Ralph Vaughan Williams: English Folk Song Suite: Orchestra

20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is perhaps best known for his symphonies and large-scale choral works however the essence of his music can also be found in his songs. His 1903 House of Life cyclefeatures 6 songs out of which the most famous one is the second Silent Noon. Composed before the rest of the cycle and first published separately this piece in E-flat major for Voice and Piano can easilystand alone. By using the sonnet of renowned 19th century English painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti Williams celebrates the beauty of the English language and advances toward the true 20th century Englishart song. All of the songs in House of Life are written for sonnets from Rossetti?s sonnet-sequence of the same name and thus the continuity of the cycle is enforced both by the music and the lyrics. At the same time thesimilarity given by the strict rules of the Petrarchan sonnet-form emphasises the differences in mood meaning and music between the six songs. Even though the (male) narrator in Silent Noon is optimistic andhopeful some of the variations in the passages suggest the despairing of love in Song 6 (?Love?s Last Gift?) which gives this piece an interesting lyrical atmosphere.

Mannin Veen (Dear Mona) is a traditional Manx melody arranged for SATB chorus by Vaughan Williams. It includes a Piano reduction for rehearsal purposes. Lyrics are provided in both English andManx.Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was an English composer editor and collector of folk music. He studied at the RCM under Stanford and Parry and formed a lifelong friendship with Holst with whom he wouldexchange critical views on each otherâ??s work. He is best remembered for his orchestral works like the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and the Folk Song Suite but he also wrote many hymn tunes and carols.

Pour Cor Anglais (Ou Flûte Ou Clarinette Ou Alto) Violon Et Violoncelle-Rarely has a musical work been better characterized by its subtitle than Nicolas Bacri’s Lyric Interlude: ‘A Study in Pastoral Style’. When in 2008 the composer received the commission for a piece with English Horn from Cecilia Benner patron of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit he immediately thought of the duo between this instrument and the Oboe that Berlioz in the Symphonie fantastique placed at the beginning of the ‘Scène aux champs’ making suddenly appear a nocturnal country landscape where two shepherds carry on a dialogue on their pipes. First performed in March 2009 atone of the Scarab Club Concerts in Detroit the Lyric Interlude for English Horn Violin and Cello (Op.110a) nonetheless proclaims another tradition: that of British pastoralism illustrated by the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) the 50th anniversary of his death having just been celebrated. This score pays him homage of rare sensitivity: set off by refined counterpoint the undulating lament of the beginning rhythmically supple evokes the waving wheat as does Vaughan Williams in the opening undulation of his Symphony No.3. The lyrical effusion briefly interrupted by a scherzo in 6/8 again pours out making the work evolve towards a slow ecstatic atmosphere close to the last of the English composer’s Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes. Far from bucolic postcard clichés and servile imitation this Lyric Interlude opens the doors to a realm where pure beauty reigns. The composer also wrote another version of this work for English Horn (or Flute Clarinet or Viola) and Piano Op.110b (AL 30 750)

This Fantasia is founded on the following traditional English carols: The Truth Sent From Above (Herefordshire) words and tune; Come All You Worthy Gentlemen (Somerset) words and tune; On Christmas Night (Sussex) words and tune; There Is A Fountain (Herefordshire) tune only; together with fragments of other well-known carol tunes. The work is scored for ordinary full Orchestra with Organ and set of bells (ad lib.) or String Orchestra with Organ or Piano. Alternatively it may be accompanied by Organ or Piano alone played from the Vocal score with an optional solo Cello part (H212). A chorus part for performance bysolo Baritone and TTBB is also available (W41). The chorus is required to sing in four different ways:1. Singing the words.2. Singing with closed lips.3. Singing \'Ah\'.4. Singing with half-closed lips i.e. with a short \'u\' sound as in the word \'but\'. Watch Pasadena Master Chorale performing Ralph Vaughan Williams\' Fantasia On Christmas Carols:

In 1908 Vaughan Williams composed the Nocturnes for Baritone and Orchestra – each a setting of his favourite poet Walt Whitman – though these works were believed to be unfinished. The manuscript of an earlier Nocturne a fully orchestrated setting of Whispers of Heavenly Death came to light in 2000. Now Faber Music is proud to announce the publication of the Three Nocturnes which sees Vaughan Williams’s completed work framed by two masterful completions by composer and English-music expert Anthony Payne.

Through the years this well-known English folk song has been a favorite with composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams (English Folk Song Suite) and George Butterworth (The Bank of Green Willow). One of the best-known versions of Percy Grainger's 1921 setting for two pianos and this delightful arrangement for young bands is based in part on Grainger's version. Dur: 2:45

In 1977 The Association of English Singers and Speakers published a four-volume work A Heritage of Twentieth Century British Song which was a collection of songs published by Boosey & Hawkes and which were in the opinion of the editors worthy of the attention that such a publication would bring. Sixteen years later with the benefit of further perspective the Association has published this supplemental volume differing from its distinguished predecessor in that it includes works both unpublished and published by a variety of companies. The composers range from the very most familiar and celebrated Ralph Vaughan Williams Arnold Bax Elizabeth Poston to thelesser-known like Rebecca Clarke and Alastair MacGeorge. The book includes biographical information on the composers and notes about each song for performance purposes. The technical requirements range from quite straightforward to most demanding.

The Bassoon part for Vaughan Williams' Six Studies in English Folk Song adapted for Bassoon by Alan Hawkins. The piano accompaniment (Ref. H47) can be purchased separately.

Paperback-Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21 and here presents five variants that are in his own words 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'.The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.