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LIBRARY
Michigan State
University

 

 

This is to certify that the
dissertation entitled

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ROMANCES OF
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

presented by

KENNETH PAUL DROBNAK

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for the

D.M.A. degree in TUBA PERFORMANCE

 

 

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Major Professor’s Signature

Alfirv'l 29,. 2W5

Date

MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

4_.—.—.—--...—.-.-.—..-._._ A A.

 

 

 

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
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5/08 K lProj/AccapresIClRC/DateDue indd

 

 

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ROMAN CES
OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

By

Kenneth Paul Drobnak

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
School of Music

2005

ABSTRACT
By
Kenneth Paul Drobnak

Ralph Vaughan Williams entered college during the height of Great
Britain’s Imperial Power. Throughout his life, Vaughan Williams served
England as best he could during peacetime and war. In the first decade of
the twentieth century, he traveled the English countryside collecting
folksong from singers before it disappeared with their deaths. His intent
was to give folksongs back to the English people through their
publication. Vaughan Williams gathered these melodies at the same time
. he was searching for his compositional voice, and his early works reflect
a strong folksong influence.

As he matured, Vaughan Williams assimilated elements of folksong
into his own compositional style. A few years before his death, critics
began to characterize his instrumental music as being based on quotes
from folksong. Many studies have refuted this stereotype, determining
that direct folksong quotes are only to be found in a small number of
instrumental and orchestral works. However, these studies did find that
Vaughan Williams assimilated folksong into his own individual idiom,
along with music of the Tudors, organum, church music, and
contemporary techniques.

The purpose of this document is to compare three Romances from

Vaughan Williams’ works for solo instrument and orchestra, including:

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The Lark Ascending-Romance for Violin and Orchestra, the Romance in D
Flat for Harmonica and Orchestra. and the Romanza from the Ma
Concerto. Items for analysis include: their linear structures, vertical
sonorities and textural devices. Currently, only token analytical
references about these works have been published in broad biographical
studies and journal articles.

As anticipated, no direct folksong quotes were found in any of
these works; however, some short figures were found to be in common
with folksong and are described. The prominent feature in all three
works is the linear or thematic material in the melodic line. Texture and
timbral variation is an important means of achieving variety. Each work
can be analyzed in a large-scale A B A’ structure, with the Tuba Romanza
being closest to a traditional sonata form. The middle sections of the
other two works include new thematic material, which allows them to be

classified as concertos in one movement.

This document also includes a biography and an overview of the
orchestral style of Vaughan Williams. In addition, information about the
premiere of each work and its reception is included, along with a short
biographical sketch of Marie Hall, Philip Catelinet, and Larry Adler, the
performers Vaughan Williams had in mind for each work. The appendices
of this document include a discography for each work and a list of theses

and dissertations completed on Vaughan Williams.

Copyright by
KENNETH PAUL DROBNAK
2005

“He speaks his own
languagetothe
enrichment of the
world’s music.”

...H. Walford Davies (1930)

Director of the School of Music at
the University of Wales

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures .......................................................................................................... vii
Chapter 1: Ralph Vaughan Williams - Figurehead of English Music ........... 1
Chapter 2: Stylistic Manifestations................: .................................................... 29
Chapter 3: Premiere and Review ......................................................................... 50
Chapter 4: linear Structures ................................................................................ 63
Chapter 5: Vertical Sonorities .............................................................................. 99
Chapter 6: Textural Considerations ................................................................. 121
Chapter 7: Biographical Sketches ..................................................................... 131
Appendix A: Discography ................................................................................... l 39
Appendix B: Theses and Dissertations ............................................................ 147
Appendix C: Bibliography ................................................................................... 1 S 3

LIST OF FIGURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Pentatonic Scale in The Lark Ascending .......................................... 63
Figure 2: Themes in The Lark Ascendi_ng ......................................................... 64
Figure 3: Themes in the Tuba Romanza ........................................................... 65
Figure 4: Themes in the Romance for Harmonica .......................................... 66
Figure 5: Structure of The Lark Ascending ...................................................... 67
Figure 6: Structure of the Tuba Romanza ........................................................ 68
Figure 7: Structure of the Romance for Harmonica ....................................... 69
Figure 8: Theme 1 in The Lark Ascending ........................................................ 70
Figure 9: Fragmentary motive in The Lark Ascending ................................... 71
Figure 10: Theme 2 in The Lark Ascending ...................................................... 71
Figure 11: Theme 3 in The Lark Ascending ...................................................... 72
Figure 12: Theme 3 with other entrances ......................................................... 73
Figure 13: Theme 4 in The Lark Ascending ...................................................... 73
Figure 14: Theme 5 in The Lark Ascending ...................................................... 75
Figure 15: Section of Meredith’s poem that appears in the full score of

Vaughan Williams ................................................................................................... 76
Figure 16: A Dream of Napoleon ........................................................................ 79
Figure 17: Theme 1 in cadenza ........................................................................... 79
Figure 18: King Roger ............................................................................................ 80
Figure 19: Theme 1 of the Romanza from the Tuba Concerto .................... 81
Figure 20: Theme 2 of the Romanza from the Tuba Concerto .................... 82

 

Figure 21:
Figure 22:
Figure 23:
Figure 24:
Figure 25:
Figure 26:
Figure 27:
Figure 28:
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Figure 30:
Figure 31:
Figure 32:
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Elision of Themes 1 and 2 ................................................................ 83
Horn Fair ............................................................................................... 83
Keeper and Poachers .......................................................................... 84
Borrowed idea from Concerto Grosso ........................................... 84
First violins and solo tuba at climax .............................................. 86
Theme 1 in Romance for Harmonica ............................................. 87
Synthetic and octatonic patterns .................................................... 88
Theme 1 at bar 10 Romance for Harmonica ................................ 89
Unfolded sonority ............................................................................... 89
Theme 2 in Romance for Harmonica ............................................. 90
Counter-line .......................................................................................... 90
Synthetic scale in theme 3 ................................................................ 91
Theme 3 in Romance for Harmonica ............................................. 92
Theme 4 in Romance for Harmonica ............................................. 92
Canon in theme 4 ................................................................................ 92
Franklin’s Crew .................................................................................... 93
Ward and the Pirate ............................................................................ 93
Ending gesture of the Romance for Harmonica .......................... 94
Theme 1 of The Lark Ascending in the opening cadenza ......... 97
Introduction to The Lark Ascending .............................................. 99
Transformation of introductory theme ....................................... 100
Theme 1 harmony in A’ Section .................................................... 101
Chords accompanying theme 2 ..................................................... 102

 

 

 

 

 

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Theme 3 theme with harmonic motion ....................................... 102
Harmony at beginning of theme 4 ................................................ 103
theme 4 breaking down ................................................................... 104
Harmony at beginning of Tuba Romanza ................................... 107
Elision themes 1 and 2 .................................................................... 108
Harmony in the A minor section of the development ............. 109
Harmonic layers at climax .............................................................. 1 10
Scales in theme area 1 ..................................................................... 1 12
Opening vertical structures ............................................................ 112
Linear movement in the accompaniment ................................... 1 1 3
Accompaniment at beginning of theme 2 ................................... 1 14
First statement of theme 2 in A’ section ..................................... 1 14
Transposition of synthetic scale in theme 3 .............................. 1 1 5
Harmony in theme 3 ........................................................................ 1 16
Contrapuntal motion of harmony in theme 3 ........................... 116
Vertical structures in theme 4 area .............................................. 1 1 7
Beginning of the A section closing area ...................................... 122
Solo violin in A section, theme 2 area ......................................... 1 23
Solo violin in B section, theme 4 area .......................................... 123
Closing area of theme 4 .................................................................. 123
Counter-line to theme 5 .................................................................. 124
Contrary theme in the Romanza ................................................... 126
Contrary theme at the beginning of the A’ section .................. 126

Figure 67: Theme 1 overlap in Tuba Romanza ............................................. 129

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Chapter 1: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Figurehead of English Music

Vaughan Williams became the leading figure in
English Music by defining his nation’s music through
its cultural history and English language. He did this
through the composition of folksong arrangements,
ballet, operas, instrumental solo works, motets,
symphonies, songs, and by providing music for
special occasions. Vaughan Williams composed for
the amateur and professional musician, in peacetime
and during war. Through his lectures, music, writings
and conducting, Vaughan Williams represented
England throughout the world.
In a letter to The (London) Times in 1929, Vaughan Williams

objected to negative press coverage of an upcoming concert, asking “Is it

still necessary to segregate the British composer as if he were unfit?”l

Vaughan Williams fought this characteristic View, that “music must be

from another country to be good”2 for most of his life.

At the turn of the twentieth century, music in England had been in
a period of decline for 200 years. After 1850, musicians and composers
began to take their art more seriously, which culminated at the end of the
century with the emergence of Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry and Charles
Stanford. In 1899, Elgar completed mgma Variations. a European
masterpiece, while Parry and Stanford were young college professors who

were interested in developing a national style. Stanford looked to opera,

 

1 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Music and British Music,” The (London) Times (22 July
1929) 15.

2 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Address-to the International Folk Music Council,”
loumal of the International Folk Music Council 5 (January 1953) 7.

1

as no national company existed while Parry looked to develop a national

style through the “products of crowds of fellow-workers.”3 Vaughan
Williams would absorb their viewpoints through instruction and study of
their works during his training years.

Several significant continental conductors and musicians visited
London in the last decade of the nineteenth century. For example, Mahler

conducted Tristan at Covent Garden, the primary concert hall in London.

 

Hans Richter, who had been active for some time, became the first
conductor of the newly established London Symphony Orchestra in 1904.
Henry Wood began to emerge as a leading English conductor after
he started the Promenade Concerts, which were created to celebrate
works by British composers. With the construction of a new concert hall,
the Queen’s Hall, English musicians began to sense a rebirth. However,

composers knew that the nineteenth century operettas of Gilbert and

Sullivan could not compete with the output of the continent.4

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in 1872 to an upper middle class
family in Gloucestershire. His mother was a niece of Charles Darwin, and
unfortunately, his father died in 1875, when Ralph was only two years
old. While growmg up, Ralph played piano duets with his brother and

sister and also took violin lessons when he was seven. His messy

 

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handwriting began when he was taught to write with his right hand,
instead of his natural left.

Ralph’s first music teacher was his Aunt Sophy Wedgwood, who
gave him instruction in thoroughbass. His formal education as a
youngster began in Brighton at Rottingdean, a prep school, where he
studied Latin, Greek, piano and violin. After moving to Charterhouse in
1887, Vaughan Williams played second violin in the school orchestra,
later switching to viola. Finding the arts “mildly encouraged,” he
organized a school concert. Afterwards, the math professor, James Noon,

encouraged him to continue in music. Vaughan Williams later called them

“the few words of encouragement” he received in school.S

In 1890, Vaughan Williams left the Charterhouse to enter the Royal
College of Music, which had been created in 1883 after opening as a
national training center for music in 1876. He hoped to study
composition with Parry but was forced to wait until he had passed Grade
V Harmony. His first composition teacher at the school was F .E.
Gladstone. Through him, Vaughan Williams came into contact with
Parry’s text: Studies of Great Composers. After passing Grade V harmony,
Vaughan Williams received instruction from Parry and learned about

Parry’s concept of loyalty to one’s art, in which he thought that “a

composer must write music as his musical conscience demands.”6

 

5 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 27.
6 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 13.

 

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In 1891, Vaughan Williams entered Trinity College, followed by
entrance to Cambridge a year later, where he would begin lessons on
organ and studies in history. Holst and Vaughan Williams became close
friends at Cambridge, often reviewmg and commenting on each other’s
manuscripts of new music. While at Cambridge, Vaughan Williams

studied composition with Charles Wood, who anticipated little success in

music from Vaughan Williams.7

Vaughan Williams formed a choral society at Cambridge and
continued to receive lessons at the Royal College of Music. He received
the Bachelor of Music from Cambridge in 1894.

After graduating, Vaughan Williams returned to the Royal College
of Music to study composition with Stanford, who apparently showed a
strong dislike for the modal flavor of Vaughan Williams’ music. At one

point, Vaughan Williams was instructed to compose a waltz, and he
composed a modal waltz.8 Deciding that he was “too far gone with

modes,” Stanford decided to focus on Vaughan Williams’ thick textures.9
His family was supportive of the career choice in music, but his

Aunt Etty worried about his future since he could not “play the simplest

 

7 Ibid., 16. Professors at either institution did not have “sustained hopes” for a
successful career in music.

8 Wayne Cohn, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Hymnody,” The Hymn 19 (1968) 82.
9 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 19.

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thing.”10 The family had moved to Leith Hill and would later install an
organ in the house for Vaughan Williams to practice on.

Vaughan Williams began his only performance position as an
organist at St. Barnabas Church in 1895. He was quite unhappy with the

quality of the choir and music in general at the church. During his tenure,

which lasted until 1899, he formed a lifelong agnosticism.11

After marrying Adeline, the couple took a honeymoon to Berlin in
1897, where they were able to see Richard Wagner’s Der Rig des
Nibelungen. Heinrich von Herzogneberg advised Vaughan Williams to
take some composition lessons with Max Bruch, who was interested in
folksong. Bruch enjoyed Vaughan Williams’ love of the flatted seventh,
and the two quickly established a friendship.

Adeline and Ralph lived in London from 1898 to 1902, while
Vaughan Williams finished the requirements for his Doctorate at

Cambridge. The works written while he was a student were believed lost

until they were found after his death.12 They are mostly songs, likely due

to their ease of performance as permanent instrumental groups were

 

10 m. 12-13.

11 Ursula Vaughan Williams, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Folk Music,” English

Dance and Song 45 (1983) 16.
12 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 21.

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generally lacking at the time. They demonstrate that melody was his

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“primary interest from the beginning.

One of his most popular songs, linden Lea. was likely premiered at
the Hooten Roberts Choral Society outside of Yorkshire in 1901. It was
also the location where many of his works were first heard outside of the
Royal College of Music and Cambridge. Songs of Travel was his greatest
achievement at the time. The modal cadences and voiceless choir,
depicting the moaning of the wind, drew much attention.

The James Allen Girl’s School at Dulwich appointed Vaughan
Williams to his first teaching post in 1902. Also in 1902, Vaughan
Williams wrote “A School of English Music” for the inaugural issue of The
Vocalist. In the article, Vaughan Williams argues that the composer must
express himself before turning to folksong. He would go on to give six
lectures dealing with the history of folksong through the Oxford
University extension lecture series. In these lectures, Vaughan Williams
concluded that the personal style of English musicians must be what a
national style is based on. Further, that genuine musicianship was lacking

in England as the current output reflected “clever craftsmen,” who lacked

the sincerity of folksingers.l4 His articles for The Vocalist also included

thoughts on Beethoven, Palestrina, national music, and English music.

 

13‘ Ursula Vaughan Williams, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Folk Music,” English

Dance and Song 45 (1983) 76-7.
1" mm, 30-34.

In 1899, Cecil Sharp began collecting folksong in the countryside
and would later meet Vaughan Williams in 1900. However, Sharp does not
mark the beginning of folksong collecting in England. Lucy Broadwood,
who had been born into a family of piano builders, began collecting in the
18805. Prior to Lucy, however, her uncle, John Broadwood, had published
Old Eanh Songs as Now Sung by the Peasantrv of the Weald of Surrev
and Sussex in 1843.

