The year 1913, which marked the death of Bantock's father, continued to be a busy one for the composer. His second ‘Choral Symphony’ for unaccompanied voices, The Vanity of Vanities (words from Ecclesiastes) was published, and he completed the vocal score of A Pageant of Human Life, the orchestral scores of Scottish Rhapsody and Scenes from the Scottish Highlands and most of The Great God Pan. On 13 December he conducted an all-Bantock concert with the Hallé Orchestra, including the Serenade: In the Far West, the Epilogue from Lyrics from Ferishtah's Fancies and his Russian Scenes. Bantock's diaries include references to visits from Havergal Brian, Gustav Holst (to conduct his Beni Mora Suite at the Institute) and Keir Hardy, and note his attending several performance by the Russian Ballet at Drury Lane, plus the operas Pelléas et Mélisande at Covent Garden on 17 June and La Khovantchina by Mussorgsky on 1 July. The second Festival of the Musical League took place in Birmingham in early January, coinciding with Wallace's address to the Incorporated Society of Musicians, entitled ‘The Musician and Personal Responsibility’, focusing upon aspects of musical copyright and the registration of teachers. Only one letter from Bantock to Newman from 1913 has survived; in a diary entry of 19 November Bantock noted, ‘Wrote letter to Newman, in hope of removing long misunderstanding.’

268 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Newman

A report has reached me that you are persuaded of my having been the inspirer of an article written some year or 18 months ago by Sidney Grew, and which gave you great offence.

I find it difficult to believe that, after so many years, you could have entertained such an idea of me as to think me capable of such an action, or that you could have heard such a report without at least letting me know of what I was accused. However, that I may clear away, if possible, any specific ground for misunderstanding, I hasten to assure you that I knew nothing of the article until after it appeared, and that to this day I know it only by hearsay, having never read it. I make this statement without reserve, and ask you to accept my word of honour that I had nothing to do with the matter in any way whatever.

In addition to his duties at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, Bantock continued his work as a conductor and adjudicator. The Witch of Atlas was published in full score, and there were performances of his Cavalier Tunes and the symphonic poem Lalla Rookh (the premiere) in Birmingham, Russian Scenes at the Queen's Hall in London, The Witch of Atlas in Liverpool and ‘The Wilderness’ (an orchestral interlude from Christus) at the Hereford Festival. Bantock continued to press for Newman's appointment at the Institute as a teacher of music theory and singing, and finally got his way. In January Newman published an article on Richard Strauss in the Fortnightly Review and on 23 February gave the first of his illustrated lectures for Bantock, ‘The Development of the Song in Modern Europe’. Wallace (whose friendship with Bantock was restored) continued to be active as a composer, publishing the song setting of his own text, ‘Mistress Vanity’.

154 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

My dear Will

The “Harold” score has been dispatched to you today. Many thanks for the loan; I have all the notes necessary, so do not return it. I got Saville to send you yesterday the Franz song, so would be glad if you could send me a complete list of the words of the songs in the order, as you wish them printed in the programme for your lecture. The sooner the better. Your Strauss article, which we have just read is excellent, and you have given me several new ideas. You seem to get to the very root of the matter, and your analysis is always easy to follow & comprehend. I am delighted altogether with it, and anticipate it will do you some good. You will, of course, send the Review to Strauss, & to Huneker.

Old Gibbons was here on New Year's Eve & spent the night, bringing in the New Year. He will be looking you up shortly, as he expects to be in Liverpool this month or next for a few days.

BEFORE THE WRITERS UNION was created there were many German attempts to organize literary professionals to advance their collective economic and professional interests. Others tried to organize authors along ideological lines to work toward societal change. By the time the SV was founded in 1950, East German authors could thus look to examples during the Imperial period, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the Allied occupation. Of course, the final shape of the union was not a foregone conclusion in 1950; it was the result of a contentious process between writers and the Socialist Unity Party, as the union was not a mere receptor of Kulturpolitik.

In the GDR's first two decades, the SV emerged as an important institution during pivotal moments such as the 1953 uprising, the Bitterfelder Weg movement, the building of the Berlin Wall, and the Prague Spring. In these years, cultural policy oscillated between dogmatism and liberalization, and writers’ responses served as a barometer of these fluctuations. The results were ambivalent; on the one hand, by the late 1960s the SED had largely (if tenuously) taken control of the union and could deploy it to enforce cultural policy. Yet several SV members who were critical of the regime were not effectively silenced; it was these voices who would haunt the SED in the 1970s, utilizing the union to bolster their challenges to the regime to broaden the limits of speech.

