Issues in the Historiography and Canonisation of Liturgical Music in High Church Parishes: 1827 - 1914.

This thesis focuses on the areas which have become the periphery of historical narratives about music in high church parishes in the long nineteenth century, and addresses some of the underlying reasons which may have caused these topics to be moved away from the centre of conventional historical narratives. It considers the formation of a narrow canon of Tractarian music in the 1840s, and its transformation to a broader canon in the 1860s, which could be considered the first expression of the English choral tradition as it is known today. Finally, the thesis considers the effects of the English musical renaissance hypothesis upon later discussions of music from this period in academia and in practice. How did its apologists change our perception of late nineteenth-century music, musicians, and society? In the context of this larger narrative, the thesis considers the role of Keble’s poetry as the foundation for the nineteenth-century church music revival. Early Tractarian musical theology is explored, as are Frederick Oakeley’s ideas of affective music in liturgy. The central chapters highlight the life of two overlooked musicians in more detail: Joseph Barnby and Alice Mary Smith. These five chapters do not provide a new comprehensive history of high church music, but begin to shift some musics from the periphery of church music history towards its central narrative.