Ralph Vaughan Williams: Variations for Wind Band: Concert Band

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.

This new Leyland Band release features seven first-time recordings including 'The Alchymist’s Journal' by Kenneth Hesketh and 'Four Sketches' by Simon Dobson - the winning entry in the 2002 European Brass Band Composer Competition. Soloist James Gourlay performs the brass band arrangement of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto. Other works included are 'Global Variations' and 'Thames Journey' by Nigel Hess 'RPM' and 'Headbanger' by Matthew Hindson 'Peterloo' by Malcolm Arnold and the comical encore piece 'Keystone Kops' by Carl Davis.

Quartet in C Minor is in four movements with a total duration of about 25 minutes. The opening Allegro is Dvorák-ish in its lyricism though there is a darker more brooding atmosphere towards the close. It is tempting to detect a hint of folk-song in the theme of the Andantino played by the Viola but that may be stretching hindsight too far. The movement has a wistful melancholy that carries over into the following Intermezzo a song-like episode containing some of the most virtuosic writing in the work. The last movement is a theme and six variations with a fugal ending. The theme is ballad-like with a suggestion of 18th-century elegance. Modality creeps into thesecond Adagio variation and there is rhythmic exhilaration in the succeeding Presto. What can be admired in this attractive quartet is its conciseness. This String Quartet was his first major composition of any kind.

The Piano Quintet in C is a substantial and superbly written work lasting some 30 minutes. The first movement marked Allegro con fuoco is expansive loquacious and filled with late romantic passion its harmonies Brahmsian for the most part but tinged with modality in the quieter passages. The expressive romantic melody of the Andante second movement is fully characteristic of the composer and resembles the song Silent Noon that he composed in the same year. The finale is a set of five well-differentiated variations ending with a beautiful bell-like coda. This work was written in 1903.