In this chapter I focus on four broad periods: the Wilhelmine and Weimar eras; the Third Reich; the time of the Soviet occupation zone; and the GDR's years under Ulbricht. This raises two questions. First, what were the successes and failures of writers’ attempts to organize since the nineteenth century? Second, which lessons learned from these experiences did the founders of the East German Writers Union carry with them? As we will see, the SV drew inspiration from a number of examples, and not always those that aligned ideologically with its members’ beliefs.

Early Writers Associations, 1842–1909

Professional associations became a hallmark of bourgeois life in Germany before the First World War, and organizations for creative intellectuals were no exception. By the late nineteenth century many professions had begun to organize to protect and advance economic and career interests.

Bantock published Hamabdil: Hebrew Melody for cello with harp or piano accompaniment, the Lalla Rookh: Tales and Dances and the Three Scottish Scenes for solo piano. He completed the Hebridean Symphony, his Viola Sonata and the Arabian Nights for piano and reworked the music from his The Pierrot of the Minute overture into ballet form, which he conducted on 5 December. Dante and Beatrice was performed by Appleby Matthews at Birmingham Town Hall on 27 April, and the premiere of ‘Pan in Arcady’ was given in Glasgow on 9 December. There were visits from the socialist poet Edward Carpenter and his partner George Merrill, Holbrooke, and Henry Wood, and Bantock worked as an adjudicator in Edinburgh in October (where he heard a performance of his Raasay Lament). In 1919 Newman married Vera Hands and moved to London to work as critic for the Sunday newspaper The Observer. He also published a selection from his music criticism, A Musical Motley (London: John Lane).

285 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Will

Raymond & Angus are both home on leave. We have got some jolly girls coming on Sunday next for the Tanéiew & Strauss Quartets in the afternoon, & some psychic demonstrations in the evening. Can you join us? I hope you can. Look in whenever it suits you – the earlier the better.

Yours ever

Gran.

286 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Will.

Either young Wenman Gough, or Hubert Brown ought to be quite capable for the duets. Could you let me have the music here before next Friday? You will naturally want a rehearsal beforehand. What afternoon or evening & time will suit you best? Could you manage to rehearse in my room here, or would you prefer the Large Theatre? Let me know your wishes. Is not this weather enough to make a saint of a sinner?

Yours

Gran

287 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Will,

That looks strange stuff by Casella. Can you rehearse it with Gough in my room here next Monday say at 4. PM. Meanwhile he is practising the upper part of Nos 1 & 3.

Bantock continued to tour during 1895, arriving back in Britain on 5 December. The year was significant in terms of publications of his colleagues’ literary works, including Newman's book Gluck and the Opera (the first extended study of Gluck in the English language), and Wallace's ‘poetical drama’ The Divine Surrender. It also marked the beginning of Newman's contribution to the Fortnightly Review, with an article on Gustave Flaubert.

My dear Wallace

I have noticed with inward gusto the ecclesiastical tone which now pervades your mind. May it be owing to a feeling of remorse, that you should have so malignantly impugned my nature the other evening. Wert thou condemned to Purgatory for this offence, thou shouldst buy no indulgence for thy grievous sin. Natheless, in the spirit of a Christian martyr I forgive thee for thy rampant blating, [sic] which more resembled the impetuosity of an untamed Saurean, than the mild benevolence of a Scotch pastor. I have as yet received no reply from either Maitland or Webbe, [sic] but have no fear of their wrath. Much as I should like to call on you in your papal dwelling, I fear that I should be committing a sacrilege, were I to cross your revered threshold. Anyhow it would be impossible for me to come over Sunday morning as I have to go up to my co-author in our “Round the world” book, which I rejoice to say has found a ready and willing publisher. Francis owes me about thirty pounds or a little less. I saw him the other day, and have given him until after Xmas to pay it, as he seemed in a bit of a hole. I will then send you on your account. But when are you going to call for your ring, or do you despise the humble gift I offer you in friendship from my heart? Odds bodikins! A murrain on thee for an apostate knave.7 If thou wouldst save thy soul, call round on me soon.

Understanding late Roman and early Byzantine long-term strategy towards the northern barbarians is a problematic endeavor. Recent historiography on late Roman frontier dynamics proposes a systematic Roman practice of building up a belt of client rulers, in the process profoundly changing societies brought within the Roman orbit. In return, these clients provided the Romans with extra sources of manpower and layers of security that stretched far beyond the frontiers. Unsurprisingly, the Classical frontier system of small client polities under Roman hegemony has attracted relatively little attention after it is assumed to have broken down in the north with the Gothic victory at Adrianople, the invasion of 406, and the subsequent establishment of federate groups within Roman territory. Arguably this was a problem the Romans brought upon themselves by integrating barbarians into their political structures and then involving them in Roman civil conflicts. The death knell for the Classical system of recognized client rulers in the north was the Hunnic hegemony that subverted what remained of the Roman client system.

