nursery Rhymes (London: Augener ;, 1911), http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/juv.53354. 
56 Alfred Moffat, ed., “Reviewed Work: The Minstrelsy of England by Alfred Moffat,” The Musical Times and 
Singing Class Circular 43, no. 711 (1902): 319–319, https://doi.org/10.2307/3369309. 



 
 

78 

student pieces for younger players. Composers may even write concertinos with this purpose in 

mind. Although the length of Moffat’s concertino is short, it has many mature and compelling 

musical elements. 

The first movement, marked Allegro, introduces a dark, brooding theme in the piano part 

that expresses longing or incompleteness by centering upon the fifth scale degree while moving 

through the tonic only in passing. The violin soon takes up the theme and leads to the inevitable 

virtuosity expected in a concerto, and serving the educational purpose for which the piece was 

written. Students are exposed to various bowing patterns in triplets, spiccato, broken octaves, and 

broken sixths.  

Example No. 60: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, 

Measures 16–24.57 

 

 
 

 
57 Musical examples drawn from the following edition: Alfred Moffat, Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano 
(London, England: Lengnick, 1905). 



 
 

79 

Example No. 61: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 1, 

Measures 51–62. 

 

A secondary theme in F major gives way to further virtuosity. As one might expect in a 

concertino, the sonata form is not completely filled out with development and recapitulation. 

After some final flourishes in the home key of A minor, the piano transitions into the second 

movement. 

The second movement, Lento con espressione, is in ABA or da capo form. Featuring the 

third relationship that is such a staple of the Romantic style, the outer sections are in E major, 

reflective and heartfelt with dramatic register jumps and a rhythmically irregular, chordal 

accompaniment, while the inner section, in C major, soars over a steady syncopated 

accompaniment.  



 
 

80 

Example No. 62: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 2, 

Measures 1–8. 

 

The third movement is marked Allegretto animato and is in four parts. The first section 

features a quick melody, as seen in the example below.  

Example No. 63: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, 

Measures 12–23. 

 



 
 

81 

This melody is elaborated with turns and grace notes. In addition, there are many 

sixteenth-note runs in this section that allow the violinist to showcase virtuosity. The music is 

very energized and dramatic in this section. 

 The second section features a more legato and singing melody as shown in the example 

below. 

 Example No. 64: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, 

Measures 73–76. 

 

 The virtuosity in this section is primarily legato, as opposed to the spiccato and détaché 

that predominate in the first section.  

 There is a cadenza after the second section which leads into a contrasting third section of 

music. In this third section, the melody has a warm and sweet quality. The music relaxes and 

modulates to A major. 

 Example No. 65: Moffat Concertino in A minor for Violin and Piano, Movement 3, 

Measures 114–129. 



 
 

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 Finally, there is a very fast and exciting piu mosso section which features repeated notes 

in the violin as well as quick string crossings. The character here is exuberant.  

Although there are three movements, this piece feels as though it is through-composed as 

each movement flows without pause into the next. While the length of this piece is comparable 

to those of sonatas by other composers of the Romantic Era, the violin is very prominently 

featured throughout this piece. In addition, there is not quite as much dialogue between the violin 

and the piano as there usually is in sonatas. Labeling this piece as a concertino, then, feels 

appropriate. 

Ultimately, this piece highlights Moffat’s ability to create compelling music with varied 

colors and textures. When I first examined this piece, I was immediately drawn to the second 

movement, which seemed to stand out with its beautiful, soaring melody. I had never heard a 

piece styled as a concertino with a theme quite like this, and I think this really speaks to Moffat’s 

ability as a composer. 



 
 

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Conclusion 
Throughout this project, numerous musical moments and compositional devices stood out 

to me as particularly memorable, from Boyle’s grand setting of her carol, to Smyth’s vivid 

representation of Dante’s poem, to Vaughan Williams inventive use of modal harmonies, to 

Mackenzie’s innovative syncopated Gavotte, to many others. These composers were a product of 

the broader trends in the European Romantic movement and did not explicitly try to create music 

in a distinctly British style.  

Despite this, several similarities emerged between the works. First, each composer 

seemed to embrace a sort of pastoral Romanticism, frequently featuring music with a rustic 

character suggestive of broad natural landscapes. It was interesting that even composers who 

proudly embraced the strong German Romantic aesthetic, like Smyth and Stanford, gravitated 

towards this pastoral character. It was also interesting that in evoking this sentiment, many of the 

composers drew upon the written word, specifically poetry, in a particularly special w