The nature of nordicism: Grainger's ‘blue-gold-rosy-race’ and his music

Abstract

Grainger's racial views and obsession with Nordic culture were an important part of his outlook on life and art. Both Grainger, and scholars commenting since his death, have made conclusions about the strong influence of these views on his music. However little attempt has been made to substantiate these claims. While such an influence is usually difficult if not impossible to quantify, Grainger has left a list of criteria with which to identify traces of Nordicism in his music. It is therefore possible to conduct a musical analysis based on this criteria, to assess the true Nordic influence in Grainger's music.