In contrast to its Roman predecessor, early Byzantine client management strategy has until recently been treated as rather reactive and ad hoc, with relations with barbarians regarded as an aspect of inter-state diplomacy. Obolensky identified a Byzantine system of satellite or allied states north of the Caucasus, Black Sea, and lower Danube that were deliberately cultivated to secure the Empire's northern border, a system that persisted for centuries and gave rise to the Byzantine Commonwealth. However, his overall framework has not been further developed despite new archaeological and textual evidence, methodological advances, and a flourishing historiographical environment that have far advanced our knowledge. The focus of research has rather been Byzantine relations with particular geographical regions or barbarian groups, such as the Heruls, Gepids, Lombards, Avars, or Slavs, with fairly strict chronological delineations appropriate for each. Long-term developments are rarely followed much after the early seventh century, which becomes notoriously difficult due to the complex transition from the late Roman Empire to her medieval Byzantine successor, and to the extremely fragmentary nature of the sources, as is often pointed out with regard, for example, to Byzantine–Khazar relations.

In 1918 Bantock published Pibroch: a Highland Lament for cello with harp or piano accompaniment and an arrangement of Coronach for violin and piano. He completed his Lalla Rookh: Tales and Dances for solo piano, the Harlequinade overture and the second series of Five Songs from the Chinese Poets; he also put the finishing touches to the pianola roll of The Pierrot of the Minute, worked on the vocal score of The Seal Woman, adjudicated in Tonypandy and Blaenavon, and with Hugh Allen and Donald Tovey considered music manuscripts for the Carnegie Trust. He was also involved in early plans to create a City of Birmingham Orchestra. There were visits from Lancelot Cranmer-Byng, Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser, and Holbrooke. Sadly, in October Newman's wife Kate died.

275 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Will

Could you take a bite of lunch with me in town tomorrow (Friday) & call for me in my room at the Institute at 1. PM? I would like to know your views about the Fest. Chor. action, & their treatment of Matthews. You will no doubt have seen Matthews, & he will explain the situation to you. I shall much appreciate your advice in this matter.

In great haste

Yours

Gran.

276 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Will

I hope you are better, & up today. This afternoon Warden & Forty have been in, & they both seem to think that “Omar” should be withdrawn. It has however been left for Beecham to decide when he is here on Wednesday.

I enclose a letter from Miss Marion Scott, which may interest you. Evidently the women are taking the matter up seriously & deserve all support. I would like to talk the matter over with you, if you think it should be followed up. I shall be away from Thursday until the following Monday; so if I do not hear from you in the meantime, or before I go, I will hope to catch you on my return.

In 1904 Bantock was appointed conductor of the Liverpool Orchestral Society, and his third son Hamilton was born. His ‘Rhapsody for Chorus and Orchestra’, The Time-Spirit, was premiered at the Gloucester Festival; it was published in the same year, along with his English Scenes for orchestra and Joseph Holbrooke's piano arrangement of The Witch of Atlas. Newman's book Wagner was published by John Lane, and his article on Hugo Wolf appeared in the Contemporary Review. Wallace was also active, publishing his translation of Berlioz's La damnation de Faust (Breitkopf und Härtel), his songs ‘My Dear and Only Love’ (a setting of James Graham), ‘For the Crown’ and ‘I Seek Thee in My Dreams’ (settings of his own texts) and the unison song ‘The Spacious Firmament’ (Joseph Addison), all with Schott & Co.; another song setting of his own words, ‘My Liege Lady’, was published by Boosey.

169 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

My dear Will

I should reply to the enclosed letter saying your terms for private lessons are halfa- guinea for a half-hour's lesson. This is what Breeden charges. You can arrange for a room at Stockley & Sabin's in Colmore Row, at I believe 1/- an hour. Whatever you do, don't go to Priestley's.

You might also say if you think proper that a 20 minutes’ lesson in Class at the Institute School of Music would be £6 the Session.

I am going to Worcester & Wolverhampton tomorrow (Wednesday) & shall sleep at “the Jungle” on Wednesday night, leaving early Thursday morning to spend the remaining four days with Helen & the boys.

The Nurse is here, but the young man delays his arrival into this miserable world. How I expect to catch the 10.15 or 10.53 – on Wednesday night from New Street for Northfield. Shall I see you there, or can you come round for early breakfast at the Jungle. 7 AM.

