Citizendia

A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking.
A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, OM (October 12, 1872 – August 26, 1958) was an influential English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film He was also an important collector of English folk music and song. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed

Contents

Life

Early years

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, where his father, the Rev. Down Ampney is a medium-sized village located in Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, in England. History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Arthur Vaughan Williams, was vicar. Following his father's death in 1875 he was taken by his mother, Margaret Susan Wedgwood (1843–1937), the great-granddaughter of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, to live with her family at Leith Hill Place, the Wedgwood family home in the North Downs. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Josiah Wedgwood ( July 12, 1730 - January 3, 1795, born Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) was an English potter credited Wedgwood, strictly Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a British Pottery firm originally founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood, which in 1987 He was also related to the Darwins, Charles Darwin being a great-uncle. Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life Ralph (pronounced "Rayf"[1]) was therefore born into the privileged intellectual upper middle class, but never took it for granted and worked tirelessly all his life for the democratic and egalitarian ideals in which he believed. The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the Social group constituted by higher-status members of the Middle class. [2]

The Darwin-Wedgwood-Galton family tree, showing Vaughan Williams's relationships to Charles Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood
The Darwin-Wedgwood-Galton family tree, showing Vaughan Williams's relationships to Charles Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood

As a student he had studied piano, "which I never could play, and the violin, which was my musical salvation. Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life Josiah Wedgwood ( July 12, 1730 - January 3, 1795, born Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) was an English potter credited " After Charterhouse School he attended the Royal College of Music (RCM) under Charles Villiers Stanford. Charterhouse, originally Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse, is a prominent boys independent or public school as they're known in Britain between The Royal College of Music is a well known conservatoire located in the South Kensington district of London, England, and one Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 &ndash 29 March 1924 was an Irish composer resident in England for much of his life He read history and music at Trinity College, Cambridge where his friends and contemporaries included the philosophers G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. "GE Moore" redirects here For the cofounder of Intel see Gordon Moore. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian He then returned to the RCM and studied composition with Hubert Parry, who became a close friend. Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 &ndash 7 October 1918 was an English Composer, best known for the choral song Jerusalem One of his fellow pupils at the RCM was Leopold Stokowski and during 1896 they both studied organ under Sir Walter Parratt. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Leopold Stokowski (born Leopold Anthony Stokowski though on occasion Stokowski later went on to perform six of Vaughan Williams's symphonies for American audiences, making the very first recording of the Sixth Symphony in 1949 with the New York Philharmonic, and giving the US Premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Carnegie Hall in 1958.

Vaughan Williams's composing developed slowly and it was not until he was 30 that the song "Linden Lea" became his first publication. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed He mixed composition with conducting, lecturing and editing other music, notably that of Henry Purcell and the English Hymnal. Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures Henry Purcell (ˈpɜrsəl 10 September 1659 (? – 21 November 1695 was an English Baroque Composer. The English Hymnal was published in 1906 for the Church of England under the editorship of Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He had further lessons with Max Bruch in Berlin in 1897 and later a big step forward in his orchestral style occurred when he studied in Paris with Maurice Ravel. Max Christian Friedrich Bruch (January 6 1838 &ndash October 2 1920 also known as Max Karl August Bruch was a German Romantic Composer and conductor Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

In 1904, Vaughan Williams discovered English folk songs, which were fast becoming extinct owing to the increase of literacy and printed music in rural areas. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of Musical notation; like its analogs -- books pamphlets etc He travelled the countryside, transcribing and preserving many himself. Later he incorporated some songs and melodies into his own music, being fascinated by the beauty of the music and its anonymous history in the working lives of ordinary people. His efforts did much to raise appreciation of traditional English folk song and melody. Later in his life he served as president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), which, in recognition of his early and important work in this field, named its Vaughan Williams Memorial Library after him. The English Folk Dance and Song Society formed in 1932 when two organisations merged the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society formed by Cecil Sharp in 1911 The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS located in the society's London headquarters Cecil

