Tonic to the Nation

Tonic to the Nation tells the story of the English classical music and opera composed and revived for the Festival of Britain, and explores how these long-overlooked components of the Festival helped define English music in the post-war period. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, Lew looks closely at the work of the newly chartered Arts Council of Great Britain, which was responsible for devising many musical programs for the Festival. These programs brought audiences to hear new and old national music and helped frame the national repertory, negotiating between the conflicting demands of conservative and progressive tastes, and using music to forge new national definitions.

Nathaniel G. Lew is Associate Professor of Music at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, USA.

Contents List of Figures and Tables 1 Acknowledgements 2 Introduction 3 Old music...: British repertory in London 4 ...and new: Commissions and premieres 5 On stage...: Festival opera productions 6 ...and off: The opera commissioning scheme 7 This is our moment: National elements in Festival operas 8 Afterword 9 Appendix 1: British music performed in the London Season of the Arts 10 Appendix 2: Commissions and premieres in the Festival of Britain 11 Appendix 3: Timeline of the open opera commissioning scheme 12 Bibliography 13 Index 14