In 1898, Lucy Broadwood, Cecil Sharp, J .A. Fuller Maitland and
Frank Kidson founded the English Folk Song Society. The methodical
collection of folksong began with the formation of this organization,
whose aim was the preservation of traditional song. Sharp defined

folksong as the “product of oral transmission, shaped by continuity,

variation and selection.”15 As secretary, Broadwood received all of the
folksongs and materials collectors submitted for publication.

Collectors determined that the educational reforms of the 18703
and the Industrial Revolution were changing village life. The children, as
they grew up, were not learning the folksongs of their parents and
grandparents. Singing was seen as a practice for the illiterate and
frowned upon by the educated academics. Carl Engel, after traveling
through England in 1878, claimed that the “country people of England

were not in the habit of singing.” Vaughan Williams would later say, “He

 

15 D. Atkinson, “Resources in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library,” Folk Music
19m 8 (2001) 96.

 

 

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had not searched in the proper places.”16 Vaughan Williams and the other
collectors resurrected these songs; an act that rejected the notion

England had no folk tradition and proved this tradition was different

from the rest of continental Europe.17

After collecting Bushes and Briars in 1903, Vaughan Williams began
a lifetime of folksong collecting and notating, which eventually totaled
over 800 folksongs. Though he would continue to notate songs
throughout his life, his primary period of collection was from 1903 to
1913. He started by riding his bicycle to small towns and villages in the
countryside, worried that these “beautiful melodies” would disappear
forever with the deaths of singers. He urged county councils to assist
with folksong collection, as he was concerned that collecting in England
had started later than other countries. Eventually, he decided that the
English Folk Song Society should direct the effort.

As Vaughan Williams discovered folk melodies, he said, “Here’s
something which I have known all my life-only I didn’t know it.”18 He
found a native “music of peasant England,”19 which Vaughan Williams

believed reflected the cultural history of England. His own character was

deeply affected by folksong; it became part of his compositional voice.

 

’6 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “English Folk-Song: a Lecture,” The Musical Times 52
(February 1911) 101.

17 Henry Raynour, “Influence and Achievement,” The Chesterian 30 (Winter 1956) 66,
74.

18 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 19.

19 Ursula Vaughan Williams, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Folk Music,” English
Dance and Song 45 (1983) 15.

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Vaughan Williams viewed folksong development as a process of
refinement through history. As folksong passed from singer to singer, the
best variant survived to be collected. The imagination of a community is

contained in these folksongs that successfully survived exchange from

singer to singer.20 These variations developed orally and could not be
found in a written text. When choosing songs for publication, he picked
the variant that was the most accessible for public consumption and the
most coherent.21 However, this may have sacrificed strophic variations.22

The intent of collecting and publishing, in Vaughan Williams’ View,
was to give folksongs back to the people. Later in his career, his
methodology of determining the most coherent version led to criticism
over whether he had ignored versions that failed to fit a pre-conceived
notion.23 Further, that he had altered the text to fit his preferences in the
1908 publication of The Folk Songs of England?"

Vaughan Williams had an interest in folksong from the time he was

a youngster. He began collecting at the same time he was searching for

his own compositional voice and found a connection with their modal

 

20 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “English Folk-Song: a Lecture,” The Musical Times 52
(February 1911) 102.

21 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot, England:
Ashgate Publishing, 2003) 113-4.

22 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 124.

23 Luci" 118. However, his attitude seems to reflect an interest in accuracy.
24 A.E. Dickinson, Vaughan Williams (London: Faber and Faber, 1963) 102.

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and melodic structure. He used them to “recover [an] English accent” of
the past and incorporated the accentual patterns into his musical style. 25

In The Fen Country was his first conscious attempt to use a folk
melody as an outline for an original composition. The harmony showed
influence from the chromaticism of Richard Strauss and the diatonicism

of George Butterworth. As his career progressed, however, folksong is

what stimulated his orchestral style.26

In 1904, plans were underway for the creation of a new English
Hymnbook by Percy Dearmer and Cecil Sharp. They were in need of an
editor for the project and Sharp suggested two people: Canon Scott
Holland and Vaughan Williams. Dearmer decided to approach Vaughan
Williams first. After accepting the offer, Vaughan Williams spent two
years gathering tunes and hymns for the book.

The English Hymal was published in 1906. Vaughan Williams
continued the Anglican tradition of transforming folk melodies into
hymn tunes. Not only was this an Anglican practice, but Vaughan

Williams believed that local parishes of the early Catholic Church did the

same thing when constructing chant melodies.” According to Vaughan

 

25 Wilfrid Mellers, “Recent Trends in British Music,” The Musical Quarterly 38 (April
1952) 187.

26 W, Ursula Vaughan Williams and Imogen Holst, eds. (London:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1959) 79-83.

27 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 33-34.

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Williams, folk melodies had to be adapted to fit correct syllable counts28
and molded into a strophic formula, as the hymns were intended for

congregational use. Vaughan Williams contributed four original tunes to

The English Hfln_nal under “Mr. Anon.”29

Vaughan Williams’ intent with The English Hymnal was “to print

the finest versions of every tune, [but] not necessarily the earliest.”30 On
its fiftieth anniversary of publication, Vaughan Williams said he decided

to be “thorough, adventurous and honest,” after accepting the offer to be

its editor.31 Vaughan Williams also included carols from the Middle Ages
in the collection.

Besides gathering folksongs and hymn tunes, Vaughan Williams
took an active role in researching music from England’s past, specifically
music of the Tudors. In 1902, he was asked to edit some “welcome
songs” for the bicentennial Purcell celebration, which allowed Vaughan
Williams to explore some rare manuscripts. From them, he came into

contact with their contrapuntal textures, free rhythms and unbalanced

 

28 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot, England:
Ashgate Publishing, 2003) 114.

29 Wayne Cohn, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Hymnody,” The Hmn 19 (1968) 84.
3" Michael Kennedy, Lire Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 66.

31 W, Ursula Vaughan Williams and Imogen Holst, eds. (London:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1959) 38.

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phrases.32 He also became interested in the music of William Byrd and
began incorporating “fantasia” and its structures in instrumental works.
Along with his sister Margaret, Vaughan Williams helped establish
the Leith Hill Music Festival in 1905. The goals of the festival included:
raising the standard of amateur music sung in towns and villages and
increasing the choral repertoire by commissioning English composers to
write new works. Conducting at Leith Hill and other festivals was very
important to Vaughan Williams due to his lifelong belief that the musical

health of a nation was found in community music participation, rather

than the concert hall.” When eighty, Vaughan Williams continued to
conduct at these festivals, and was conducting the Passions of J .S. Bach at
the Dorking Festival. He would only miss conducting at one Leith Hill
festival in 1958.

Vaughan Williams’ mature musical style began to emerge between
1905 and 1907. Even though Toward the Unknown Regio_n was met with
considerable applause at performances, Vaughan Williams was concerned
that it and other works sounded “lumpy and stodgy.” Vaughan Williams

felt the need for further training and decided to pursue some “French

 

32 Neil Butterworth. Ralph Vaughan Williams: a Guide. (New York: Garland
Publishing, 1990) 68-9.

33 F. McKay Martin, “Vaughan Williams and the Amateur Tradition,” Musical Opinion
107 (July 1984) 8. Vaughan Williams quoted from National Music and Other Essays.

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polish.” Michael Calvocoressi suggested lessons with Maurice Ravel,

which Vaughan Williams undertook in 1907.3“

Instrumental music was gradually introduced at the choral
festivals, which grew and began to dominate English musical life. In
terms of premieres, the festivals grew to match the Royal College of
Music and the Royal Academy of Music in importance. The two schools, ,
however, supported the festivals and did not view them as competitors. .

By 1910, instrumental music had become a part of all the large

 

festivals. Vaughan Williams’ first symphony, A Sea Smphony, and
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis were both premiered at the Three
Choirs Festival in Gloucester that year. These premieres signified a

gradual shift in importance from choral to instrumental music in

England.35

As war spread in 1914, many musicians, including Vaughan
Williams who was 42 at the time, volunteered for service. Vaughan
Williams, after failing the physical for flat feet. was assigned to the Royal
Army Medical Corp. Working with an ambulance unit, he helped collect
the sick and wounded. Eventually, the unit was moved to Greece, where

Vaughan Williams recruited soldiers to sing in a choir and taught them

 

34 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 88-90.

35 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot, England:
Ashgate Publishing, 2003) 257.

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folksongs and Christmas carols “on the slopes of Mt. Olympus.”36 He
communicated his location to Adeline by sending her a scale in the
Dorian mode.37

Vaughan Williams, desiring to contribute in a more useful manner,

was able to find someone in authority to arrange a transfer so he could

become an artillery officer.38 After training, he was sent to France, but the
war ended before he saw any action. After peace became established,
Vaughan Williams was made Director of Music in B.E.F. France. He

organized nine choral societies, an orchestra, a band and three classes on

music. He was demobilized in February 1919.39

Vaughan Williams lost several friends in the war, including: F.B.
Ellis, Cecil Coles, Ed Mason and Denis Browne. The one loss he felt more
than all others was George Butterworth, whom the second symphony is
dedicated to. Butterworth and Vaughan Williams had collected folksongs
together, and it was he who suggested to Vaughan Williams to compose a
second symphony. However, Vaughan Williams was relieved that Ravel.
who served at the front, was still alive.

During the war, Maud Karpeles, a folksong associate and friend of

Vaughan Williams, went with Cecil Sharp to collect folksongs in the

 

36 Ursula Vaughan Williams, “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Folk Music,” English
Dance and Song 45 (1983) 16.

37 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 123-4.
38 _Ib_ia., 124-5.
39 lam. 130-1.

 

14

 

Appalachian Mountains of the United States. After Sharp’s death in the
middle of the 19203, she would play a decisive role in maintaining the
English Folk and Dance Society. During the 19503, Karpeles returned to

the same families she had collected from then and found folksong was
not sung by their chfldren.40

After the Great War“, several important British music institutions
took shape. The British Music Society was established to coordinate
British Musical Activities. A.H. Fox Strangeways began publishing MM
and Letters. The British Broadcasting Corporation was founded in 1922.
The spread of radio, however, weakened the festival system by
encouraging passive listening by the audience.

The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, formed in 1914, was awarding
grants to unknown British composers and financed the publication of a
ten-volume edition of Tudor music. At the Royal College of Music, Hugh
Allen became its director and Adrian Boult took charge of the orchestra.
Both Allen and Boult would look to Vaughan Williams for guidance on
fostering English music.

After demobilization, Vaughan Williams revised A London
Symphony and The Lark Ascending. He continued work on three operas
and the Pastoral Smhony. Hugh Allen invited him to come teach at the

Royal College of Music, which he accepted and remained at for twenty

 

40 D. Atkinson, “Resources in the Vaughan Williams Memorial library,” Folk Music
loumal 8 (2001) 90-93.

41 World War I.

15

 

 

 

C l

 

933

(hr

years. Vaughan Williams took over directorship of the London Bach Choir
from Hugh Allen in 1920. In 1919, Oxford University awarded Vaughan
Williams an Honorary Doctorate of Music.

The Leith Hill Festival and the Bach Choir were the center of
Vaughan Williams’ life. He also directed the Handel Society from 1919 to
1921. At 46, he was considered a senior composer, but Elgar was still
considered the statesman of English music. Vaughan Williams began to
update The English Hymal and started a new association with Herbert
Foss, who was at Oxford University Press. Oxford founded a music
department in 1924 under F033, and he urged Oxford to publish all of
Vaughan Williams’ new compositions, which began with Sancta Civitas.

In the 19203, Vaughan Williams wrote three important works for
military band, including: E_nLflish Folk Song Suite. Sea Songa and Ma
Marziale. The first two are based on folksongs and include quotations. In
addition, Sea Songs was likely the final movement of the Folk Song Suite
and removed by the publisher. Toccata Marziale. however, is a completely
original composition.

Sharp and Stanford both died in 1924. Adeline was stricken with
arthritis in 1927, and the couple was forced to move from the large house
at Cheyne Walk, where they had resided since 1904. They moved to The
White Gates in Dorking, a house that Adeline could get around in more
easily. Vaughan Williams was forced to give up directorship of the Bach

Choir and would miss living in London until he returned late in life.

16

 

 

 

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IVE

 

 

The BBC Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1930, and the London
Philharmonic was formed in 1932. These new organizations caused a
reorganization of all the orchestras in London. Vaughan Williams had a
long friendship with Adrian Boult, director of the BBC Symphony, who
took over directorship of the Bach Choir after he left. Boult premiered
Vaughan Williams’ Third Symphony in 1922, and would go on to
premiere many more new works. Boult was committed to performing new
music and became know as a champion of contemporary British works.

Through his performances on the radio, he helped shape the musical

taste of England.42

When conducting Vaughan Williams’ works, Boult often changed

the tempo markings, which the composer admitted often worked better."3
Boult and Allen were part of a small circle of people who heard piano
renditions of new works as they were being completed. Boult described

Vaughan Williams’ works as “fresh and vital music, magnificent.” Critics

looked to Boult to reveal the nation’s music to the public."4

Boult directed two separate recordings of all nine of Vaughan
Williams’ symphonies. The first set, released on Decca, was completed
with the composer present for all but Symphony no. 9. The second set

was released on EMI. Boult premiered Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus

 

42 Michael Kennedy, Adrian Boult (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987) 299.
“3 mid. 105.
“4 r_b_id., 61-4.

17

 

 

 

 

 

 

I‘m—1

at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, which Vaughan Williams
composed for the occasion. Unfortunately, Boult’s personal library of

I,45 a 1033 including many of the

scores was destroyed during World War I
composers’ indications and notes. Boult conducted Vaughan Williams’
funeral service in Westminster Abbey after the composer died in 1958.
In 1932, Vaughan Williams began a series of lectures at Bryn Mawr
College in Pennsylvania. These lectures would later be published in
National Music. which included topics on the origins of music, folksong
and its evolution, nationalism in music, and the influence of folksong on
the church and tradition. On his return trip to England, he stopped in
New York where Archibald Davison introduced Vaughan Williams to
Serge Koussevitzky. Vaughan Williams was invited to hear one of his

works played by the New York Philharmonic in rehearsal, and chose

Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis. Though scored for mostly strings, a

majority of the orchestra remained for the rehearsal.46

lob, A Masque for Dancing contributed to the establishment of
British Ballet. Vaughan Williams hoped to have Serge Diaghilev
choreograph the performance, but he declined. At the suggestion of
Edward Elgar, Vaughan Williams began work on Five Tudor Portraits.

whose text was written by a Tudor poet, John Skelton. The Fourth

 

45 Michael Kennedy, Adrian Boult (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987) 189-90.
46 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 191-2.

 

18

 

 

 

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at?

It}

Smphony was received as a “violent utterance” that confused the

audience and critics, who did not understand the harsh idiom.47
Elgar died in 1933, but a closer loss was that of Gustav Holst in
1934, who died after a failed operation. Vaughan Williams relied on

Holst’s opinion of his new ideas, stating: “What are we to do without

him?”48 The two had exchanged manuscripts for years and Vaughan
Williams looked to composer Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) for guidance
after Holst’s death. Vaughan Williams directed an effort to build a music
extension atMorley College, which was to be dedicated to Holst.

