Sorry not to include this in my other response, but again, I think this "churchy
provincialism" is a myth.
Under the late 19th Century pedagogical influence of Hubert Parry and Charles
Villiers Stanford the Royal College of Music began coming into its own as a
"world class" conservatory, producing world-class composers such as Edward
Elgar, and later Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Arnold Bax, John Ireland,
etc. -- while outside the RCM sphere arose Frederick Delius (who was almost more
French than English in his musical sensibilities and compositions, and could
thus be classified as a truly international talent) -- and later still Benjamin
Britten and Sir Michael Tippett.
The RCM and the Royal Academy of Music were also producing performing artists of
the calibre of Dame Myra Hess, Gerald Moore, etc., while England remained
virtually unchallenged as the producer of operatic contraltos.
Finally, one cannot discount the many world-class conductors -- Halle, Beecham,
Boult, Barbiolli, Sargent, among many others -- produced during this creative
ferment in British music.
Nor can one discount the significance of the work of Cecil Sharpe, in his
unearthing and publication of English folk music, as this gave rise to an entire
genre of pastoral classical music in England that is uniquely British (though
Canteloube's SONGS OF THE AUVERGNE, the classical Spanish guitar composers, and
Russian composers such as Borodin with his PRINCE IGOR are comparable in their
use of the traditional folk idioms).
Finally, the rise of Covent Garden, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Halle
Orchestra, etc., to recognised world-class status in the late part of the last
century and into the early part of this century is indisputable.
Indeed, I cannot understand why the popular opinion seems to be that British
music is so provincial, at least since the middle of the last century this has
been no more or less true of Britain than it has of France, Spain, the United
States, or indeed any other country. If anything, the worst that can be said of
Britain is that it got a bit of a late start in the "world class" music stakes,
if such exist.
Karen Mercedes
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Philosophy...means looking at things which one takes for |
| granted and suddenly seeing that they are very odd indeed. |
| - Iris Murdoch |
+------------------------------------------------------------+