In 1905, Vaughan Williams conducted the first concert of the newly founded Leith Hill Music Festival at Dorking and thereafter held that conductorship until 1953, when he passed the baton to his successor, William Cole[3]. Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Dorking is an historic Market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. William C Cole (9 October 1909 - 9 May 1997 was a conductor composer and organist

In 1909, he composed incidental music for the Cambridge Greek Play, a stage production at Cambridge University of Aristophanes' The Wasps. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Cambridge Greek Play is a play performed in Ancient Greek by students of the University of Cambridge. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca The Wasps ( Greek: / Sphēkes) is a comedy by Aristophanes. (422BC Plot The play revolves around Philocleon The next year, he had his first big public successes conducting the premieres of the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (at The Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral) and his choral symphony A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, also known as the Tallis Fantasia, is a piece of orchestral music by the British Composer The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties, ( Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Undivided Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city A choral symphony is a large Musical composition, generally including an Orchestra, a Choir and soloists which adheres to some extent A Sea Symphony is a Choral symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, written between 1903 and 1909 1). He enjoyed a greater success with A London Symphony (Symphony No. A London Symphony is the second Symphony composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams. 2) in 1914, conducted by Geoffrey Toye. Edward Geoffrey Toye (February 17 1889 - June 11 1942 was an English conductor, Composer and Opera producer

Two World Wars

Vaughan Williams was 41 when World War I erupted. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All He could have avoided war service entirely. Having been educated in public school, he could have tried for a commission. Instead, he chose to enlist as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. The Royal Army Medical Corps ( RAMC) is a specialist Corps in the British Army which provides Medical services to all British Army After a gruelling time as a stretcher bearer he was commissioned in the Royal Garrison Artillery. The Royal Artillery, is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, is an Arm of the British Army. On one occasion, though too ill to stand, he continued to direct his battery while lying on the ground. Prolonged exposure to gunfire began a process of hearing loss which eventually caused complete deafness in old age. In 1918, he was appointed Director of Music, First Army and this helped him adjust back into musical life. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

After the war, he adopted for a while a profoundly mystical style in the Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. Ralph Vaughan Williams ' Symphony No 3, published as A Pastoral Symphony and not numbered until later was completed in 1922 3), which draws on his experiences as an ambulance volunteer in that war; and Flos Campi, a work for viola solo, small orchestra, and wordless chorus. Flos Campi suite for solo viola small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, completed in 1925 The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, From 1924 a new phase in his music began, characterised by lively cross-rhythms and clashing harmonies. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Key works from this period are Toccata marziale, the ballet Old King Cole, the Piano Concerto, the oratorio Sancta Civitas (his favourite of his choral works) and the ballet Job (described as "A Masque for Dancing") which is drawn not from the Bible but from William Blake's Illustrations to the Book of Job. Ballet as a Musical form is a musical composition intended for ballet performance. A piano concerto is a work written for Piano and Orchestra.See also Harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera Sancta Civitas ("The Holy City" is an Oratorio by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance Job A Masque for Dancing is a ballet written by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. The Book of Job ( איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. He also composed a Te Deum in G for the enthronement of Cosmo Lang as Archbishop of Canterbury. Cosmo Gordon Lang 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth (31 October 1864 &ndash 5 December 1945 was a bishop in the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the This period in his music culminated in the Symphony No. 4 in F minor, first played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1935. The Symphony No 4 in F minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams was dedicated by the composer to Arnold Bax. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This symphony contrasts dramatically with the frequent "pastoral" orchestral works he composed; indeed, its almost unrelieved tension, drama, and dissonance has startled listeners since it was premiered. Acknowledging that the fourth symphony was different, the composer said, "I don't know if I like it, but it's what I mean. " Two years later, Vaughan Williams made a historic recording of the work with the same orchestra for HMV (His Master's Voice), one of his very rare commercial recordings. During this period, he lectured in America and England, and conducted the Bach Choir. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours of 1935,[4] having previously declined a knighthood. The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. The Queen's Birthday Honours (or King's Birthday Honours when the monarch is male is a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. [2]

