Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis - ECU Access Only
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Master of Arts (Performing Arts)
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)
First Supervisor
Dr Jonathan Paget
Second Supervisor
Dr Paul Hopwood
Third Supervisor
Associate Professor Alex da Costa
Abstract
This study makes a re-evaluation of the music of Benjamin Dale through a contextual investigation of his works for viola. Dale belonged to an eminent pre-war league of British composers studying at the Royal Academy of Music under the keen Wagnerian Frederick Corder. Analysis is employed to interrogate the ‘Wagnerian’ aspects of Dale’s musical language through an application of contemporaneous understandings of Wagner demonstrated in Corder’s English writings. Consideration is given to the extent that these associations factored into Dale’s subsequent post-war neglect. Dale’s late-romantic idiom and associated performance practices (including vibrato, portamenti, idiosyncratic fingerings, and bowings) are demonstrated through two lecture recitals, which also underscore the importance of Dale’s collaboration with leading violist Lionel Tertis.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is restricted to the exegesis.
Recommended Citation
Hamilton, A. (2017). The viola works of Benjamin Dale: A contextual study two Lecture-Recitals -and- An exegesis. Edith Cowan University. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2018