ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores what Hamish MacCunn's compositional career can tell one about British musical culture at the time and national identity in British music. MacCunn's career unfolded amidst the restructuring of British musical culture and the rewriting of the Western European political landscape in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The book explains that MacCunn followed in the footsteps of Alexander Campbell Mackenzie and Charles Villiers Stanford in evoking national identity through symphonic music. It describes the Scottish subject matter dominated MacCunn's music from the beginning of his career. The book explores MacCunn's smaller works, such as songs and partsongs, is his least Scottish compositions, and suggests that he may have hoped these compositions would expand his opportunities. It explains the oppositions in his music and suggests tension between MacCunn's Scottish identity and his London home.