His music now entered a mature lyrical phase, as in the Five Tudor Portraits; the "morality" The Pilgrim's Progress; the Serenade to Music (a setting of a scene from act five of The Merchant of Venice, for orchestra and sixteen vocal soloists and composed as a tribute to the conductor Sir Henry Wood); and the Symphony No. 5 in D, which he conducted at the Proms in 1943. The Serenade to Music is a setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams for 16 vocal soloists and orchestra The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598 WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH ( 3 March 1869 Symphony No 5 by English Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was written between 1938 and 1943 The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily Orchestral Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. As he was now 70, many people considered it a swan song, but he renewed himself again and entered yet another period of exploratory harmony and instrumentation. His very successful Symphony No. 6 of 1946 received a hundred performances in the first year. Ralph Vaughan Williams 's Symphony in E minor published as Symphony No It surprised both admirers and critics, many of whom suggested that this symphony (especially its last movement) was a grim vision of the aftermath of an atomic war: typically, Vaughan Williams himself refused to recognise any program behind this work.

Late harvest

Before his death in 1958, he completed three more symphonies. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. His seventh, Sinfonia Antartica, which was based on his 1948 film score for Scott of the Antarctic, exhibits his renewed interest in instrumentation and sonority. Sinfonia Antarctica (" Antarctic Symphony" is the Italian title given by the English Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams Scott of the Antarctic is a 1948 Film about Robert Falcon Scott 's ill-fated expedition to be the first to the South Pole in The "little eighth symphony", first performed in 1956, was followed by the much weightier Symphony No. 9 in E minor of 1956-57. Ralph Vaughan Williams ' Symphony No 8 in D minor was composed between 1953 and 1955. The Symphony No 9 in E Minor was written by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams from 1956 to 1957 and given its premiere performance in London This last symphony was initially given a luke-warm reception after its first performance in May 1958, just three months before the composer's death. But this dark and enigmatic work is now considered by many[5] to be a fitting conclusion to his sequence of symphonic works.

He also completed a range of instrumental and choral works, including a tuba concerto, An Oxford Elegy on texts of Matthew Arnold, and the Christmas cantata Hodie. The Tuba Concerto in F minor by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams dates from 1954. An Oxford Elegy is a work for narrator small mixed chorus and small orchestra written by Ralph Vaughan Williams between 1947 and 1949 Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 &ndash 15 April 1888 was an English Poet, and Cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often At his death he left an unfinished Cello Concerto, an opera Thomas the Rhymer and music for a Christmas play, The First Nowell, which was completed by his amanuensis Roy Douglas (b. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Roy Douglas (born 12 December, 1907) is a British composer and arranger 1907). Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year He also wrote an arrangement of The Old One Hundredth Psalm Tune for the Coronation Service of Queen Elizabeth II. "Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth" is a Hymn tune from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551 (the second edition of the Genevan Psalter The Coronation of the British Monarch is a Ceremony (specifically Initiation rite) in which the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II

Despite his substantial involvement in church music, and the religious subject-matter of many of his works, he was described by his second wife as "an atheist … [who] later drifted into a cheerful agnosticism. "[6] It is noteworthy that in his opera The Pilgrim's Progress he changed the name of the hero from Bunyan's Christian to Pilgrim. He also set Bunyan's hymn Who would true valour see to music using the traditional Sussex melody "Monk's Gate". "To be a Pilgrim" is the only hymn John Bunyan is credited with writing but is indelibly associated with him Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. Monk's Gate is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. For many church-goers, his most familiar composition may be the hymn tune Sine Nomine written for the hymn "For All the Saints" by William Walsham How. A hymn tune is a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung "Sine nomine" (abbreviated sn) is a Latin expression meaning "without a name" A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities "For All the Saints" was written as a processional hymn by the Anglican Bishop William Walsham How. William Walsham How ( December 13, 1823 - August 10, 1897) was an English Bishop. The tune he composed for the mediaeval hymn "Come Down, O Love Divine" (Di­scen­di, Amor san­to by Bi­an­co of Si­e­na, ca. 1434) is entitled "Down Ampney" in honour of his birthplace. Down Ampney is a medium-sized village located in Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, in England.