Vaughan Williams received the Order of Merit in 1938 for his
distinguished contribution to music. He is one of only three composers to
receive the award, given on authority of the Queen of England. He would
also receive an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University College at
Liverpool. He composed Flourish and Te Deum for the coronation of
George VI. The royalties Vaughan Williams received from his many
compositions provided him with a comfortable living.

Though political tensions increased throughout Europe in the
19303, Dona Nobis Pacem is the only work that reflected the times. It was
a plea for peace that juxtaposed a Latin Mass with English poems by Walt

Whitman. Vaughan Williams met Kodaly in 1937, and Five Tudor Portraits

 

“7 Michael Kennedy, Adrian Boult (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987) 243.
“8 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 200.

 

19

was premiered in the same year. He also wrote Serenade to Music for
Henry Wood, a work that called for sixteen specific singers.

In 1938, Vaughan Williams accepted the Shakespeare Prize from
the University of Hamburg in Germany. The prize was designed to bring
the two cultures Closer together, but Vaughan Williams was hesitant to

accept the award, feeling that “honors from Germany are not what they

were.”49 Vaughan Williams accepted, as he had determined the offer was
for the honor of all English artists.

In December, after the start of Nazi oppression against musicians,
Vaughan Williams joined the Dorking Committee for Refugees from Nazi
Oppression. After the outbreak of war, he gave up his post at the Royal
College of Music to help contribute to the war effort. Vaughan Williams
composed music for everyday life in the time of war, including
Household Music. which could be played on any instruments available,
and Six Choral Songs to be Sung in the Time of War. He was appointed
Chairman of the Home Office Committee for the Release of Interned
Alien Musicians.

The Director of London Films asked him to compose music for the
movie 49th Parallel, a patriotic film. This led to subsequent requests for
music to Coastal Command, The People’s Land and Flemish Farm. These
films helped portray Vaughan Williams’ personal vision of Britain: that of

championing civil liberties and resisting tyranny. He was able to unite

 

“9 ma, 218.

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this vision with pastoral music in the 49th Parallel.50 and continue
composing in Dorking during the war, as the bombing runs were not near
his home.

Vaughan Williams celebrated his seventieth birthday in 1942 as the

acknowledged leader in English music.51 He became President of the
Committee for the Promotion of New Music, and earlier that year he
received the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Designed in
1871, the medal contained a portrait of Beethoven along with the name of

the recipient and year awarded. It is not an annual award, rather only

given to “the greatest musicians of the day.”52

In 1943, Vaughan Williams arranged an English version of the Mass
in B Minor by J .S. Bach and had the London Philharmonic Orchestra

perform the first read through of his Fifth Symphony. The musicians

immediately recognized the quality of the work.53 It was dedicated to
Sibelius and Vaughan Williams conducted the premiere in June.

In 1944, the BBC commissioned Vaughan Williams to compose a
work celebrating the end of the war that reflected all nations fighting on
the allied side. Thanksgiving for Victory was recorded that year, with

Boult conducting, and played shortly after the armistice in 1945.

 

so Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 144-5.

51 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 260.
52 Ates Orga, The Proms (Newton, England: David 8: Charles, 1974) 89.
53 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 253.

 

21

 

 

 

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It}

(If.

C(-

 

 

 

Roy Douglas began helping Vaughan Williams prepare his scores in
1944. Douglas later wrote that Vaughan Williams spent a lot of time
working to get all details to his satisfaction. Vaughan Williams often told
a joke that Douglas wrote his music, but this led others, such as Eric
Blom, to hypothesize that someone else was in fact scoring his works.

Douglas, however, did copy out scores and “only scores in [his hand] can

be trusted in later years.” 54

After the Second World War, Ralph Vaughan Williams was
considered the “Grand Old Man of English Music.” He was the undisputed

leader of English music, but disliked the phrase because he did not feel

old or grand.55 He celebrated his fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1947 and
wrote a motet for the dedication of the Battle of Britain Chapel. For his
seventy-sixth birthday, Vaughan Williams wrote a chant.

In 1948, he received only enthusiastic support for his 5%
Syr_nphony after the premiere. Later, John Barbirolli recorded the work
with the Hallé Orchestra. Barbirolli admired Vaughan Williams’ music and
the two began a friendship that lasted throughout Vaughan Williams’
lifetime. Vaughan Williams liked Barbirolli’s interpretations of his scores
and dedicated his fighth Symphony to him.

Vaughan Williams continued to meet new friends, such as the Rev.

George Chambers, through his interest in folksong. Chambers was

 

54 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 286-9.
55 _Ib_id., 291.

22

 

 

 

(“l

 

fr

it: -

 

writing a book on plainsong and Vaughan Williams wrote the preface

where he said that musicologists who could not see that plainsong was

derived from folksong were “bat-eyed.”56

Ernst Irving contacted Vaughan Williams about composing music
for a film detailing Capt. Robert Falcon Scott’s voyage to the Antarctic, to
be titled Scott of the Antarctic. Vaughan Williams was shown a few stills
and was able to compose the music with only these images. He used a
wordless soprano to convey the cold emptiness, which caused some
concern, but Irving later determined it worked well as a backdrop to the

movie. Vaughan Williams reworked the material into his Seventh

Smphony.

Vaughan Williams also completed a morality titled Pilgrim 3
Progress, which he had worked on for many years. The work received
mixed reviews, but E.J. Dent called it “the greatest and most deeply

moving contribution of modern times to the building-up of a national

rcpertory 0f musical drama.”57

By 1951, Vaughan Williams knew that he was losing some of his
hearing. Another difficulty was the passing of Adeline, who had suffered
from arthritis for 25 years. He asked Ursula Wood, later to be his second

wife, to help manage his affairs.

 

5" m, 308.
57 i_b_ia., 314.

23

In the year before his eightieth birthday, Winston Churchill
presented him with an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University
of Bristol. In 1952, everyone in England celebrated the composer’s
birthday, and many articles and tributes were written for the “Grand Old

Man.” The (London) Times declared that Vaughan Williams’ music resides
in “Britain’s sea, metropolis, countryside, wars and peace.”58 His
recognition had come about in a “gradual manner,”59 but he was then

regarded as the head of British music.60 Neville Cardus, in Illustrated.
described the greatness of Vaughan Williams’ music as coming “from a

certain order of our national ways of living, independent and natural as a

grth out of the earth?”1

In 1953, Keith Faulkner, a professor of music at Cornell University,
suggested a lecture tour in the United States after hearing of Vaughan
Williams’ desire to see the Grand Canyon. He was named a visiting
professor at Cornell and the lecture series began. The series included the
folksong movement, the substance of music and the social foundations
of music. These lectures were published in The Making of Music. and
later compiled with previous lectures and writings in National Music and
Other Essays. Donald Grout, director of the music department, played the

music examples during his lectures and helped Vaughan Williams plan

 

58 “Dr. Vaughan Williams,” The (London) Times (11 October 1952) 7.

59 Inglis Gundry, “The Triumph of Vaughan Williams,” Music Parade 2 (1952) 15.
60 Herbert Howells, “Vaughan Williams,” The Score 7 (December 1952) 55.

61 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 321.

24

visits to the University of Toronto, University of Michigan, University of
Chicago, Indiana University and the University of California at Los
Angeles. Vaughan Williams also met the Director of Julliard, William
Schuman, and received the Howland Prize from Yale University.

After visiting the Grand Canyon and the West Coast, Vaughan
Williams returned to the east for a performance of The Lark Ascending in
New York. The performance was given by the Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra with Orrea Pernel, an old friend, performing on violin.

Approaching his eighty-second birthday, Vaughan Williams
remained very active and was working on a Tuba Concerto. Violin Sonata,
Symphony no. 8 and published an essay on Beethoven’s M
Symphony. He composed music for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11.

However, a reaction against his music was beginning. The new

generation, led by Benjamin Britten, composed music in an eclectic style.

Vaughan Williams thought they were headed towards “atonality.”62 Many
had been calling the folksongs Vaughan Williams collected early in his
career a corruption. Vaughan Williams responded by citing the beauty of
Bushes and Briars and if a corruption, how special the original must have
been. Another response to this criticism can, perhaps, be found in one of
his lectures at Cornell, where he said, “Inspiration and originality do not

necessarily mean something no one has ever heard before.”

 

62 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 331-2.

25

Vaughan Williams began having difficulties with his leg in 1956,
being struck with phlebitis. However, he recovered fairly quickly and was
able to conduct The Lark Ascending at the Three Choirs Festival that year
and publish a fiftieth anniversary edition of The English Hympal.

The Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust Fund was established to
improve the musical life of England. Income from his performing
royalties was used to fund support of composers and musicians. Initially,
the Fund sponsored a concert of works by Gustav Holst. Later, it provided
a children’s music room for the Church of England, now named the
“Ralph Vaughan Williams Music Room.”

Vaughan Williams celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday in 1957.

Critics proclaimed, “To many of us, he represents English music at its

best.”63 Sibelius had been quiet for years, but Vaughan Williams exhibited
only energy and drive. He was working on his Ninth Symphony and a test
piece for brass band (Variations). In Dorking, he conducted the St. lohn
and St. Matthew Passions of J .S. Bach.

For the premiere of Symphony no. 9, Vaughan Williams was
nervous, as usual, for the performance. He had to pay for the rehearsal

himself, and the work was not well performed and received a mixed

 

63 GB. Rees, “Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams,” London Musical Events 12 (October
1957) 26.

26

 

 

 

 

II

 

reception. However, some critics understood the “enigmatic mood” of the

work before he died.64

In 1958, Vaughan Williams missed his first Leith Hill Festival to
take a vacation with Ursula. He was due to receive an honorary degree
from Nottingham University, but had a heart attack after working a
normal day in August. On his desk were sketches of a Cello Concerto for
Pablo Casals, an opera and a set of Christmas carols.

His ashes were interred next to those of Stanford in the north aisle
of Westminster Abbey on 19 September 1958. The London Philharmonic
Orchestra played Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus at the ceremony. His

reputation had grown until the end, with the three middle symphonies

being regarded “among the greatest of the century.”65

In his will, he left performing rights to the Musicians’ Benevolent

Fund and left instructions for Michael Kennedy and Ursula Vaughan

Williams to publish books on his musical and personal biography.66
Beginning in 1902, Vaughan Williams began a lifelong series of
lectures and articles arguing that a nation’s culture should be reflected in

its music. Further, that composers must look to the community and the

 

64 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992) 76.

65 Harold Schonberg, “1872-1958: World Loses a Genius,” New York Times (31
August 1958) X7.

66 “Will, Biography Wishes,” The (London) Times (12 December 1958) 14.

27

countryside to foster a truly national style since “art for arts sake has

never flourished in England.”67

Ralph Vaughan Williams appeared at the height of British imperial
power. Its music at the time, however, reflected continental influence and
lacked its own English identity. His nationalism emerged Without a
uniting political struggle; rather, he incorporated English culture into his
music to describe what it meant to be English. Vaughan Williams is the
pivotal figure in the history of English music who found a native voice of

a confident nation, which he used to create an English musical identity

and free it from Teutonic influence emanating from the continent.68

 

67 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 101-2.

68 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 4-5.

 

28

Chapter 2: Stylistic Manifestations

When Vaughan Williams composed music, he would
begin by creating a piano score, than a full score from
that piano score. He would reduce that full score to

piano, then rescore that into a completed score.69

Though folksongs exhibited a strong influence on his

style, the notion everything in his output is pastoral or

folksong is incorrect. In addition to folksong, Tudor

music. organum, church music and contemporary

influences contributed to his style. His studies with

Parry, Stanford, Bruch and Ravel should also not be

discounted.

In an article in 1929, The (London) Times made a statement about

Vaughan Williams’ works, saying, “Most Vaughan Williams works have
nothing to do with folksong.” The article also noted that careful

examination of a Brahms symphony would reveal a similar amount of

German folksong.70 Though Vaughan Williams is regarded as central to

the Renaissance of English Music, the “great event of contemporary

music,”1 his music has been criticized for several reasons.

A major criticism, coming from supporters of the continent, was
that Vaughan Williams wrote in no new form or system, such as the
Second Viennese School. Further, that music inspired from folk melodies
could only be written in traditional structures and new models could not
grow from them. But the contemporaries of Vaughan Williams, such as

Béla Bartok, Aaron Copland and Serge Prokofiev, had their own successes

 

69 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 398.
70 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 206-7.
71 Sydney Finkelstein, Composer and Nation (New York: lntemational, 1960) 228.

 

29

in formulating new structures through folksong.72 However, their music,

and that of Vaughan Williams, is difficult to analyze with pitch class sets

or Schenkerian analysis.73
In regard to the use of ternary form and existing structures,
Vaughan Williams was accused of “fabricating a style on old scaffolding.”

His use of modality allegedly offered no new advancement, no

continuation of what previous composers had accomplished.74 Rather, it
was regarded as archaic and neo-medieval.

Throughout his career, Vaughan Williams was constantly revising
works. Critics charged it was because he was unsure of himself. The

revisions, however, did reflect insecurity, but more accurately they

reflected Vaughan Williams’ evolutionary development.75 Twenty years
after completing the Fourth Symphony, he went back and changed the
last note from F to E. During the premiere of A London Symphony.

Vaughan Williams, feeling the symphony was too long, walked around

asking everyone what to cut?” In 1918, Vaughan Williams accepted

Boult’s suggestions for material to remove.

 

72 m1, 10-12.
73 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1996) xv.

74 Lgtt_el;§_o_f_C_or_n_pm_ser_s, Gertrude Norman and Miriam Shrifte, eds. (New York:
Alfred Knopf, 1946) 395-6.

75 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1996) 79.

76 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1992) 107. As reported
by AH. Fox Strangeways.

30

During Vaughan Williams’ college years, Germany’s Teutonic
tradition dominated across the continent, and its arm reached
contemporary composers in England. These composers and academics
were persuaded by their models and wrote music in the contemporary

flavor. The primary music schools in England emphasized Teutonic

models, as singers studied songs in German and Italian.77 Vaughan
Williams looked to protect English music by establishing an English
national style.

From Parry, Vaughan Williams learned to join life and art, and
connect life with philosophy and science.78 Parry also emphasized the

importance of form over that of color.79 Stanford, on the other hand, was
a leading conductor and academic, who built his compositions on
knowledge. He focused his instruction on thinning dense textures and
reducing Vaughan Williams’ reliance on the modes.

Compositions from Vaughan Williams’ student days reflect his use
of symmetrical scales, including the whole tone and Chromatic
structures.80 By 1902, however, he was primarily using modal and
pentatonic structures in conjunct motion. His music, at this time, had a

mark of transparency and limited thematic material, but longer

 

7" Neil Butterworth, R.V.W.: A Guide (New York: Garland Publishing, 1990) 46.

78 W, Ursula Vaughan Williams and Imogen Holst, eds. (London:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1959) 94, 96.

79 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk: England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 32.

80 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot, England:
Ashgate Publishing, 2003) 60.

 

31

development sections. In The Fen Country. the only student work
Vaughan Williams did not withdraw, shows his early use of these

techniques. Dynamically, In The Pen Country is the first work that ends

by fading away, a trait Vaughan Williams used throughout his life.81 The
structure of On Wenlock Edgg, written a few years later, shows that
Vaughan Williams had begun the process of assimilating folk melodies
into an individual style.82

While Visiting Germany in 1897, Vaughan Williams wrote a letter
home discussing how an English school could be created on the basis of
folksong. In the letter, written before the founding of the Folk Song
Society, Vaughan Williams showed respect for Teutonic tradition, but saw
it as a threat to music in England. While he did not speak of including
direct folksong quotes in thematic material, Vaughan Williams did,

however, address the possibilities of assimilating the structure of a tune

into a style.83

Due to his interest in the modes, Vaughan Williams was naturally
drawn to the modal structures of folksong in 1903. The most common
modal structures he encountered were Dorian and Aeolian. Incomplete or

gapped structures, where a melody missed a pitch that would indicate a

 

81 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 43.

