Tintagel: a study in landscapist construction and poetical interlace

Rogers, Matthew Scott (2013) Tintagel: a study in landscapist construction and poetical interlace. MMus(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This paper’s central purpose addresses the need for a critical discourse surrounding the mature works of the British composer Arnold Bax. A historiographical survey of Tintagel castle, and its associated narratology, leads into a detailed musical analysis of its construction within the conceptual sonic landscape of his titular tone-poem. The subsequent associations constructed in the implied personification of the second subject lead to a discussion of the ‘red thread’ that is Bax’s quotation of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. It will be shown that the sick Tristan leitmotif interlaces with a larger Arthurian realm, and correlates with a Dermot O’Byrne poem, revealing Tintagel’s sub-textual reference to Bax’s relationship with Harriet Cohen. Finally, an analogous poetical thread will be outlined in Elgar’s Symphony no. 2.

• Item Type: Thesis (MMus(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Additional Information: Due to copyright restrictions the full text of this thesis cannot be made available online. Access to the printed version is available.
• Keywords: Bax, Arnold, Tintagel, King Arthur, Arthurian, Poetics, Interlace, Wagner, Elgar, Harriet Cogen, Landscape, Music, Musicology, Tristan and Isolde, Tristan und Iseult, Debussy
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; M Music and Books on Music > M Music; M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music; M Music and Books on Music > MT Musical instruction and study; N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general; P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Supervisor's Name: Sweeney, Prof. Bill
• Date of Award: 2013
• Depositing User: Mr Matthew S. Rogers
• Unique ID: glathesis:2013-4788
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 26 Mar 2014 16:52
• Last Modified: 27 Mar 2014 08:39
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/4788