He also worked as a tutor for Birkbeck College. Birkbeck University of London, sometimes referred to by its former (and still legal name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college [7]

Portrait of Vaughan Williams by Sir Gerald Kelly, painted in 1958–61 (EMI)
Portrait of Vaughan Williams by Sir Gerald Kelly, painted in 1958–61 (EMI)

In the 1950s, the composer supervised recordings of all but his ninth symphony by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Decca. Sir Gerald Festus Kelly ( April 9, 1879 &ndash January 5, 1972) was a British painter best known for his Portraits WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH ( 8 April 1889 The London Philharmonic Orchestra ( LPO) based in London, is one of the major Orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Decca Records is a British Record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. [8] At the end of the sessions for the mysterious sixth symphony, Vaughan Williams gave a short speech, thanking Boult and the orchestra for their performance, "most heartily," and Decca later included this on the LP. [9] He was to supervise the first recording of the ninth symphony (for Everest Records) with Boult; his death the night before the recording sessions were to begin resulted in Boult announcing to the musicians that their performance would be a memorial to the composer. Everest Records was a stereophonic Record label based in Bayside Long Island started by Harry D [10]

He died in 1958 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church

Vaughan Williams is a central figure in British music because of his long career as teacher, lecturer and friend to so many younger composers and conductors. His writings on music remain thought-provoking, particularly his oft-repeated call for everyone to make their own music, however simple, as long as it is truly their own.

He was married twice. His first wife, Adeline Fisher (daughter of the historian Herbert William Fisher), died in 1951 after many years of suffering from crippling arthritis. Herbert William Fisher (1826-1903 born at Poulshot Wiltshire England was a British historian best known for his book Considerations on the Origin of the American War (1865 Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation plural arthritides is a group of conditions involving damage to the Joints of the body In 1953 he married the poet Ursula Wood (1911-2007), whom he had known since the late 1930s and with whom he collaborated on a number of vocal works. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ursula Vaughan Williams née Joan Ursula Penton Lock ( March 15 1911 &ndash October 23 2007) was an English poet and author and biographer Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. Ursula later wrote Vaughan Williams's biography RVW: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams, which remains the standard work on his life.

Vaughan Williams appears as a character in Robert Holdstock's novel Lavondyss. Robert Paul Holdstock (born August 2, 1948) is an English Novelist and author best known for his works of Fantasy literature, predominantly in Lavondyss also titled Lavondyss Journey to an Unknown Region is the second Fantasy Novel of the Mythago Wood series

Style

Vaughan Williams's music has often been said to be characteristically English, in the same way as that of Gustav Holst, Frederick Delius, George Butterworth, and William Walton. Gustav Theodore Holst (21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934was an English Composer and was a music teacher for nearly 20 years Frederick Albert Theodore Delius CH (29 January 1862 &ndash 10 June 1934 was an English Composer born in Bradford in the West Riding of Yorkshire For George Butterworth Illustrator & Cartoonist see George Butterworth (Cartoonist. Sir William Turner Walton, OM ( March 29, 1902 &ndash March 8, 1983) was a British Composer and [11]

In Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination, Peter Ackroyd writes, "If that Englishness in music can be encapsulated in words at all, those words would probably be: ostensibly familiar and commonplace, yet deep and mystical as well as lyrical, melodic, melancholic, and nostalgic yet timeless. " Ackroyd quotes music critic John Alexander Fuller Maitland, whose distinctions included editing the second edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians in the years just before 1911, as having observed that in Vaughan Williams's style "one is never quite sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new. "

