5.4 Nationalism in 19th Century Music

Nationalism swept through 19th-century music, with composers drawing on folk tunes and local traditions to create distinct national styles. This movement was especially strong in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia, where artists sought to assert their cultural identities.

Composers like Smetana, Dvořák, and Grieg incorporated folk melodies and rhythms into classical forms. The Mighty Five in Russia championed a uniquely Russian sound. This trend reflected broader political movements for national independence and unity.

Composers and Their Nationalities

Czech Composers

Top images from around the web for Czech Composers

• 

  Antonín Dvořák - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Smetana: Biography | Music Appreciation View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Creator:Antonín Dvořák - Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Antonín Dvořák - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Smetana: Biography | Music Appreciation View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Czech Composers

• 

  Antonín Dvořák - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Smetana: Biography | Music Appreciation View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Creator:Antonín Dvořák - Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Antonín Dvořák - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Smetana: Biography | Music Appreciation View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Bedřich Smetana, a Czech composer known for his opera "The Bartered Bride" and the symphonic poem "Má vlast" which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia
• Antonín Dvořák, another Czech composer who frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, exemplified in his "Slavonic Dances" and his ninth symphony "From the New World"

Scandinavian Composers

• Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer and pianist who drew inspiration from Norwegian folk music, as evident in his "Peer Gynt" suite and "Lyric Pieces" for piano
• Jean Sibelius, a Finnish composer known for his seven symphonies and "Finlandia", a tone poem that initially embodied the national struggle of the Finnish people

Hungarian Composer

• Béla Bartók, a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist who collected and researched Hungarian, Transylvanian, Romanian, and Slovak folk music, incorporating these elements into his compositions like the opera "Bluebeard's Castle" and his string quartets

Musical Nationalism and Folk Influences

Defining Musical Nationalism

• Musical nationalism refers to the use of musical ideas or motifs that are identified with a specific country or region, often drawing on folk melodies, rhythms, and dance forms
• Composers used folk idioms to evoke a national ethos or local color, often in the context of political movements for national independence or unity
• Musical nationalism was prominent in the 19th century, particularly in countries or regions seeking to assert their national identities (Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia)

Incorporating Folk Music

• Composers drew inspiration from the traditional music of their homelands, using folk songs, dances, and legends as source material for their compositions
• Folk melodies, rhythms, and harmonies were incorporated into classical forms like symphonies, operas, and solo works
• Collecting and studying folk music became an important activity for many nationalist composers, who sought to preserve and celebrate their musical heritage (Bartók, Vaughan Williams)

The Mighty Five

• The Mighty Five, also known as "The Five", were a group of Russian composers who sought to create a distinctly Russian classical music in the 19th century
• The group consisted of Mily Balakirev (the leader), César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin
• They incorporated Russian folk music, Orthodox chant, and programmatic elements evoking Russian history and legends into their compositions, as exemplified in works like Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and Borodin's "In the Steppes of Central Asia"