Literature and Music in the Age of Shakespeare

Abstract

The changed position of music in English life during the present century should profoundly modify accepted views of history. Even conservative historians are placing more and more emphasis on what we may call the progress of civilisation; on the formation and disintegration of cultural traditions. Political history is being dwarfed not only by economic history but by the study of the important aspect of man's mind that is represented by the arts. In this tendency there is still a time-lag from the 19th century in that music has so far played only a minor part. The Victorian period knew little of music and cared less: musicians were specialists who were hardly ever invited to join in any discussions on general culture. We recognise the importance of musical history, but have not yet gone far towards digesting it with other kinds of cultural history. When we have accomplished that process it will probably cast fresh light on the traditions of English culture and on our judgment of its present position.