Love to you both

Always

Gran

170 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

My dear Will.

Forgive me. I have been reluctant to recall the details of my “mis-spent” life, but I have at last made an heroic effort, and will try to present the bald facts without even a blush.

1896 was another busy year for Bantock, with the publication of his articles ‘Confucianism and Music’ and (under the pseudonym G. Ransome) ‘The Idea in Music’ in NQMR and his account of his recent travels, with Frederick Aflalo, in Round the World with “A Gaiety Girl”; following a trip to Leipzig in August to promote his and Wallace's music, he organised a London concert on 15 December to advance the interests of a young generation of British composers. Wallace began work on his Creation Symphony and the ‘Song of the Knives’, completed his second symphonic poem Amboss oder Hammer (premiered at the Crystal Palace on 17 October), his theatre music Brassolis, The Rhapsody of Mary Magdalene (premiered on 15 December) and the song ‘Come to Me in My Dreams’ (text by Matthew Arnold) and published the piano arrangement of the Suite in Olden Style, along with his collection of short stories, The Lighter Life: Dialogues and Sketches. He also completed a two-piano arrangement (‘Schlusslied’) from Wagner's Die Meistersinger. Newman continued to contribute to the Free Review, and his article ‘Christian Logic’ represented the first of several articles in the freethought journal Truth Seeker.

10 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO WILLIAM WALLACE

O Rabbi Rat!

Thy letter welcomed. Certainly, Davey shall have a free advt. Would he not prefer to write a letter, which we could publish at the end?

If you are really willing to write an article for February, I will say, “please do so.” NOW. or at your convenience. You may be sure I shall be only too glad to get out his next number satisfactorily before the meeting, and your help will be much appreciated. Let it not however take the form of an attack on long haired geniuses. You are upset by Hinton's appearance. He is really a good fellow, and one day you will admire his work. I have entirely rewritten my article on “The Idea in Music” and expended no little care on the construction, besides cutting out much superfluous rot.

WHEN THE BASE SED organization of the Berlin union met on October 23, 1989, their country was in the throes of revolution. For weeks, thousands had been fleeing the country via a now-open border between Hungary and Austria, and hundreds of thousands joined demonstrations at home. Faced with these pressures, Honecker resigned on October 18, ceding power to more flexible, reform-oriented politicians. Berlin's literary comrades, meeting days after this stunning announcement, issued a set of demands that reflected the liminal situation. First were general reforms for the GDR, including the following: no SED or state functionaries should hold their positions for more than two terms; the nomenklatura system (the privileged class of functionaries) should be ended; privileges and “arrogated special rights” should be eliminated; Neues Deutschland should be independent; a new voting system should be created for state and SED representatives; press, radio, and television should present a “controversial interpretation of societal processes”; opposition groups should be permitted to hold discussions on radio and TV; and the decisions of the Council of Minister's 1989 environmental conference should be implemented. Second were concerns specific to the SV, including an open account of paper allocation to publishing houses.

Noteworthy about this list was first, that it was made public, and second, that it was initiated in opposition to local leaders who called for a more cautious approach. The demands covered a range of topics, from the most far-reaching political reforms to narrower professional concerns. Included were many reforms demanded at the tenth congress, such as honesty in the press, freedom of expression, and environmental protection. Yet these first demands went beyond what had ever been articulated through the SV, especially the insistence on term limits, Party responsiveness to popular pressure, and an end to elite privileges. The demands of these writers, SED members all, had become radicalized over the past month. Swept up in the revolutionary fervor, they inserted their voices into the debates around them, attempting to make good on their special role in a time of crisis. That they would act on this understanding through the SV was a well-established pattern, but openly defying union leaders signaled a new development.

Bantock's Helena: Orchestral Variations on the theme H.F.B. was finally published by Breitkopf & Härtel, and plans began to get Holbrooke appointed on the staff of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. Difficulties in the Bantock–Wallace relationship led to the temporary breakdown of their friendship. There was the premiere of Wallace's ‘Symphonic Poem no. 4’ (subsequently titled Greeting to the New Century) on 27 March, and he also published his songs ‘Entreaties’ and ‘Fame’ with Enoch & Sons, and his song cycles Lords of the Sea (Boosey) and the Jacobite Songs (Ricordi) – all of which were settings of his own texts. Newman's articles in the Contemporary Review and The Speaker are referred to by Bantock below.