82 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 92.

83 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 86.

32

definite modal pattern, were also found. Incomplete melodic structures

would often fit the pattern of a pentatonic scale.84

In 1903, Edward Evans, in the Musical Standard. said Vaughan

Williams was “painfully conscious” that he had not found himself.85 With
his collection of Bushes and Briars. Vaughan Williams found the

inspiration lacking in his music. The beauty of the melody touched his
concept of art. The emphasis on the linear motion86 of folksong fit his

notion of the ultimate reality of beauty in music.”

Vaughan Williams’ letters with Holst reveal his struggle to find a
compositional voice. They both spoke of how England lacked a teacher
who was not dominated by the Teutonic style. Holst noted, “For the first
time in [the] history of English music, we are trying to learn to honor and
appreciate our forefathers.”88 Holst looked back to the music of Thomas
Weelkes and Samuel Wesley, who were active before the death of Henry
Purcell. Vaughan Williams and Holst exchanged ideas and manuscripts

throughout their lives. Vaughan Williams always maintained that Holst

had the “greatest influence” on his music.89

 

84 A.E. Dickinson, Vaughan Williams (London: Faber and Faber, 1963) 103-104.
85 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 54-5.
86 .

pm.
87 Neil Butterworth, R.V.W.: A Guide (New York: Garland Pub., 1990) 32.

88 Heirs and Rebels, Ursula Vaughan Williams and Imogen Holst, eds. (London:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1959) 52.

89 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk: England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 43.

 

33

Vaughan Williams used few direct quotations of folksong in his
music. One of these pieces, however, is Norfolk Rhapsody no. 2. which
uses fragments of folk tunes in some melodic themes and cadences.
However, Vaughan Williams’ themes often shifted modality in a manner

not found in folksongs. As he matured, Vaughan Williams often

introduced a new, contrasting theme with a change in texture.90

Feeling the need to see composition from a different perspective,
Vaughan Williams went to study with Maurice Ravel in 1907. During
those three months, Ravel introduced Vaughan Williams to the works of
Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin. Most of the instruction
centered on orchestration and how to balance color in large-scale
textures. From Ravel, Vaughan Williams learned to separate his orchestral
colors into distinct groups by attaching specific thematic or textural

material to each group. He also learned to score “translucent,

shimmering” effects.91
One of the first works written after the visit to France was
incidental music to The Wasps. Here, he demonstrated an improved use

of the woodwinds and strings, compared to earlier works. The melodies

 

9" Elsie Payne, “Vaughan Williams and Folk-Song,” The Music Review 15 (1954) 103-
129.

91 Elsie Payne, “Vaughan Williams’s Orchestral Colourings,” The Monthly Musical
Record 84 (January 1954) 6.

 

34

were all original, but as beautiful as any folksong, indicating he had

absorbed the spirit of folksong “as an original and idiosyncratic style.”92

Ravel thought highly of his student, saying he was “the only one
who [did] not write my music.”93 Another result of his study with Ravel

was a “freer choral style.”94 Though Vaughan Williams felt Ravel provided
exactly what he needed, Vaughan Williams was accused of writing music
in the French style after he returned to England.

The Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis was written in 1909 and
1910, coinciding with a general interest in the music of Elizabethan
composers and their forms, such as the fancy or fantasia. In their time,
this was an instrumental work based on the statement of many themes.
There was no fugal treatment and all subsequent themes related back to
the original. The Fantasia opens with a hymn theme of Tallis, which

becomes woven into a polyphonic texture with antiphonal fragments in

the middle section of a quasi-sonata form.95 little was thought of the
work after it was premiered. Now, however, it is regarded as a

masterpiece of English Music. Vaughan Williams also created a link with

Tallis, an English master dating back four centuries.96

 

92 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 121.
93 1m, 90.
94 .

I_b_1_d., 1 14-5.
95 Sydney Finkelstein, Composer and Nation (New York: International, 1960) 231.
96 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 93-4.

35

After being introduced to the poetry of Walt Whitman in 1892,
Vaughan Williams carried Whitman’s Leaves of Grass with him
throughout life. During the first decade of the twentieth century,
Vaughan Williams worked to create a Choral symphony on poetry by
Whitman. In fact, it took him seven years to create A Sea Symphony. This
was the first work to create publicity for Vaughan Williams and remained
his most popular work throughout his lifetime.97

It was written during the peak of English Choral Singing, and Parry
and Stanford had recently completed several large-scale choral works.
The text is about the sea and its relationship to mankind and destiny, 9” a
type of text that always attracted Vaughan Williams. In the Symphony.
the sea acts as a metaphor for the journey of mankind.99 Whitman’s verse
reflects the concepts of comradeship, religion, democracy and the
brotherhood of man.100

The (London) Times called the work a “Chant for the sailors of all
nations,” written in the simplicity of Purcell.101 The Choir is dominant
throughout the piece, and the orchestra rarely rises above an
accompanying role. The work is driven by the interaction between the

Chorus and orchestra and contains little in the way of development. Each

 

97pm..131.

98 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot, England:
Ashgate Pub., 2003) 74.

99 m. 239.
10° pig, 74.
101 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 98.

36

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movement, however, does affirm “some aspect of technology” and
scientific advancement. Another unifying thread is the interplay of major

and minor chords, juxtaposed in the final movement, but never worked
out.102 The finale includes music from seagoing folksongs.103

By 1912, Vaughan Williams had formalized his Views, and
determined that, historically, the most popular artists, such as J .S. Bach,
were the most national. They may have been cosmopolitan, but their
music had nationalistic roots. A great art must reflect a composer’s
personal and common life, which would grow to a universal recognition,
but only if it had grown from the community.”

In “Who Wants the English Composer,” an essay published in 1912,
Vaughan Williams proposed an English style based on folksong. Further,
that composers should cultivate a sense of “musical citizenship” by
making their art an expression of the whole community.105 Folksong, the
heart of the people, would be a liberating experience for composers.106

Vaughan Williams’ Second Symphony. subtitled A London

Symphony, established him as a spokesman for the nation. However,

 

102 Ibid.

103 Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Aldershot,
England: Ashgate Pub., 2003) 239.

104 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 101.

105 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 139. “Who Wants the English Composer” was originally published in the

Christmas 1912 edition of R.C.M. Magazine. It was also included in Hubert Foss’
biography of Vaughan Williams.

106 “England Loves a Master,” Musical America 77 (September 1958) 4.

 

37

Vaughan Williams did not attempt to depict specific aspects of London,
though landmarks do appear in the work. It is based on urban themes

and pessimism, reflecting the “emotions of a man contemplating the one
or other,”107 a side overlooked by the critics. Vaughan Williams referred
to the work as a symphony of a Londoner. After a very successful
premiere, critics debated whether the appearance of London landmarks
indicated that the work was programmatic. Vaughan Williams said their
inclusion was incidental and not necessarily essential to the symphony.108
A London Smphony, begun in 1912 or 1913, contrasted with the
First Smphony through its Chromatic themes, which drew away from the

modal themes of its predecessor. “’9 The (London) Times found the

harmonic idiom exhilarating. The work also reflected a pre-Great War

nationalism, which also contrasted with Whitman’s verse in A Sea

Syr_nphony.110 Vaughan Williams used different instrumental colors to

paint moods and hues in the work, as in an actual painting, such as the

use of a solo Viola to depict old cries heard in the streets of London.111
The score was sent to Breitkopf and Hartel for publication,
however, after the outbreak of war, Butterworth realized the score was

lost and created a new score from the parts. The original was never

 

107 Francis Toye, “Studies in English Music,” The Listener 5 (June 1931) 1057.

108 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 136.
109 Sydney Finkelstein, Composer and Nation (New York: International, 1960) 232.
11° “Three Symphonies,” H.C.C. The (London) Times (4 February 1922) 8.

111 Ursula Vaughan Williams, “R.V.W. and Folk Music,” English Dance and Song 45
(1983) 16.

38

p)

11.

r—I

recovered, and the score in the British library is the one Butterworth
constructed. The symphony was posthumously dedicated to Butterworth.

From 1907 to 1914, Vaughan Williams’ mature compositional voice
emerged. Works of this period are Characterized by melodiousness and
rich sound with themes appearing in contrasting moods. Later works may
show a greater depth of vision, but often lack the transparent texture
achieved during the pre-war period. The flatted sixth and seventh of
folksong had become part of Vaughan Williams’ own style. English poetry
and literature, such as works by Shakespeare, Whitman and George
Meredith, sparked his musical imagination.

In the music of Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending and the

Pastoral Smphony (Symphony no. 3) represent the height of pastoral

style.“2 They epitomize the English view of the natural world, especially

in The Lark Ascending. The spiritual experience in this music is

presented with unprecedented immediacy.113 Today, Vaughan Williams is
an accepted master of musical pastoralism.

The Pastoral Symphony, however, does not represent the landscape
of England, but the scenery of France. It was conceived during his service
in the R.A.M.C. during World War I, and Vaughan Williams called it “war-
time music.” Specifically, the landscape depicted was the area traveled by

his ambulance unit, which carried wounded “up a steep hill at Ecoivres

 

“2 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 33.

113 BM" 6.

39

 

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[.1

that had a wonderful Corot-like landscape in the sunset.” Part of this

landscape included a bugler, which was reflected in the trumpet cadenza

of the second movement.114 Today, the work is generally regarded as a

war requiem. The (London) Times. however, initially thought it was an

outgrth of the “augmentative side of the Whitman philosophy.”llS

An innovative use of texture in Symphony no. 3 is the use of a
voiceless Choir, an instrumental technique applied to voices. The clashing
semitones went unnoticed, perhaps due to the symphony’s general
melancholy mood.

The pastoral image of The Lark Ascending and the Pastoral
Symphony followed Vaughan Williams for the rest of his life. Though not
impressionistic works, The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains. the

Mass in G Minor and the Pastoral Symphony all show the influence of

116

Claude Debussy and Modest Mussorgsky.
Symphony no. 4, composed in the first part of the 1930’s, has come
to be regarded as the violent release of the Third Symphony. For many
people it was a reflection of Hitler’s rise to power, but work began before
Hitler became the German Chancellor. Ursula believed the work was
connected to the character of Vaughan Williams, often discounted by

critics. The dissonant and contemporary harmony caused confusion

 

“4 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 121.
“5 “Three Symphonies,” H.C.C. The (London) Times (4 February 1922) 8.
“6 mg, 176.

 

4O

among the public and critics. The 25 bar rhythmic periods of the first
movement mirror that of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B flat K333. In fact,

Vaughan Williams often treated classical movements as “blueprints for

his own works.”117

The symphony was accepted as belonging to the times in which it
was premiered, even if that analogy is incorrect. Critics have long
attempted to create a program for the work to explain Vaughan Williams’
departure from his earlier style. Vaughan Williams, however, stated that

the work reflected “unbeautiful times,” and “I don’t know whether I like

it, but it’s what I meant.”118 The only work that reflected the international
political situation in the 19303 was Dona Nobis Pacem.

Another source Vaughan Williams researched for alternatives to the
major-minor system was music of the Tudors. The linear aspect of their
music took precedence over the vertical structures in their music.
Vaughan Williams borrowed their techniques, such as the use of parallel

triads, which was also part of organum of the early Church. Unlike the

Tudors, Vaughan Williams juxtaposed melodies against each other119 and

shifted modality in a theme. Tudor music tended to have a non-

 

117 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 166.

118 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 246-7.

”9 Elsie Payne, “Vaughan Williams and Folk-Song,” The Music Review 15 (1954) 118-
9.

41

modulating contrapuntal texture that contrasted with more unified

homophonic sections.120

Vaughan Williams began writing his Fifth Symphony in 1936. The
work displays the influence of Tudor polyphony through its independent
lines free of consistent pulse. The rhythmic counterpoint provides a
mixture of modality, tonality and bimodality.121 As with earlier
symphonies, critics attempted to assign a program to this symphony.
Ursula described it “as a wartime fantasy about the achievement of
peace.” The first movement is now described as reflecting Vaughan
Williams’ mysticism, and the mystery of the human condition in music.122
The second movement is a scherzo that contains at least five themes. The
third movement, a Romanza, represents the peak of the English

Romance.123 An original inscription, later deleted, suggested that this

movement was associated with the crucifixion?“ The tonal migration

through the symphony from C minor to E major has been described as

 

120 mg

121 Alain Frogley, ed. Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,

1996) 166.
122 mm, 191.
123 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 281.

124 Alain Frogley, ed. Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 189.

42

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the “sun breaking through the clouds.”125 Premiered in 1943, it is an ideal

contemplative work.126

Vaughan Williams became very upset when critics called his S_ix_th
Smphony a “War Symphony,” repeating that he did not subscribe to
meanings or mottoes. The final movement, an epilogue, attracted the
most attention, as it was described as a vision of desolation after an

atomic blast. The analysis of a nihilistic ending, however, is incorrect. The

end is a question, a “ray of hope.”127

Overall, the epilogue is a sad, cold aftermath. It is difficult to fit

into a form and is “similar to the late period of Beethoven,
questioning.”128 Desmond Shawe said it had a “sense of looking forward

and backward.”129 Vaughan Williams’ own description of the movement
as “oblivion” likely fueled the atomic blast conception. However, to

Vaughan Williams the epilogue referred to a question of “life and death,

11 130 131

not [the] condition of the time, a characteristic of all humanity.

 

125 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 280.

’26 Peter Garvie “R.V.W. 1872-1958,” The Canadian Music lournal 3 (Winter 1959) 39.
Also noted in Kennedy’s The Works of R.V.W.

1’7 lam, 350-1.
128 “Vaughan Williams’s Sixth Smphony,” The London Times (30 April 1948) 7.
129 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 303.

130 Alain Frogley, ed. Vau han Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 22 1.

131 Michael Kennedy, “Vaughan Williams at Eighty-Five” The Musical Times 98
(October 1957) 545.

43

Vaughan Williams called the first three movements the “Big Three,”

for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin.132 The
first movement, though lacking a traditional developmental section, is in
a quasi-sonata-allegro form.

In melody and harmony, the Sixth Symphony is related to the

Fourth Symphony.133 The interval of a third is paramount to the

symphony, forming the basis of a conflict between major and minor. In

the symphony, there are few lyric moments in a major tonality.134 From
Brahms, Vaughan Williams borrows the conflict between duple and triple.

With the film music Scott of the Antarctic. Vaughan Williams began
a period of experimentation in texture and sonorities. He represented a
polar, frozen landscape with a wordless choir, vocal soloist, celesta and
Vibraphone. The music was melded into a four-movement symphony
(Symphony no. 7), but people were not sure if it was a symphony or a
tone poem. The work, however, is best categorized as a suite due to its
lack of traditional developmental sections.

In Scott of the Antarctic. Vaughan Williams expanded the orchestra
to include a wind machine, siren, Vibraphone, celesta, pianoforte,
xylophone, organ and harps to increase the possibilities of different

colors and blends of sound. At the transition to the fourth movement of

 

132 Alain Frogley, ed. Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 221.

133 A.E. Dickinson, “Toward the Unknown Region: An Introduction to Vaughan
Williams’ Sixth Symphony” The Music Review 9 (1948) 289.

