Commins, Adele
(2012)
Charles Villiers Stanford's Preludes for Piano op.163 and op.179: A Musicological Retrospective (3 volumes).
PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Abstract
Despite being credited as one of the leading figures of the British Musical
Renaissance, Stanford’s piano music has remained hidden from serious musical
scholarship and performance. In this dissertation an exploration of Stanford’s
biography identifies changes in Stanford reception history which have affected the
understanding of his piano music both during his career and posthumously.
Stanford’s experiences as pianist and composer of piano music are explored to
provide a contextual backdrop to the thesis. As the first composer to complete a set
of twenty-four preludes in Ireland or England, and, as the preludes represent the
pinnacle of his compositions for solo piano this provided the impetus to rediscover
the music.
In an aim to address misconceptions about Stanford’s piano music this
thesis engages in a scholarly and critical examination of each prelude and
contextualizes the pieces within the Baroque and Romantic prelude traditions. While
analysis of the music highlights Stanford’s exemplary understanding of the piano, it
also demonstrates how he merged ideas from both prelude traditions to make his own
unique contribution to the genre. Traditionalistic tendencies in Stanford’s
compositional writing are revealed through his rich and varied harmonic palette and
his approach to structure and motivic development, while unifying compositional
features are also noted. Stanford’s compositional intentions are considered, while
issues of late style and nostalgia are raised. A revised edition of Stanford’s fortyeight
preludes is also included along with a detailed editorial commentary.
In response to the recent resurgence in scholarship on Stanford, this
thesis raises an awareness of Stanford as a composer of piano music, re-evaluating
the contribution he made to piano music in England and in Ireland. It will emphasise
the value and importance of his collection of preludes and will reappraise Stanford as
a significant composer of piano music in Irish musicological studies.
| Item Type: |
Thesis
(PhD)
|
| Keywords: |
Charles Villiers Stanford; Preludes for Piano; op.163; op.179; Musicological Retrospective; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > Music |
| Item ID: |
6997 |
| Depositing User: |
IR eTheses
|
| Date Deposited: |
01 Mar 2016 11:36 |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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