105 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

My dear Newman

Right glad was I to hear from you again, although I own myself this time the culprit. But Influenza has laid us low, and we are only now gradually recovering. The Examinations at the School have kept me occupied whenever I had a minute to turn round, for a complete Syllabus had to be drawn up and issued by your ‘umble. At the present moment I have forty weary candidates facing me, and struggling with a simple Rudiments paper. However, your letter is the subject of my mind just now. You appear in a rumbolofic despondent state, over the state of musical articles & critics V Editors; has Holbrooke been writing to you lately? – Yet I have actually dared to send the Fortnightly an article on “Realism in Music”, wherein I have attacked a foot-note from your “Gluck”. But the subject needed careful investigation, and since Wallace has turned traitor, why, I must be myself. His Symphonic Poem (No 4) performed by the London Philharmonic, was a pure piece of cowardice. Wallace could not write abstract music, & yet he puts forward programme-music, for such it is – vide papers – without even the title. Therein he hangs himself. Well, let him. I intend more than ever to advocate realistic music. It sounds better than programme music. Music must evolve, and we must go back to Liszt's work for our stepping stones.

In 1909 Part III of Bantock's Omar Khayyám was premiered at the Birmingham Festival, and the full score of The Pierrot of the Minute overture, the incidental music for Electra and the Old English Suite – an arrangement of seventeenth-century music for small orchestra – were published. Bantock also entertained Sibelius during his second trip to Britain, and the first festival of the Musical League took place in Liverpool on 24 and 25 September. Newman offered a progressive series of illustrated lectures on Richard Strauss, Debussy, Wolf and Sibelius at the Midland Institute and published his edition of Fifty Songs by Hugo Wolf. Wallace's sixth symphonic poem, Villon, was premiered on 10 March at London's Queen's Hall, and his English translation of Delius's A Mass of Life was used for the premiere of that work on 7 June 1909 at the same venue.

235 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Ali Ibn.

Miss Rider has been asked to rehearse Strauss Songs etc with Miss Ashton, & Messrs Mullings, Bannister & Quinton at 7. PM tonight in the Large Lecture Theatre. Anderton will be present to supervise the rehearsal, & if you could manage to be present, so much the better. I have to rehearse “Omar” tonight at Manchester, but will be present at the second Strauss rehearsal which we are calling for Monday next at 7. PM in my room.

You might let Anderton know the order of the musical items for the 2 Strauss Lectures. We ought to get out the programmes as soon as possible. Anderton can let you have a copy of the programme of Mdme Siviter & Cooke's Recital on Saturday.

Yours,

Allahillahullahallah!

236 GRANVILLE BANTOCK TO ERNEST NEWMAN

Dear Ali Wali

I have called a rehearsal of the illustrations for your lecture on Wednesday at 7. PM, and if you could be present, we should all be glad to have your approval beforehand. Miss Hyde of Worcester wants some private information as to your birth, previous terms of imprisonment & convictions; these to be printed in the local journals for the public information, & by way of warning.

There is widespread agreement that during the last quarter of the third century the Roman imperial government initiated what ultimately would be a vast program of military construction throughout large parts of the Empire in the West and most particularly in Gaul. These efforts resulted in a great many previously unwalled or poorly defended urbes being converted at great expense and with considerable social disruption into fortress cities with extensive defenses and supporting construction, with many walls reaching in excess of ten meters in height. Regarding Gaul, the focus of this study, there appears to be a rough consensus that “It was probably Probus (276–80) who instituted the policy of fortifying the western Continental urban centers.” These military construction efforts were carried on throughout the fourth, and in some places can be identified even into the early fifth, century. The building process continued until some 85 per cent, at least, of the 125 previously largely unfortified, or as contemporaries evaluated the situation, inadequately defended, cities located within the borders of the “hexagon” of Gaul had been converted into urban fortresses. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what would appear to have been the military thinking that undergirded the effort focused on the fortification of urban sites in Gaul, and to ascertain whether this lengthy and very expensive process of construction merits consideration as a “grand strategy.”

Why Fortify the Cities of Gaul?

For a considerable time, scholars have argued that the third century and especially its second half was rent by a massive “crisis” that threatened the very existence of the Empire, and that this was true especially for Gaul. Today, the idea of a third-century crisis is no longer as prevalent or as strongly advocated as once was the case. Nevertheless, the supposed destructiveness of trans-Rhenish barbarian invasions remains a vital part of a model of third-century collapse. Luttwak, for example, in the most recent edition of his The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, maintains his previous views and claims that “the catastrophic invasions of the mid-third century” by trans-Rhenish barbarians are to be regarded as a crucial aspect of imperial decline if not, in fact, its fundamental cause.