134 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 349.

44

 

the symphony, a solo oboe dominates over the background remaining
from the previous movement, somewhat similar to the solo violin in m
Lark Ascending. However, this beautiful world in the Seventh Symphony
is distanced by flat inflections and restless dynamics.135

Symphony no. 8 received a triumphal premiere in 1956. like
Symphony no. 7, it incorporates new timbres, such as a set of gongs and
an extended Vibraphone 3010. Unlike the previous symphonies, however,

Symphony no. 8 does not reflect an identifiable human condition. It is an

evolutionary step with no wider conception,136 and the only symphony
that could not fit into an exterior program.

Vaughan Williams described the first movement as a fantasia, but
also as a set of variations searching for a theme. There are three motives
that are transformed until a hymn is arrived at, and the Scherzo is a
march for wind band with a regular duple background. The upbeats in

the Scherzo resemble Bach’s 2-part Invention in E Minor and Mozart’s

Piano Sonata K310.137 The work has been described as a synthesis

representing Vaughan Williams’ ability to join a variety of features to a

form a new style.138

 

135 Hugh Ottoway, “Scott and After,” The Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 959.

136 Alain Frogley ed., Vaughfl Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 214.

137 Ib_id., 179-80.

138 Michael Kennedy, “Vaughan Williams at Eighty-Five,” The Musical Times 98
(October 1957) 545.

45

Vaughan Williams included saxophones and a flugelhorn in
Symphony no. 9. Unfortunately, more attention was given to those
instruments than the quality of the music. Goosens called the texture a
delight. However, critics required a few more performances. For example,
the Manchester Guardian eventually called it “an astonishing production.”

A common criticism of the work, however, was that its thematic material

resembled ideas from previous works. ’39 Vaughan Williams had an

undisclosed program for Symphony no. 9:”0
I. Wessex Prelude
ll. Modeled on Tess of the D’Urbervilles

lll. Phantasmagoric
IV. Trip to a cathedral

The next generation of British composers, led by Benjamin Britten
did not believe in staying in touch with folksong. To Vaughan Williams,
that generation left England to study other styles before they had
developed their own ideas. This universal agenda, according to Vaughan
Williams, led to little more than a generic cosmopolitan work.

Throughout his life, Vaughan Williams looked to England’s history,
customs and landscape, believing that an English style should be founded

on the culture of England and its landscape; that art was an “evocation of

personal experiences?”1 J .S. Bach wrote for the town people of Leipzig,

 

13" Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 343-5.

140 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1996) 22 5-6.

141 Ralph Vaughan Williams, National Music (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963) 1.

46

Claude Debussy for the French, and furthermore, Richard Wagner
captured and represented the German national spirit in his opera Die

Meistersinger von Niirnbepg. Vaughan Williams insisted that music had to

appeal to the people it was written for first.142

Vaughan Williams drew on the community around him” and

viewed song as the beginning of music, seeing it as “speech charged with

emotion.”144 From folksong he assimilated the flatted sixth and seventh
scale degrees and the minor third shift, a favorite device of Vaughan
Williams. In contrast to folksong, however, Vaughan Williams’ thematic
ideas did not remain in a single mode, and he also juxtaposed different
modes or scale patterns.14S

He led a genuine effort to increase music making in villages and
towns, largely by arranging folk music for choral festivals designed for
amateurs. Some critics alleged that this was patronizing, but his attitude
reflects a genuine concern for England’s musical health.146

Vaughan Williams was not the first composer to assimilate
folksong into a national style. Other active collectors, such as Bartok and

Kodaly, took similar measures. Composers in the nineteenth century had

 

142 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Should Music Be National?” Composers on Music (New
York: Pantheon Press, 1956) 363-5.

143 “Vaughan Williams’s Sixth Symphony,” The (London) Times (30 April 1948) 7.

144 Ralph Vaughan Williams, National Music (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963) 17.

145 Hugh Ottoway, “Scott and After,” The Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 960.

146 F. McKay Martin, “Vaughan Williams and the Amateur Tradition,” Making Music
21 (Spring 1953) 7—8.

47

also used folk melodies in their works, Vaughan Williams went on to

state that the “great masters have never hesitated to use folk material.””7
Vaughan Williams always emphasized the importance of developing a

personal style before incorporating other ideas. For example, it would
make no sense to put a folksong in a Johann Strauss waltz?"8 nor would a
Strauss waltz work in a J.S. Bach PAM-”9

The opera Riders to the Sea and the Fourth Symphony offer

examples of Vaughan Williams’ use of twentieth century techniques. In

addition to sections built on the octatonic scale, Riders includes sections

 

of bitonality and polytonality. The octatonic scale is also a building
blocking in Symphony no. 4 and no. 5, Sancta Civitas and the Magnificat.
Synthetic scales were not used until Fourth Symphony and were also used
in later works.

Few Vaughan Williams melodies share similarity with folksong, but
they may include common figures. Also from history, Vaughan Williams
borrowed the use of parallel triads in major and minor structures.

Vaughan Williams’ style was under constant change and in
constant development. He did not follow the continental Romantic
influence as Elgar; rather, Vaughan Williams looked to the soul of

England and its language for inspiration. Vaughan Williams created a

 

147 Ralph Vaughan Williams, National Music (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963) 44.

’48 Ralph Vaughan Williams, “English Folk-Song: A Lecture,” The Musical Times 52
(February 1911) 104.

149 Ralph Vaughan Williams, National Music (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963) 8.

48

national style by interpreting the culture of his nation and gave it back to
them in his music, which deeply affected the English people.

Vaughan Williams’ mature style is an individual idiom, a style
based on a flexible melody of diatonic counterpoint, not a functional
sonata form.150 The musical elements that coalesced into his style include

harmonic diatonicism, ternary structure, modalism, pentatonic

languages. and a textural continuum.151

 

150 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 169.

151 Alain Frogley, ed., Vaughan Williams Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press
1996) 37.

49

Chapter 3: Premiere and Review

A difficult and apprehensive event for Vaughan
Williams was the premiere performance of a new
work. As with most Vaughan Williams’ works, each
romance discussed in this document was conceived
for a specific person or occasion. The chronology of
their development, along with an overview of their
reception, is presented in this chapter. The Lark
Ascending was written in 1914 and revised in 1920,
the Romance fpr Harmpnica was written in 1951 and
the Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra was composed
in 1954.

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote a piano arrangement of the
orchestral accompaniment for the premiere of The Lark Ascending. The
premiere was a private performance, sponsored by the Avonmouth &
Shirehampton Choral Society on 15 December 1920 at Public Hall in
Shirehampton. Geoffrey Mendham was at the piano while Marie Hall, to
who the work is dedicated, played the solo violin.

The premiere in London, with orchestra, occurred during the
Concert of the Second Congress of the British Musical Society on 14 June
1921. Adrian Boult directed the British Symphony Orchestra and Marie
Hall was again the soloist. The concert lasted two and a half hours, as it

was an attempt to provide a wide array of contemporary British works to

the public.152

 

152 “British Musical Society,” The (London) Times (15 June 1921) 8.

50

Conceived prior to the Great War, critics were initially confused

with the work. The (London) Times said that it “showed serene disregard

of the fashions of today or yesterday.”153

Vaughan Williams composed some of the work while living in a

house that overlooked the Bristol Channel that provided a magnificent

View from which to watch the sun’s rise and fall.154 Though completed in
1914, a revised edition of The Lark Ascending was completed with the
help of Hall, and also while he was visiting friends in the Cotswolds. The

revised edition of 1920 is what is performed today, as the original

manuscript from 1914 is lost.155

The full title of the work is: Romance for Violin: The Lark
Ascending. The subtitle comes from George Meredith’s work, Poems and
Lm'ics of the Joy of Earth. A few of the verses are quoted by Vaughan

Williams in his score. A reviewer found that the “poem and music reflect

one another perfectly in their picture of quiet pastoral peace and nature’s

own sweet singer.”156 The pastoral contentment, tranquility and quiet
melody, were the traits that appealed to the critics and the public.

That the work is an “interpretation of beauty and nature” does not
seem to be in doubt. However, whether or not the solo violin reflects the

Lark in Meredith’s poem has been debated since the work’s premiere.

 

153 Ibid.

154 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 151.

155 Paul Holmes, Vaughan Williams: His Life (London: Omnibus Press, 1997) 58.

156 E. Spurgeon Knights, “The Lark Ascending,” The Strad 52 (December 1941) 188.

51

fl 3‘. .S ‘J Am‘ail alum

Those in favor of this observation believe that the solo violin, as it dances
around the main tune, represents a Lark flying through nature, as the
work “dreams its way along...” as if that of a Clean “country side.” The

rhapsodic continuity comes to a climax in the middle section, the most

energetic moment of the work.157
The Lark Ascending is one of Vaughan Williams’ most admired

works. It was a great pre-war conception in a new concerto style, as noted

by Percy Young.158 He is likely pointing to the one-movement form as it
developed in the nineteenth century.

The Lark Ascending was the first major work for solo instrument
and orchestra that Vaughan Williams composed. Other than inspiration
from Meredith’s poem, it is not known why he Chose to compose it in
1914. The Romance for Harmonica. on the other hand, was composed on
commission from Larry Adler. He found Ralph Vaughan Williams after a

concert in Wigmore Hall and asked him to compose a concert work for

harmonica, as other composers had previously done.159

Since Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony no. 7), Vaughan Williams had
become quite interested in new and unusual instruments. Adler, at
Vaughan Williams’ request, wrote a small guide to what the harmonica

could and could not do. In addition, Vaughan Williams remembered how

 

157 “British Music Society,” The (London) Times (15 June 1921) 8-
158 Percy Young, Vaughan Williams (London: Dennis Dobson, 1953) 126.

159 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 115.

52

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Henry Steggles used the instrument during the Great War, and likely

wrote the work with affection to the men he had known during his

service in the Royal Medical Army Corp.160

Vaughan Williams was able to produce a work that took advantage

of the harmonica’s ability to act as a full voiced orchestral instrument.161
Adler felt that this work exceeded other works written for harmonica.
The work was difficult, however, and a few technical problems had to be
worked out. Vaughan Williams had scored a C and F to be played at the
same time, which is not possible as a C is played when exhaling and an F
is played when inhaling.162

The work was premiered at Town Hall in New York City on 3 May
1952, with Larry Adler on harmonica, Lee Dell ’Anno on piano and the
Little Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Saidenberg. Two other works on
the program were Cimarosa’s Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra and Marc
Lavry’s Israeli Suite for Harmonica and Piano. Hugo Rignold directed the
British premiere in liverpool with the liverpool Philharmonic on 16 June
1952. The London premiere was given under the direction of Malcolm
Sargent with the BBC Symphony Orchestra as part of the Henry J. Wood

Promenade Concerts and Celebration on 6 September 1952.

 

160 Paul Hohnes, Vaughan Williams: His Life (London: Omnibus Press, 1997) 11 5.
161 “Larry Adler Gives Solo Recital Here,” R.P. New York Times (4 May 1952) 89.

162 Stephen Holden, “Larry Adler ‘Sings’ Mouth Organ at Ballroom,” New York Times
(4 October 1985) C1.

53

 

In New York City, the environment towards the harmonica had an

“air of polite condescension,” but critics there recognized Adler’s great

skill and devotion to the music.163 But in London, most previews of the
concert regarded it as a joke. The (London) Times. however, pointed out

that this humor did not consider how many “mouth organs” are in the

orchestra!164 The work was so warmly played that the audience
demanded an encore, and the Harmonica Romance became the first

composition for a solo instrument with orchestra to receive an immediate

encore performance at a Promenade Concert.165

Critics and the audience reacted warmly to Adler’s performance, as

if he was playing on a Stradivarius.’66 The instrument may have had a
limited dynamic range, but Vaughan Williams used the wide variety of

potential color effects of the harmonica to create a “mood of pastels and

delicate imagery.’”67

While the Romance for Harmonica and Adler’s performance were

well received, it made critics nervous, as they did not understand

 

163 John Sebastian, “Why Not the Harmonica?,” Music lournal 18 (September 1960)
78.

164 Stephen Williams, “Toscanini in London: Promenade Concerts,” New York Times
(12 October 1957) X7.

165 Edgar Bainton, “R.V.W. Some Thoughts to Share.” The Canon 6 (October 1952)
101.

166 John Sebastian, “Why Not the Harmonica?,” Music lournal 18 (September 1960)
78

167 m.

54

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Vaughan Williams’ interest in unusual instruments.168 Academics thought
the work was so fresh that it sounded like a product from a young
composer and showed that the “Grand Old Man” could still do something
new. In fact, some compared the fluid harmonies to French Impression-
ism, as they provided a backdrop to the melodic line of the harmonica.
Critics wondered what solo instrument Vaughan Williams would

compose for next. Perhaps it would be for something with “sweeter and

with more agile sounds.”169 While the Romance for Harmonica was in
preparation, Larry Adler had complained that the work required an extra

pair of lungs to perform. Upon hearing this, Vaughan Williams threatened

to rescore the work for bass tuba,”0 an interesting suggestion since his
next composition for solo instrument and orchestra was for tuba.

Like The Lark Ascending and the Romance for Harmonica. the
London premiere of the Concerto for Bass Tuba took place during a
significant British music festival, the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the
London Symphony Orchestra. Philip Catelinet played the 3010 part under
the direction of John Barbiolli on 13 June 1954.

The Tuba Concerto was Vaughan Williams’ response to an
invitation from the London Symphony Orchestra to compose a piece for

the concerts marking their Golden Jubilee. An explanation as to why

 

168 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 324.

169 Donald Mitchell, “Some First Performances,” The Musical Times 95 (August 1954)

436.
170

 

Simon Heffer, Vaughan Williams (Boston: Northeastern Press, 2001) 129.

55

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Vaughan Williams chose to mark this event with a tuba concerto and not
a new symphony was never revealed. One explanation is that following on
the use of a wind machine in Sinfonia Antartica. and the 3010 feature for

harmonica, the Tuba Concerto is an extension of his desire to bring

music to neglected instruments, a Characteristic of his late works.171
Simon Heffer, while noting the work is “bizarre,” says it

successfully explores the potential of the tuba. Further, that it “presages

Symphony no. 8 and includes some actual quotations.172 This suggests
that the tuba part in the symphony might at least include similar
techniques as those found in the concerto. However, while the orchestra
for Symphony no. 8 is large and includes an expanded percussion
section, there is no tuba part. In addition, there are no quotes from the
Tuba Romanza in the fighth Symphony.

In terms of the composer’s intent, Kennedy concludes that the
various steps Vaughan Williams took to learn what the tuba was capable
of performing mark a serious attempt to create a substantial concert
work. To be the center of attention at an orchestra concert was a first for
the tuba. With this in mind, Vaughan constructed the outer movements to

be somewhat humorous. Critics did not feel it came off, calling the work

“Clumsy and ridiculous, like a hippopotamus dancing?”3

 

171 Paul Holmes, Vaughan Williams (London: Omnibus Press, 1997) 119.
172 Simon Heffer, Vaughan Williams (Boston: Northeastern Press, 2001) 132.
173 Henry Blanks, “Music in England: June 1954,” The Canon 8 (August 1954) 26.

