Towards the National Song Book: The History of an Idea

Abstract

This paper traces the relationship between music and national feeling which permeated popular education during the latter part of the nineteenth century, culminating in the publication ofThe National Song Book(Stanford, 1906). By the First World War there was hardly a school in the country which did not possess a copy. The roots of the idea of national songs are traced back to Herder and Engel, and in particular to William Chappell'sPopular Music of the Olden Time(1858–9). The paper argues that music educationists developed distinct theories about the educative value of such songs in developing notions of nationhood, patriotism and racial pride. Specifically a line of development is traced in the development ofThe National Song Bookthrough Charles Stanford, W. H. Hadow and Arthur Somervell, while taking cognisance of the dissenting views of John Stainer and Cecil Sharp. The paper concludes thatThe National Song Bookproclaimed the hegemony of the literate tradition as opposed to the oral, and considers the view that national songs contained within them the danger of the manipulation of patriotism.