Vaughan Williams's music, although embodying the composer's own unique voice, often reflects the influence of Ravel, his mentor for three months in Paris in 1908. Ravel described Vaughan Williams as "the only one of my pupils who does not write my music. "[11]

Vaughan Williams's music expresses a deep regard for and fascination with folk tunes, the variations upon which can convey the listener from the down-to-earth (which he always tried to remain in his daily life) to the ethereal. Simultaneously the music shows patriotism toward England in the subtlest form, engendered by a feeling for ancient landscapes and a person's small yet not entirely insignificant place within them. [2]

Works

See also Category:Compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Operas

Ballets

Orchestral

Concerti

Choral

Vocal

Chamber and Instrumental

Organ

Film, radio, and TV scores

Band

A note on recordings


Vaughan Williams enjoys an extensive recorded legacy. Written in 1923 the English Folk Song Suite is one of English Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams 's most famous works for Military band. Early recordings of the symphonies by Henry Wood(London), John Barbirolli(5th), Sir Adrian Boult(6th) and a live recording of the Fourth by the composer, preceded several complete cycles. Henry Wood is the name of Henry Wood (writer (1834–1908 New Thought writer and novelist Evelyn Wood (British Army officer (1838–1919 WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Sir John Giovanni Battista Barbirolli, CH ( 2 December WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH ( 8 April 1889 Boult(twice in all) was the first, recording for Decca in the 1950s. Others have followed from Sir André Previn, Bernard Haitink, Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley and Richard Hickox. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> André Previn ( Andreas Ludwig Priwin) KBE (b Bernard Johan Herman Haitink CH KBE (born March 4, 1929) is a Dutch conductor and Violinist Early WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Bryden Thomson ( 16 July 1928, died 14 November Vernon George "Tod" Handley CBE (11 November 1930 &ndash 10 September 2008 was a British conductor. Richard Sidney Hickox CBE (born March 5 1948) is an English conductor of choral, Orchestral and Operatic
Sir David Wilcocks recorded much of the choral output for EMI in the 1960s and 1970's. Sir David Willcocks MC (born 30 December 1919 is a renowned British choral conductor, organist, and composer. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Award winning performances of the string quartets have followed on Naxos, who along with the Hyperion and Chandos labels have recorded much neglected material including works for brass band, and the rarely performed Operas. Hyperion Records is an independent British classical Record label, named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology Chandos Records is an independent classical music label based in the United Kingdom, founded by Brian Couzens.

References

  1. ^ Vaughan Williams, Ursula. (1964) R. V. W. A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Oxford University Press. The preface, Notes on Names, says "Ralph's name was pronounced Rayf, any other pronunciation used to infuriate him. "
  2. ^ a b c Frogley, Alain (September 2004 — online edition May 2006). ‘Williams, Ralph Vaughan (1872–1958)’ (subscription required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/ref:odnb/36636. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.
  3. ^ Leith Hill Music Festival website. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in
  4. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34166, page 3596, 31 May 1935. The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK in which certain Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.
  5. ^ Journal of the Vaughan Williams Society, No. 39, June 2007
  6. ^ Hugh Ottaway/Alain Frogley, "Ralph Vaughan-Williams": Grove Music Online, ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians L. Macy (subscription required). Retrieved 2008-01-16
  7. ^ (2002) Birkbeck, University of London Continuing Education Courses 2002 Entry. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Birkbeck External Relations Department, 5.  
  8. ^ The Gramophone
  9. ^ Decca Records/Eclipse reissue
  10. ^ Everest Records' release of the 1958 recording. Everest Records was a stereophonic Record label based in Bayside Long Island started by Harry D
  11. ^ a b [1] Roger S. Gordon, Ralph Vaughan Williams' Film Music, review, Positive Feedback on Line Issue 29, accessed May 12, 2008
  12. ^ Answers.com

External links

Tony Palmer is an award-winning British Film director and author
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