56

Most reviews published after Catelinet’s performance took a
common approach. For example, The Strad stated that the tuba’s
“elevation to the rank of soloist reveals it a British monster.” The journal
went on by asking Vaughan Williams to stop concentrating “on

unpleasant instruments” as the “tuba [is] tolerated rather than

welcomed.”’74

The Music Review was equally condescending, saying that the form
was primitive and the work contained sonorities “only to be enjoyed by
the wholly unmusical.” Further, that “not even Vaughan Williams’s
seniority can excuse this coarse and ugly offering...”17S

Many critics seized on the problem of texture and Vaughan
Williams’ scoring of the work. Even though he had written seven
successful symphonies and numerous other instrumental works, Donald

Mitchell Claimed that “Vaughan Williams’ handling of tricky texture is not

one of his strongest points,” and the three movements of this concerto

are “an impossible texture.”176

James Day calls it a “slightly perverse work” whose “jokes fall flat”
due to “labored themes.” Which, of course, led to his conclusion that the

work lacked quality. He did find some value in the middle Romanza

 

174 “Editorial NOIQS,” The Strad 65 (July 1954) 67'9“

‘75 Hans Keller, comp., “The Half-Year’s New Music,” The Music Review 16 (1955) 62-
3.

176 Donald Mitchell, “Some First Performances,” The Musical Times 68 (1 December

1955) 436.

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movement, though said it did not make up for the “dullness” of the first

and third movements.177

The beautiful lyricism of the Romanza was but a side note in most
reviews. The (London) Times said the movement showed the ability of the

tuba to sustain a line in “one of his [Vaughan Williams’] loving, diatonic
tunes.”178 Sitting a few rows from the orchestra, Vaughan Williams

received a warm applause from the audience.179 Kennedy says that even
though the work was treated as an “elephantine romp,” the Romanza

contained a great melody for a work that would receive limited

hearings.180

Not much attention was given to Catelinet, perhaps due to the
astonishment of the tuba appearing as a solo instrument in front of an
orchestra. Catelinet was commended for a “rich and warm tone,” but
criticized for a lack of dynamic range and missing “one or two notes.”

Further, that little was done with phrasing to “repay [the] promotion to
solo status.”181 The only rehearsal Catelinet had with the orchestra came

a day before the premiere, in addition to a morning dress rehearsal with

the orchestra on the day of the concert.

 

177 James Day, Vaughan Williams (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998) 233-4.

178 “A Tuba Concerto,” mm (14 June 1954) 5-

179 Henry Blanks, “Music in England: June 1954,” The Canon 8 (August 1954), 26.
Though the applause may have been for his position as an institution of English music.

180 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 330, 362-
3.

181 “A Tuba Concerto,” The (London) Times (14 June 1954) 5.

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There is some disagreement as to the amount of time Catelinet had

to prepare the work for performance. Michael Kennedy states that

Catelinet was “consulted constantly as the work was being written.”182
Catelinet, however, suggests he was not given much notice about the
work as the secretary of the London Symphony, John Cruft, called him at
some point and told him to go play the work for Vaughan Williams at his
residence later that day.183 However, Cruft had alluded to a surprise for

the Jubilee Concerts in January of that year, so the administration of the

orchestra must have known about the work then.”’" Whichever is true, it

is without doubt that after playing the work for the composer, Crispen,

Vaughan Williams’ cat, crawled into the tuba and became lost.185
Catelinet notes that Vaughan Williams was full of inspiration and
had little difficulty writing the work. He was not, however, receptive to
suggestions, as Vaughan Williams noted that Adler had caused much
suffering during the composition of the Harmonica Romance. Vaughan

Williams hinted that his next concerto, though never completed, would be

for a four-octave marirnba.186

 

182 Michael Kennedy, “Program Note,” Tuba Concerto (London: Eulenburg, 1982) [iii.]

Philip Catelinet, “The Truth About the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto.”
T.U.B.A. loumal 18 (Summer 1991) 54.

184 “Jubilee Concerts of the L.S.O.,” London Musical Events 9 (June 1954) 17-8.

185 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. (Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992) 343.
Also noted by Philip Catelinet in his journal article.
186 “Jubilee Concerts of the L.S.O.,” London Musical Events 9 (June 1954) 54-6. This

also reinforces the hypothesis that the Tuba Concerto was an outgrowth of Vaughan
Williams’ interest in “neglected instruments.”

183

 

59

The reception the Tuba Concerto received on its first performance
in New York City was quite different from the London premiere. Critics

thought Vaughan Williams had written a “peach” of a Concerto which

 

suited the characteristics of the tuba quite well.187 William Bell, tubist of
the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, premiered the work on
7 November 1955 with the little Orchestra Society in Town Hall with
Thomas Scherman conducting. Scherman was working to bring “out-of-
the-way works” to public performance.188

Critics wrote that Bell performed the work “with ease,” and that “in
less skilled hands...a tuba concerto would be a gruesome affair.”189 Not
only was the performance well received, but it was also a “big hit at a
public rehearsal.”190

Critics were also impressed with Vaughan Williams’ use of timbre
to compliment the solo tuba. In addition, they Cited the second
movement for its “bittersweet pastoral atmosphere.”191 While the lyricism

of the Romanza movement has elements of pastoralism. the “essential

aspect” of his music during his later years is a sense of reconciliation.192

 

187 Ross Parmenter, “A Tuba Concerto,” New York Times (8 November 1955) 37.

188 Frank Milburn, Jr., “ Vaughan Williams Work Given United States Premiere,”
Musical America 75 (1 December 1955) 17.
’89 lbid.

190 Ross Parmenter, “A Tuba Concerto,” New York Times (8 November 195 5) 37.

191 Frank Milburn, Jr., “ Vaughan Williams Work Given United States Premiere,”
Musical America 75 (1 December 1955) 17.

192 Hugh Ottoway, “Scott and After,” The Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 962.

60

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The reputation of the Tuba Concerto continued to grow throughout
the twentieth century. When Harvey Phillips played the work in Carnegie
Hall twenty-one years later, it stood out against the rest of the
program.193 In 1991, the New York Times listed it as a work added to the

standard orchestral repertoire during the second half of the twentieth

century.194

In addition to these three works containing or focusing on the
Romanza, Vaughan Williams wrote concertos for the oboe, piano, violin
and cello. Written during World War II, the Oboe Concerto was dedicated

to Leon Goosens and premiered in 1945. The work explores an oboe’s

ability to “Chatter merrily” and its “poignancy.”195 The Piano Concerto

 

was completed in 1933 and written for Harriet Cohen. Stylistically, it
contained a “harsh harmonic idiom” ’96 based on the “remorseless” of
piling fourths. It was so difficult that it had to be rearranged for four

hands. Harriet Cohen was “a little insulted” with the new edition.’97

The Violin Concerto was originally titled Concerto Accademico. and

 

stylistically, is a combination of neo-Classicism, folk dance, triadic

harmony, and also includes a homage to Bach.198 Vaughan Williams spent

 

193 Allen Hughes, “Harvey Philips,” New York Times (24 December 1975) 12.

194 Donal Henahan, “You Want Repertory,” New York Times (5 May 1991) H27.
195 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 347.
196 James Day, Vaughan Williams (Oxford: Univ. Press, 1998) 236.

197 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 292.
’98 ma, 2 16.

61

 

 

 

 

 

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a number of years working on a cello concerto for Casals, of which only

sketches survive. A withdrawn work, Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes was

written for cello and orchestra.199

Some other orchestral works that contain an instrumental soloist
and resemble concerto structure include: Fantasia on the ‘Old 104th’ and
F103 Campi. The Fantasia is for solo piano, chorus and orchestra, while
Flos Campi is a suite for solo Viola, chorus and orchestra. A Suite for
Viola and Orchestra was also completed in 1934 and is known for its

three groups of eight short movements.

 

199 ma, 417.

62

Chapter 4: Linear Structures

The purpose of this chapter is to identify the salient
thematic and melodic material in each work. Next, to
compare these themes with published folksongs
Vaughan Williams collected to determine if there are
any quotations. Also, to determine the modal or tonal
stability of each theme and the scale pattern used to
construct melodic material. Finally, to determine how
thematic material contributes to the division of the
large and small-scale sections in each work.

Two contrasting large-scale analyses have emerged for The Lark
Ascending’ both are based on the classifications of the opening and
Closing cadenzas. The first analysis places the cadenzas in a large-scale A
section, which places the work in an A B A’ structure,200 while the other
categorizes the cadenzas as sections of their own, placing the work in an
A B C B A structure.201 However, since thematic material introduced
during the rhapsodic cadenzas is derived from theme 1, it is more
appropriate to include the cadenzas as part of the A section.

The three themes in the A section are assembled on an incomplete

or gapped scale pattern. Determining a mode is difficult without these

'missing tones, however included pitches indicate the use of pentatonic,

Figure l: Pentatonic Scale in The Lark Ascend_m‘ g

 

Aeolian and Dorian structures throughout the work.

 

2°“ James Day, Vau han Williams (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998) 225.
2‘“ Percy Young, Vau han Williams (London: Dennis Dobson, 1953) 126.

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The cadenza opens on a melismatic, pentatonic pattern based on
the scale shown in Figure 1. After the opening rhapsodic embellishments
in the cadenza, the solo violin presents theme 1. The inclusion of the
lower neighbor G, which also occurs in the following statement, shown in
Figure 8 below in bar 6, suggests either the Aeolian or Phrygian mode,
beginning on pitch class B. Without the second scale degree, a mode
cannot be stated with certainty. However, since the G is only an
embellishing tone, theme 1 continues the pentatonic flavor begun by the
solo violin at the beginning of the cadenza. The close of the cadenza, still

Figure 8: Theme 1 in The Lark Ascending
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11

based on the pentatonic scale, transitions into the first metered section,
by moving down a pentatonic pattern until rising back up almost in pitch
class retrograde, to the thematic statement beginning in bar 5. The solo
violin states the first theme, as shown in Figure 8. Contrasting with the
statement in the cadenza, this statement includes a repetition of a three-

bar idea that begins on high F in bar 13.

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Before the second theme begins in bar 26.2,” a three-bar
fragmentary motive, derived from theme 1 and the cadenza, is
introduced by a solo clarinet in bar 19.2 and shown below in Figure 9.

The solo violin repeats this idea in bar 23 up an octave, before returning

Figure 9: Fragmentary motive in The 1,.a_rl_< Ascem

    

20

to the embellished pattern first heard at the beginning of the opening
cadenza. This motive appears in both A sections and is used to connect
thematic statements. This motive lies in either E Aeolian or E Dorian, but
without the sixth degree the modal scale is ambiguous.

Theme 2 is introduced by a solo horn in bar 26.2, shown below in

Figure 10. It is repeated by the solo violin in bar 32.2, transposed up an

Figure 10: Theme 2 in The Lark Ascending

      

     

26 J \_./ V V v
octave and a seventh, but arriving on the same pitch classes as the horn
by the third measure (bar 34) of the theme. This theme could fit in a
number of modes, including the pentatonic pattern of the opening, since
there are only four different pitch classes. The solo violin juxtaposes

figures from its opening cadenza during the horn solo, which moves to a

solo flute in bar 34 after the solo violin takes up the melody.

 

202 Metered measure 26, beat 2. 19.3 would signify beat three of bar 19. 44 signifies
beat one of bar 44.

71

The solo violin continues on theme 2 and leads to a forte entrance
of the orchestra on theme 3 at bar 40 through a repetitive sixteenth note
pattern. Theme 3 begins in the flutes, oboe and violins. In bar 42, a
moment of imitative activity occurs during a second, incomplete thematic
statement by a clarinet, bassoon and horn, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 11: Theme 3 in The [ark Ascending

  
        
  
 
  
 
 
    

   

 
  

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When the solo violin enters in bar 43.2, it starts on the opening triplet
gesture and proceeds immediately to the dotted-half pitch D. The pitches
present in the opening measures of theme 3 suggest either a Dorian

Figure 12: Theme 3 with other entrances

   

T'

or Aeolian scale structure beginning on D, but again the sixth degree is
not contained in the melody. At the end of the theme, however, the tonal
center has moved from D to E, but the sixth scale degree is still not
present. Taken in its entirety, theme 3 is based on a D Dorian scale.

In bar 50, the closing area of the A section begins with imitated

entrances on the fragmentary motive (Figure 9), first heard in the

72

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orchestra. Fragments of theme I begin in bar 59.2, then the introductory
material from bars 1 and 2 return in bar 64 to lead to a short return of
the opening cadenza. This cadenza begins like the opening cadenza, but
is shorter in duration and only includes the melismatic material on the
pentatonic scale, stopping on two fermatas when reaching the beginning
of theme 1.

The form of the A section is ternary. The second and third themes
form a contrasting middle section to the opening theme, which returns
briefly at the end of the section. The abbreviated return of the A section
mirrors the large-scale A B A’ structure of the entire work, which also has
a shorter recapitulation.

The B section, also written in a ternary structure, contains two
themes, which are independent of the A section. The first, theme 4, is in a

contrasting duple division and is shown in Figure 13. The second theme

Figure 13: Theme 4 in The Lark Ascending

    

73
of this section, theme 5, alternates between duple and triple beat division
and is shown in Figure 14. In both thematic areas, the tempo is marked

quicker than that of the A section.

73

A solo flute introduces theme 4 after the solo violin fermata in bar
69. Midway through the statement, the tune passes to the first clarinet in
bar 74.2, shown with a “t” in Figure 13. The solo violin enters in bar 79.2
on an unfoldingof an E minor-minor seven chord, which connects to a
new statement of theme 4 in bar 83 in the first violins, but the solo violin
continues on this pattern until bar 91, where it picks up the second part
of the theme in elision with the oboe. The first violins are on the same
pitch classes as the flute, but transposed up an octave. The oboe picks up
the second part of the tune in bar 88.2 as the clarinet had done earlier.
Unlike previous themes, theme 4 includes pitches from a complete scale
pattern, E Aeolian.

The violins and first flute enter with theme 4 in bar 94.2. The pitch
classes, however, are up a tenth from the first entrance in bar 69. The
second part of the theme is on the original pitch classes. Further
entrances continue in imitative fashion in the bassoon, first horn, solo
violin, first violins, oboe, second violins and viola.

The solo violin transitions to the return of triple subdivision of the
beat in bar 1 1 5 and begins trilling and dancing around the primary pitch
class A through turns, like a bird flying about nature.203 This becomes
juxtaposed against the oboe’s statement of theme 5, beginning in bar
1 19. Though the time signature is 6/8, the melody shifts between triple

and duple division, as seen in Figure 14. As in theme 4, theme 5 has a

 

203 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 168.

74

Figure 14: Theme 5 in The Lark Ascending

/’_\ 1’

   
 

119 2

 

125 4

second section that is passed to a different instrument; the location of
this exchange is indicated above with a “t.” For the first statement of
theme 5, a clarinet solo takes over the line in bar 123 with a bassoon,
which begins a linear contrapuntal line against the clarinet. In bar 127,
the oboe plays an embellished version of the second part of theme 5
against the contrapuntal line in the clarinet. Though there is one flat in
the key signature, the possible modal structure of theme 5 is either A
Dorian or Aeolian, depending on how pitch class F is inferred, natural or
sharp.

The solo violin continues to dance, or fly, around the tune until it
takes up theme 5 in bar 131. The second part of the theme is stated in
the upper woodwinds, while the solo violin returns to a melismatic,
arpeggiated role for four measures. This is stated with alternation with
figures from theme 5, as in bar 139.

