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William Morris and music: Craftsman's art?

Musical Times, Autumn 1998 by Heywood, Andrew

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music was a thing that, on the whole, he put away from him as not belonging to his work: but from the early days of his singing plain-song at Oxford till, in his last illness, he broke into tears over a few snatches of virginal music, it was from no want of sensitiveness - rather perhaps the reverse - that he would not admit it into his life.lo

This passage has been a mixed blessing for the reputation of Morris the music lover. Mackail makes the distinction between Wagner and earlier music, though not in the same terms as we might use today Unfortunately his claim that Morris would not admit music into his life, though qualified, has served to obscure the significant part that it did in fact play, while from the perspective of 1899 Mackail was unable to perceive the importance of the Dolmetsch link except as an illustration of Morris's general musical sensibility

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Later biographers have tended to ignore Morris's attitude to music altogether. EP Thompson, in his otherwise masterly biography,ll relates the Dolmetsch deathbed incident but only as an illustration of Morris's declining powers of emotional self-control at the end of his life. Paul Thompsonl2 does not mention the subject at all. Almost the only recent writer on Morris to discuss his musical influence or attitudes seriously is Peter Stansky in his book Redesigning the world.l3 Stansky recognises that the Morris/Dolmetsch connection was important both practically and intellectually but this is only within the context of a discussion of the relationship between Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement of which Dolmetsch can be seen as being a part. In any case, Stansky's own view of Morris and music is guarded: `William Morris, although he enjoyed rousing songs and wrote poems to be set to music, particularly political ones, was not especially musical.'14 Nevertheless, as will be seen, Stansky has laid the useful foundations upon which a reappraisal of Morris's musical influence can be built.

Thus a consensus has gradually developed that, while moderating the views of some of Morris's circle that he disliked music, has made little of his positive feelings and influence, or has touched on them only in oblique and qualified terms.

IN UNDERTAKING a positive appraisal of Morris's relationship with music, one of the earliest pieces of information is supplied by Morris himself in a letter written to his sister Emma from Marlborough College in April 1849: My dearest Emma, I received your dear letter yesterday and am glad you liked the anthem on Easter Tuesday We here had the same anthem on Monday and Tuesday as on Sunday. It was the three first verses of the 72nd Psalm, In Jewry is God Known, his name is great in Israel. At Salem is his tabernacle and his dwelling at Sion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the sword, the shield, and the battle I certainly thought it was very beautiful though I have never heard it in Cathedral and like you could not tell how they would sing it there; but a gentleman (one of the boys fathers) said on the whole our choir sang better than at Salisbury Cathedral; Anyhow I thought it very beautiful. The first verse was sung by the whole the second began by one treble voice till at last the base took it up again gradually getting deeper and deeper then again the treble voice again then again the base the third verse was sung entirely by base, not very loud but with that kind of emphasis which you would think befitting to such a subject. I almost think I liked it better than either of the other two the only fault in the anthem seemed to me that it was too short.Is

William Morris and music: Craftsman's art?

Musical Times, Autumn 1998 by Heywood, Andrew

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