Orthodoxy and Cultural Identity through Music in the English Interregnum

After the Parliamentarian faction defeated, captured, and executed Charles I in the last years of the 1640s, their quest for political power shifted to establishing and maintaining a new cultural orthodoxy based in Calvinist morality and to solidifying their new-found political power. At the same time, the recently defeated and oppressed Royalist faction sought to maintain their own culture in the face of this new Calvinist orthodoxy. Chapter two examines and exposes how both of these groups made use of musical propaganda to support these conflicting agendas. Parliamentarians hired propagandists or otherwise sanctioned and promoted publications that endorsed psalm-singing (an integral part of the new orthodoxy) and defended it from the even more radical religious beliefs of the Quakers, who were even against psalm-singing in worship services. Royalists, on the other hand, kept the court culture of wine, pastoral imagery, and (now covert) support for the monarchy alive while also reliving their glorious antebellum period through the publication of old antebellum songs and masque libretti and the publication of new songs that comment on the current state of their community, urging perseverance and unity in the face of oppression.

Music as Propaganda for the Church of England after the Toleration Act

The passage of the Toleration Act meant religious freedom for non-Anglican Protestants but signaled a fundamental shift in the position of the Church of England in English society. Prior, the Church of England benefited from a government-backed monopoly on legal religious practice in England. The loss of these legal inducements meant that the Church of England had to compete equally, for the first time, in a marketplace of religious ideas. Chapter four exposes how the Church of England responded to this change with pro-music pamphlets advertising the joyful nature of the Anglican service in contrast to the austere practices of other Protestant denominations. It argues that while nonconformists wrote massive treatises arguing fine theological points about music in divine worship, Anglicans produced pamphlets that were addressed to the average reader in terms they could understand. It also connects these pro-music pamphlets to other accessible works written by Anglican propagandists that promote the Church of England in this new marketplace of ideas. Overall, the chapter reveals the previously-unknown propaganda functions of these Anglican music pamphlets and reveals that they were part of a larger, equally unknown, pro-Anglican propaganda campaign that directly responded to the results of the Toleration Act.

Cavaliers, Roundheads, and Musical Identity Politics, 1640–49

As the English people strode closer to armed conflict in the 1630s and early 1640s, the political disagreements between Charles I and his Parliament acquired a religious dimension. Not all Royalists were Anglicans, and not all Parliamentarians were Puritans, but it is undeniable that each group developed a unique political identity that included manner of dress and religious belief. As these identities solidified, each group used both their own identity and the opposing group’s identity to their advantage to inspire new supporters to join, strengthen in-group support, and inspire hatred against the opposition. Chapter one tells the story of how sacred and secular music was pressed into service by both sides of the English Civil War to serve a variety of propaganda purposes. Sacred music became a convenient political symbol for the religious differences between Anglicans/Royalists and Parliamentarians/Puritans that was easy to understand and thereby accessible to the largest possible audience of potential supporters. Likewise, secular music helped to ensure that the English populace was immersed in the political struggle even in their moments of leisure, and thereby at once more likely to maintain their fervent devotion to their side and their fervent hatred of the enemy.

Introduction

The introduction discusses the historiography of early modern England, the history of printing and censorship in that period, and the characteristics of the various musical genres used during that period as vehicles for propaganda. It shows that individuals across the social spectrum could access musical propaganda. It also shows that government censorship had a significant impact on print output. Finally, it provides an overview of the book’s content and exposes the author’s perspective on determining the propaganda designation of individual works.

Supporting the Monarchy and the Church of England during the Restoration

With rebellion and regicide an ever-present worry for the newly-restored monarchy and the new king Charles II, public opinion could not be ignored. Charles II was welcomed back to his kingdom with a mix of enthusiasm and relief, but his Church of England faced a more difficult restoration. After being outlawed for a decade, it faced the difficulties inherent in reconstituting the institution itself. It faced the challenge of countering the sentiments against it that had been spread during the Commonwealth. It also needed to establish religious harmony in a populace fractured into numerous denominations than it was before the war. Chapter three reveals how music was consistently pressed into service to maintain a favorable public opinion of Charles II and later James II and in the 1660s to support the restoration of the Church of England. It shows how musical propaganda was used to tout Charles II’s lack-luster victories over the Dutch as masterful triumphs, paint him as a benevolent father-figure to his people, and even give him a fictional victory over Oliver Cromwell. While these tactics recurred during the reign of James II, they were ultimately unable to overcome the public distaste for his Catholicism.

Conclusion

The conclusion provides a broad retrospective on the arguments presented and defended throughout the book. In addition, it also offers avenues of future research on the topic of musical propaganda in early modern England. For example, it suggests the presence of musical propaganda campaigns presenting moral instruction to individuals during the Elizabethan era, especially thorough broadside ballads. It also suggests a propaganda campaign prosecuted through the musical Birthday and New Year’s Day odes for William and Mary during their reign.