The notion of the solo violin depicting a bird flying through nature
is based on Vaughan Williams’ inspiration for the work, a poem by

George Meredith titled: “The Lark Ascending.” The full title of Vaughan

75

Williams’ work is Romance for Violin, The Lark Ascending. He quoted a

few lines from the poem, shown below in Figure 1 S. The programmatic

Figure 15: Section of Meredith’s poem
that appears in the full score of Vaughan Williams

He rises and begins to round,

He drops the silver chain of sound,
Of many links without a break,

In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.
For singing till his heaven fills,

‘Tis love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,

Our valley is his golden cup

And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes.

Till lost on his aerial rings
In light, and then fancy sings?04

elements have inspired a debate as to whether the solo violin is depicting
a flying bird or lark. The range of the debate stretches from denial,205 to
the lack of any doubt that a bird’s upward flight is imitated.206

There are few examples of traditional development in this work,
such as tonal transposition of thematic material, thematic fragmentation
and sequence. Themes are passed between the soloist and orchestra,
often on the same pitch classes. If one believes that the trills and
melismatic figures in the solo violin, especially evident during theme 5, is
evidence of a flying bird, then the conclusion must be that this
programmatic element is part of the work. In addition, it is difficult to

explain the polyphonic role of the solo violin without this programmatic

 

2°“ Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending (London: Eulenburg, 1982) vi.
205 Simon Heffer, Vaughan Williams (Boston: Northeastern, 2001) S 1.
2"" James Day, Vaughan Williams (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998) 225.

76

element. In the Harmonica Romance and the Romanza from the m
Concerto, the solo instruments perform mostly thematic material.
Michael Kennedy notes that examples of this same analogy can be found
in Symphony no. 3, S, 7 and 1cm.”

The theme 5 section builds to a dramatic forte passage on
fragments derived from the first beat of the theme in bar 142.2 through
bar 145. In bar 145, the solo violin begins another statement of theme 5,
up an octave from the original statement. Characteristically, the second
part of the theme is played by another instrument. However, even with
the addition of the counter-line, the section begins to release tension by
gradually reducing the number of layers to return to how the section
started. The solo violin becomes the only layer, in a moment without
meter, marked sensura misura.

Bars 169 to 195 are a short recapitulation of the theme 4 area,
emphasizing the ternary structure of the B section. Beginning in bar 169,
the solo violin plays theme 4 at a pianissimo dynamic. The section closes
on an E pentatonic pattern, which passes from the violins to the solo
violin, and finally to the upper woodwinds.

The large-scale A’ section is also shorter, due to the deletion of the
opening cadenza and the lack of thematic repetition, which made up a
part of the A section. Beginning in bar 196, the upper woodwinds and

first violins play theme 1 in octaves on the original pitch classes. The

 

207 Michael Kennedy, The Works of R.V.W. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 168.

77

recurring motive, illustrated in Figure 9, is also stated on its original pitch
classes, and in imitation following the statement of theme 1.

The solo violin states the second theme, also on the original
pitches, in bar 208.2. An exception occurs at the end of the theme, where
a short, one-count arpeggiated passage leads to a restatement of theme 3.
The upper woodwinds double the solo violin on this theme. The pitch
classes are the same as in the A section, and the repetition of the opening
figure is dropped. The hemiola in bars 221 and 222 is exactly the same as
it first was in bars 48 and 49.

Beginning in bar 223, the fragmentary motive appears, with a new
duple ending, derived from the duple pulse of theme 4 in the B section.
The ending figure revolves around pitch class B, but the supertonic and
subdominant pitches are lacking, making a concise determination of
modal structure difficult. The final motion from pitch class D to B in bar
233 of the solo violin connects this idea to the beginning of the final
restatement of theme 1.

This final orchestral statement of theme 1 is offered in an imitative
and fragmented fashion. Only the opening two bars of the theme are
heard, though they are doubled a third and fifth below the original
pitches in bar 234 and 235, thus presented as parallel triads.

Before the solo violin returns to its melismatic cadenza, the
introductory measures return with two additional repetitions. The

pentatonic pattern returns in the cadenza, but theme 1 does not. The

78

movement ends, however, on the opening gesture of theme 1, the minor
third drop from pitch class D to B.
A short pattern of notes from any of the themes in The Lark

Ascending could be found to be similar to a pattern of notes in a

Figure 16: A Dregm of Napoleon208

 

15

folksong. For example, from bar 7.3 in Figure 16, the pitch classes are the

same as in theme 1, as presented in bar 4 of the opening cadenza (Figure

Figure 17: Theme 1 in cadenza

 
 
  

 

 
   
 
 

<‘\ A ‘\
17). Another sirnflarity, but with theme 4 (Figure 13), is the figure
beginning on beat four of bar 6 and continuing into bar 7. The third full

measure of theme 4 has this figure, but with a C natural.

 

2°“ Roy Palmer, ed., Folk Songs Collected by R.V.W. (London: Dent & Sons, 1983) 100-
1.

79

After comparing the primary themes in The Lark Ascending with
folksong, it was apparent that only short figures from a theme could be
found.209 Other writers have also determined that the themes are not

quotes from folksong.210 Foss describes The Lark Ascending as showing

Figure 18: Q g Roger211

 

that Vaughan Williams’ had assimilated folk tunes.“

Another folksong that shares similarity with theme 4 is shown in
Figure 18. The gesture from E to G and later D to E to G is an important
component of theme 4. However, compared with the folksong, the two
ideas are written in a different metrical division, and theme 4 is not

written in the rounded binary structure of King Roger.

 

2"" William Kimmel, “Vaughan Williams’s Melodic Style,” The Musical Quarterly 27
(October 1941) 498. Michael Kennedy also makes this general statement.

2'0 Elsie Payne, “Vaughan Williams and Folk-Song,” The Music Review 1 S (1954) 106.

2” mid, 17-8.

2” Hubert Foss, R.V.W.: A Study (London: Harrap, 1952) 1 16.

8O

Some critics also compare the shape of Vaughan Williams’ melodic
curve to that of folksong. In the folksong of Figure 16, the phrase arcs up
to a high point, then proceeds to fall back to its starting pitches. While
this idea is common with the themes in The Lark Ascending, this
structural idea is characteristic of numerous other styles of music, from
the time of Giovanni Palestrina.

Themes from the Romanza of the Tuba Concerto share some
characteristics of folksong, but the sixteenth note motion and the
melodic range of over two octaves discount the likelihood of origin from
folksong. There are two primary themes, though they connect together so
well that it could be argued there is one long theme. However, the

behavior of these themes reflect a large-scale structure of A B A’.

Figure 19: Theme 1 of the Romanza from the TubJa Con_certo

    

5 \" \/ J
The first theme of the Tuba Romanza, shown in Figure 19, begins
with cello 1, viola 1 and violin I. The tonality for the theme revolves
around D major, though briefly touches B minor in bar 3.3, before
returning to D major in the following measure and handing that tonality

off to the solo tuba in bar 9.

81

The fluid interchange between major and minor in the melodic line
is characteristic of both themes in the A section. The solo tuba enters on

theme 2 in bar 9.2 and outlines a D-major scale, as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20: Theme 2 of the Romanza from the Tuba Concerto
/‘ "\

4‘ A

A’\ r“

 

 

 
 

15

  

As can be seen above, this theme also revolves around D major, but ends
by modulating to B-natural minor. The theme can be divided into two
segments, with the second beginning as an embellished version of the
opening idea of the theme.

In contrast to Vaughan Williams’ earlier style in The Lark
Ascending, the first two themes establish a tonal area, D major. This is
achieved through presentation of all pitches in the D major pattern,
repetition of pitch class D, and by outlining a D-major chord. Both the
primary and secondary tonal area, B-natural minor, include linear
dominant to tonic progressions.

Before the solo tuba can complete its linear cadence in B minor in
bar 20, the woodwind and string choirs enter in elision on theme 1,
shown in Figure 21 on pitch class F-sharp. The solo tuba enters midway
through this statement as an equal, polyphonic voice, only to emerge

from the texture by leading a modulation to D minor through the use of

82

pitch F-natural. Theme 1 is also changed from is initial statement through

linear doubling to parallel triads in bar 18, as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21: Elision of Themes 1 and 2
fl

    

\_/

The second theme’s characteristic progression up an octave is
uncommon in the folksongs published by Vaughan Williams. A more

Figure 22: Horn Fair“
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I
I A I I l I I I I I I I I I l I I I
n I l R I I I I A I I I I I I I I I I l\ I I I
TI ‘1 I I L II I A In '.A I I d I I I I I J II I A I
I I I A . v I v [a v I I I I I A_._ v I
0- v V a U V
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I in I I I I I I I I I I I I I I A I j
'11 l A I I I T I L I I I I- I I A I I I I I I
v - IF A A F L I I L I I
\_ II V v I I- A I - J
v 0- I I e V '

 

"1|
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h“.
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9.:

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LT T n l I l l
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v - III. I I I n ' L
w v- V
3‘ v

common procedure would be to rise up a fifth, perhaps a sixth, and then
proceed downward to the starting pitch, as can be seen in the first phrase
of Horn Fair in Figure 22. A progression to the octave may be heard later,

as illustrated in Figures 22 and 23.

 

2” Roy Palmer, ed., Folk Songs Collected by R.V.W. (London: Dent, 1983) 142-3.

83

Figure 23: Keemr and Poachers“4

 

Instead of being derived from folksong, however, thematic material
in the Tuba Romanza was taken from another Vaughan Williams work,
the Concerto Grosso for three string choirs. Shown below in Figure 24 is a
four bar excerpt from the first movement of the Concerto Grosso.
_I_n_t_rad_z;1_. The first and fourth measures of this example share common

pitch classes and motion with the second theme of the Tuba Romanza.

Figure 24: Borrowed idea from Concerto Grossg

A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mt 1% #159 7‘?!
g m? +. E

 

 

 

The B section of the Tuba Romanza begins in bar 26 with the
violins and flutes in elision with the solo tuba for a beat and a half. This
large-scale section can be divided into three components, or small-scale

sections, determined by the tonality of the melodic material. The primary

 

2” mm" 389.

84

material of the first section is an embellished version of theme 1, which
has been transposed to D minor at the end of the A section. The first
statement modulates to A minor in bar 35, where the solo tuba begins
playing an embellished version of theme 2. The second area of the B
section continues in A minor. An additional contrasting detached theme
in A minor is heard against the tuba. At the end of the second small-scale
section, the solo tuba modulates to E minor, which is the key area of the
third small-scale section. The third part of the development juxtaposes
embellished versions of both themes, and the tuba functions as a
contrapuntal line in a polyphonic texture. The tuba emerges as the most
important voice in bar 46, and leads a crescendo and return to B minor
where the beginning of the A’ section begins in bar 48.

At the beginning of the A’ section, the trumpets, trombones and
Clarinets enter at a fortissirno dynamic on the contrasting, detached
theme, which is juxtaposed over theme 2 in the low strings. Theme 2,
however, returns in the secondary key of B minor. When the solo tuba
picks up the B minor theme in bar 52.2, the detached theme drops out.

The return of D major begins with the upper woodwinds and
violins in elision with the B minor cadence of the solo tuba in bar 55. In
the solo tuba, D major returns with a restatement of theme 2 at a forte
dynamic in bar 58. However, the pitch classes change in bar 61 as the
melodic material modulates to B minor, and the solo tuba leads to the

climactic fortissirno, beginning in bar 63.

85

As shown in Figure 25, there are several musical figures at the
climactic area between the solo tuba and first violins that appear one

beat apart, suggesting a canon, though not in strict fashion. For example,

Figure 25: First violins and solo tuba at climax

 

(8“) """"""""""""""""""""""
A

 

bar 60.1-2 in the upper part is heard in the tuba a beat later, down a
sixth; bar 61.2 to beat 3 in a similar fashion, but only copied for a beat;
then the tuba leads in bar 62.2 for two beats, heard up a sixth a beat later
for 2 beats. Another example begins with the tuba in bar 63, which is
heard a sixth higher and lasting, with embellishment, for four beats.
After the fortissirno section, the orchestra and solo tuba cadence in
B minor. The tuba’s linear cadential statement is extended to the
downbeat of bar 69, however, and the string choir returns on theme 1 in
elision as done earlier in bar 18. The tuba, as heard earlier in the A

section, enters midway through the statement and leads a change to D

86

minor. After two bars without accompaniment, the tuba ends on pitch
class A, and the strings sound a D major chord above.

Like the two previous works, the Harmonica Romance is in a large-
scale A B A’ structure. The work, at a basic level, can be divided into eight
thematic sections, which contain four different thematic ideas as shown
in Figure 7. The sections are generally divided with key signature
changes. Themes 1 and 2 are inclusive to the A sections, while themes 3
and 4 appear only in the middle section.

The first theme, as played by the harmonica, contains vertical
triads of its own, and serves as a basis for the linear and horizontal
structures of the work. This material is the basis of the first section in
the key signature of D-flat major, from bar 1 through bar 26. The theme

is a progression of alternating major

Figure 26: Theme 1 in Romance for Harmonica

/

 

      
 

\

5
chords on D-flat and C, beginning in measure 1. The opening gesture in
the harmonica is a fragment of the theme, with a D-flat triad extended in

the harmonica. In the orchestra, the upper strings and piano state a linear

87

counter-line in D-flat major.213 The first theme is heard in its entirety
beginning in bar 5.2, shown in Figure 26.

When the pitch classes in the first theme are laid out linearly, they
are close to a D-flat octatonic scale in the half-step, whole-step pattern,

Figure 27: Synthetic and octatonic patterns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A I . Linear realization of theme 1 I 1
I 117 h . l 1' I l - I
In I v. I I I I l I I L I H- . F I
V 17 In I I r I r H ‘I . Cl. 5! I I I
V I L I HA . H' ’I rl j
' q. '1' ' I I r
h I Octatonic scale, half-step whole-step pattern
I 117 I. l i I L - l
hLVI L I I J I I I A 17. l' l
V I7 F: T I I I h‘I . l' I I ]
V T T l H A . 1' I I I :I
g 1 qt 11' l l .

shown in Figure 27. The first six pitch classes adhere to the pattern, but
Vaughan Williams has added a half step to the pattern, from pitch A-flat
to A-natural, and modified the end of the scale to finish in two chromatic
half steps. The motion from C to D-flat, in addition to serving as a basis
for vertical contrast in the harmonica, reflects a contrast on a larger level
as the key signatures and thematic material in each section alternates
between C and D-flat, with only section 7 in a different key signature.
The Romance for Harmonica is not the only work in which Vaughan
Williams used a synthetic scale. Six different synthetic scales are used in
Symphony no. 4 to develop the melodic style. In Sancta Civitas and Hi
C_am_p_i, synthetic scales are only used for incidental patterns, not in the

overall melodic style. Vaughan Williams did not begin using whole tone

 

“5 This observation is based on listening to recordings, and not on viewing the full
orchestral score. Oxford University Press did not respond to my inquiries about
obtaining a copy of the full score.

