This page features information on a truly great composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Now playing is the "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" (it's very long, but very beautiful). If you have never heard any of his music, I would suggest the following pieces: Symphony No. 2 "A London Symphony", Symphony No. 5, The Wasps Overture, and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. For now, you can find more information on the excellent site already established about RVW.
Symphony No. 7 "Sinfonia Antartica" (1949, first performed January 14, 1953)
When RVW was working on his incidental music for the film score of "Scott of the Antarctic", he felt that the story and its music generated in him a sense of the universal significance of mankind in a battle of spirit against nature. This theme was centralizd in his symphony about the Antarctic, more of a programmatic symphony, but less specific about its story than a Strauss tone poem. This symphony could be considered RVW's equivalent to Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony, even though RVW's is heroism defeated; a true story of a great adventure.
To indicate the program, RVW has prefixed each movement with a verbal motto.
I. Prelude: Andante maestoso. "To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite: To forgive wrongs darker than death or night; To defy power which seems omnipotent... Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent, This... is to be Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free; This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory." -text from Shelly's "Prometheus Unbound"
II. Scherzo: Moderato; Poco animato. "There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou has made to take his pastime therein." -text from Psalm 104.
III. Landscape: Lento. "The ice falls! To that from the mountain's brow Adown enorous ravines slope amain - Torrents, methinks, that heard a might voice, And stopped at once amid their maddest plunge! Motionless torrents! Silent cataracts!" -text from Coleridge's "Hymn Before Sunrise in The Vale of Chamouni"
IV: Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto. "Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time." -text from Donne's "The Sun Rising"
V. Epilogue: Alla marcia moderato (ma non troppo). "I do not regret the journey; we took risks, we know we took them, things have come out against us, therefore we have no cause for complaint." -text from the diary of Captain Scott.
Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1955-56).
This symphony is one of RVW's shorter works in this medium, yet it is a very fascinating score to study. The orchestra calls for a wide variety of percussion instruments, including vibraphone, which is used prominently in the first movement. The movement is jokingly called by RVW "seven variations in search of a theme. The tempi vary in this movement, sometimes a brisk presto, sometimes a tranquilly slower tempo. The second movement, a scherzo, is scored for wind instruments only. It demonstrates RVW's great ability in writing wind music. The third movement is for strings only. It has a folklike character, reminiscent of his earlier works (Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, for example). The fourth movement is a toccata which requires at least five players in the percussion section, playing what RVW called "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer".
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