88

scales, exotic scales, or synthetic scales until the composition of the
Fourth Symphony.216

In bar 10, the harmonica takes over the D-flat major counter-line
that the piano and upper strings had against the harmonica in the
opening bars, as shown in Figure 28. The juxtaposition and alternation

between D-flat major and the D-flat synthetic scale drives section 1, along

Figure 28: Theme 1 at bar 10 Rom_ance for Harmonica

    
   
 

 

 

L... \ d

14 3333

3
with later sections with a D-flat key signature. For example, a linear
reference to the synthetic scale occurs in bar 12 with the pitch A-natural.

The descending thirty—seconds in bar 13 switch back to a D-flat major

Figure 29: Unfolded sonority

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

e) 3
7 14 3 3 3

pattern. The melodic material in bar 14 is an unfolding of a vertical
sonority presented by the harmonica in bar 7, shown in Figure 29, and

whose pitch classes are contained in the synthetic scale.

 

2‘6 William Kimmel, “Vaughan Williams’s Melodic Style,” The Musical Quarterly 27
(October 1941) 197-8.

89

 

I'I-s I. .."r‘i

Theme 2, shown in Figure 30, is stated three times in its thematic
area, beginning in bar 27.3. Rhythmically, the duple division of the pulse
contrasts with the triple division of theme 1. The harmonica states the
theme first, followed by the violins in bar 37.2, and then the low strings,

beginning in bar 43.3. The repetition and motion around pitch class E

Figure 30: Theme 2 in Romance for Harmonica
//’————\

    

27

defines it as the tonal center. The end of the statement points to E minor,
however, the line moves chromatically up and down a third from pitch E.
The harmonica has an additional three measures of material,

beginning in bar 33, as shown in Figure 31. This material is transformed

Figure 31: Counter-line

 

 

33

into a counter-line in the harmonica when the string choir later states the
theme. In terms of pitch patterns, the line draws from the synthetic scale.
Beginning with the third statement of the theme in bar 43.3 in the
low strings, the harmonica plays a diminuted counter-line derived from
the sonorities underneath it. By the quasi-cadenza in bar 49 and 50, the
harmonica has returned to the synthetic pattern; except for pitch class F-

sharp, every note in the cadenza conforms to the synthetic scale.

90

 

In bar 51, theme one returns in section three, where the key
signature changes back to D-flat. The harmonica segues into the
orchestral entrance in 52.2 through an ascending synthetic scale. After
the orchestra enters on the opening figure of theme 1, the harmonica
moves in triadic motion through chords available in the synthetic scale,
including: D-flat major, C major, D minor and F major. When the linear D- 1,
flat major pattern returns in bar 55, pitch class E-flat is added to the solo
harmonica line. Though the key signature changes in bar 61, the pitch

material continues to be derived from theme 1. In fact, the pitch classes

 

all conform to Vaughan Williams’ synthetic scale. A short cadenza closes
the recapitulation of theme 1 and the A section.
The B section begins in bar 64 with the statement of theme 3. The

melodic material in theme 3 is based on a transposition of the synthetic

Figure 32: Synthetic scale in theme 3

 

scale from theme 1, shown in Figure 32. This procedure indicates a
traditional developmental procedure, however, the thematic material in
the large-scale middle section is newly composed. Theme 3, shown in
Figure 33, is stated by the harmonica in bar 64.2, and then repeated by
the upper strings with rhythmic embellishment in bar 68.2. In the second

statement by the strings, the final figure is transformed to open fifths in

91

bar 72 and repeated until another fragmented entrance begins in bar 76

by the upper strings.

Figure 33: Theme 3 in Romance for Harmonica

 

 

 

 

Theme 4, shown in Figure 34, contrasts with the other themes in
that it is clearly based on the D-flat major scale and its relative minor, B-

Figure 34: Theme 4 in Romance for Harmonica

 

 

flat. The theme is stated three times beginning in bar 84 with the
harmonica. The strings begin an incomplete statement in bar 90, and a
canonic statement begins in bar 92.2 with the upper strings, whom the

Figure 35: Canon in theme 4

 

 

 

 

 

92
uerstrs/—\ A_
15”.. ”figs #5. @59: T Q

I

DhL I II
HI ' II__I_J
’i

 

harmonica answers one beat later in bar 93, shown in Figure 35. The
theme begins to dissolve in bar 95.2 on a sequence of arpeggios in the

harmonica.

 

The disjunct movement and the linear shift from major to minor

discount the possibility that this theme could have been borrowed

Figure 36: Franklin’s Crew“?

 

from folksong. However, two motivic ideas in theme 4 were found in l

folksong. The first is the motion, midway through the theme, from D-flat

 

to F and back to D-flat in conjunct motion. This type of movement,
encompassing a third, is common in folksong and illustrated in Figure 36.

The second example is the motion on the final beat of theme 4, as

Figure 37: Ward and the Pirate2H3

y

 

illustrated in Figure 34, which corresponds to the descending motion
from bar 2.4 to beat one of bar 4 in the Ward and the Pirate (Figure 37).
The A’ section begins in bar 98, where theme 2 returns on the

original pitch classes with rhythmic embellishments in the third and

 

2” Roy Palmer, ed., Folk Songs Collected by R.V.W. (London: Dent, 1983) 23-4.
2'8 Lm_d., 87.

93

fourth full measures. In bar 100.2, the upper strings pick up the melody
one beat ahead of the harmonica, creating a short canon on the theme. At
the end of the theme in bar 104.2, there is a short ad-lib moment in the
harmonica, based on material from the counter-line found in bar 33. The
upper strings pick up the counter-line along with the harmonica, and
transition to the key signature change to E-flat at bar 107, where theme 2 1.
is transposed up a minor third.
Theme 1 returns in the original tonal area in bar 1 16.2. Like before, r.

it is based on the juxtaposition of D-flat major and the D-flat synthetic

 

scale. The linear aspects of the thematic material are heard before the

opening D-flat major chord gesture appears in bar 129. A linear descent

Figure 38: Ending gesture of the Romance for Harmonica
/_\

   
   

131 V’

begins in bar 131.2, shown in Figure 38, which leads to the final D-flat
major chord an octave lower.

As stated earlier, all three works can be classified in large-scale A B
A’ patterns. In addition, the A section in all three works is ternary in
structure and contain themes that return in the A’ section. In The Lark
Ascending and the Harmonica Romance, the A’ section is shorter than the
A section. In all three works, the A’ sections contain variety from the A

section in terms of thematic order of appearance.

94

The B sections, however, are treated differently. In the Harmonica

 

Romance and The Lark Ascending, new thematic material is introduced in
the large-scale middle section. In the Tuba Romanza, however, thematic
material presented in the A section is developed through tonal change,
sequence and fragmentation. The containment of new thematic material
in the B sections of the Romance for Harmonica and The Lark Ascending
allow these works to be classified as concertos in one movement.

The construction of themes in these works is based on a variety of

structures; modal scales and exotic patterns are both used. Exotic

 

patterns can be found with the pentatonic scale in The Lark Ascending,
and the synthetic scale in the Romance for Harmonica. Modal patterns
appear in all three works, but are most prominent in The Lark Ascending.
The alternation between major and minor in the Tuba Romanza is
common with procedures from the functional period. In The Lark
Ascending, most thematic scales are incomplete and can be classified in
multiple modes, usually Dorian or Aeolian, as the sixth degree of a scale
pattern is usually missing. These incomplete modes are contrasted with
pentatonic patterns, but pentatonic patterns also fit into modal
structures. Only a brief section of theme 4 in the Harmonica Romance
utilizes functional techniques.

Repetition is an integral component of each thematic section in all
three works. Themes that are restated almost always appear on the same

pitch classes. For example, in theme 4 of The Lark Ascending, the

95

melodic pitch classes do not vary until the third statement of the theme.
The Harmonica Romance. written largely on a synthetic scale, restates
themes at the same pitch classes. However, rhythmic embellishments are
common during restatements of the same theme in The Lark Ascending
and the Romance for Harmonica. In the Tuba Romanza. however, the
themes are stated in transposition and fragmentation in the B section, ..
but thematic material in the A sections remains largely unchanged.
Canonic devices, if only for brief periods of time, are used in the

Tuba Romanza and the Harmonica Romance. Also common to the Tuba

r.s

 

Romanza is the elision of themes 1 and 2, such as in bar 18 when theme
1 returns in the strings before theme 2 has completed its cadence in B
minor. Elision occurs primarily during imitative moments of transition in
The Lark Ascending with the fragmentary motive, and other than the
canon in theme 4, thematic statements do not occur in elision during the
Romance for Harmonica.

Since repetition is an important thematic component of these
compositions, one aspect of variety is the alternation and juxtaposition
of different scale structures between and within sections of a work. For
example, the alternation between pentatonic, incomplete, Dorian and
Aeolian structures in The Lark Ascending, and the alternation of a
synthetic scale and D-flat major pattern in the Romance for Harmonica.
Themes in the Tuba Romanza, in the A sections, are constructed to

fluctuate between major and natural minor.

96

Melodic material in each theme can usually be divided into two or
four bar segments. Longer stretches can be divided into four or eight-bar
segments. The first theme of The Lark Ascending, however, is an
exception, as it is presented as an “unmetered” seven-bar idea (Figure 39)

by the solo violin in the opening cadenza. When the theme is repeated

Figure 39: Theme 1 of The Iarl;Ascending in the opening cadenza F

 

after the cadenza, it is an eleven bar figure, divided in a pattern five plus

 

six. The six bar segment can be divided into two three-bar units, as
shown in Figure 8.

Though the violin and harmonica can easily play simultaneous
multiple pitches or stops, Vaughan Williams only explores this possibility
at length in the Harmonica Romance. Both the violin and harmonica,
however, contain examples of unfolded harmonies in thematic
presentations. In the Romance for Harmonica, for example, the
harmonica unfolds a sonority it first presented as a vertical idea in the
first thematic area. The violin unfolds sonorities in The Lark Ascending
and uses this material in transitionary passages.

Finally, though thematic statements in all three works contain
short ideas present in folksong, no theme in any work of this study is
constructed on the basis of a folksong. Even though these works were

written at opposite ends of his career, each work has some motivic

97

similarities with folksong. Vaughan Williams treatment of ternary
structures in each work is similar to folksong in that many of the
folksongs collected by Vaughan Williams’ conform to a rounded binary

structure, where the return of initial material is shortened.

 

98

Chapter 5: Vertical Sonorities

Vaughan Williams’ use of vertical harmony is often
determined by the layering of thematic material, rather
than in a functional conception. This chapter will
explore how Vaughan Williams constructs harmonic
structures. In addition, the underlying harmony of
thematic statements is analyzed to determine if the
same material is used when thematic material is
repeated.

The opening cadenza of The Lark Ascending occurs over a chord
with the pitches: E, B, D, and F-sharp. The F-sharp suggests a ninth chord,
and this is how Michael Kennedy describes the sonority, but if the A in
the solo violin is included, a complete pentatonic sonority is present. The
underlying pentatonic harmony continues until the solo violin reaches its
statement of the main theme.

When a short rendition of the cadenza returns at the end of the A
section, the same chord returns. In the final cadenza at the end of the A’
section, however, the chord is transformed by one note: the pitch G in the

viola, which is heard instead of the F-sharp. This change makes the

sonority an E minor-minor seven chord.

Figure 40: Introduction to The Lark Ascengigg

 

99

 

The introductory gesture in the first two measures, shown in Figure
40, highlights the shifts of modality that occur throughout the work. The
downbeat is an E minor-minor seven chord, which could be part of an
Aeolian or Dorian structure, built on pitch E. The C-sharp passing tone in
bar 1, however, indicates a Dorian structure. By the third measure, the
harmony supports the pentatonic structure of the solo violin. r

When the introduction returns in bar 64, the harmony is the same
as the beginning. However, when it returns at the end of the A’ section in

bar 240.2, the pattern has been transformed by a fifth, as shown in Figure

 

41. Rather than a pedal E, a pedal B is heard. The other voices form a C-
major triad on top of the pedal, where before a G-major triad began the

pattern. The movement of the triads, however, is in the same motion as

Figure 41: Transformation of introductory theme

 

V v

before. By starting on a C major chord, Vaughan Williams is able to move
easily in ascending conjunct motion to the E minor-minor seven chord of
the final cadenza. However, the solo violin still begins on its pentatonic
pattern as heard in the beginning. The motion from E to D, shown in
Figure 41, is a linear event from the tonic to the flatted seventh

conjunctly below that effects the harmony.

100

The first 5 measures of theme 1 is accompanied by a repetitive
block harmonic pattern, derived from the introduction, which rotates
between an E minor-minor seven chord and a B minor chord. The
embellishing or passing tones in the section indicate a modal center of E
Dorian. During the second part of the theme, from bar 10, a repetitive
pattern from an A major chord to a B minor-minor seven chord exists,
except in bar 12, which has an E minor-minor seven chord on beat one.
Thus, the harmony moves up a fourth, then back to the original harmonic
pattern in bar 15, as the solo violin closes theme 1.

When theme 1 returns in the A’ section, the harmony is not in a
simple block style, rather in layers of contrapuntal motion as shown in

Figure 42: Theme 1 harmony in A' Section
,\ *\ ..\

    

r:_/ v t

Figure 42. The B Aeolian scale in the string bass is contradicted by the G-
sharp passing tone in the viola and the melody. This could be seen as a
brief moment of birnodality or just a simple cross relation. The use of the
Aeolian scale in the A’ section is also different from the Dorian of the A

section, which was inferred from the passing tones. The vertical

101

 

sonorities accompanying theme 1 in the A’ section are different than first
stated in the A section, except for bar 200.
Theme 2 is also heard against a repetitive block harmony, with the

same root movement from E to B as in theme 1, shown in Figure 43.

Figure 43: Chords accompanying theme 2

 

The chord qualities, however, are minor to minor-minor seven rather than
minor-minor seven to minor. The harmonic background does not change
for either statement of the theme, but when the melodic layer is
considered, another third is sometimes added to the top of the chord.
When the theme returns in the A’ section, the harmony is the same,
except that a pedal tone B is added in the second violins.

Figure 44: Theme 3 theme with harmonic motion

 

The harmony of the third theme contrasts with the block scoring of

previous sections in that is driven by contrapuntal motion. Iike the other

102

thematic statements, however, it is based on repetition, as the harmony
of the first three-bar idea is immediately repeated. Another characteristic
of this harmonic pattern is recurring parallel fifths and octaves, shown in
Figure 44. The pitch classes, when laid out in linear fashion, show that
the harmony is based on a G Dorian scale. The same vertical harmony is
used when the thematic area returns in the A’ section.

The harmony in the B section begins as block figures centered on
pitch class C. The C major-major seven chord of the initial harmony, as

shown in Figure 45, clashes with the linear motion of C Ionian in theme 4.

Figure 45: Harmony at beginning of theme 4

 

69

The same progressions are repeated when the theme is passed to the first
violins in bar 83. Along with the melodic line, the harmony moves to F
major at the downbeat of bar 95. The chord quality in the harmony,
however, is major and contrasts with the major-major seven chord of the

first statement of theme 4 in bar 69.

103

 

Figure 46: theme 4 breaking down

 

As the theme 4 area begins to break down with imitative entrances
in bar 100.2, the harmony alternates between E and C. Shown in Figure
46, the harmony finally settles on E in measure 104, which is emphasized
by the linear line. However, a tonal center of C returns briefly in bar 108.

Theme 5 does not begin with any harmonic accompaniment, but
the change in key signature indicates a shift in tonal center. Beginning in
bar 122.2, the solo violin arpeggiates an E minor-minor seven chord and a
bassoon counter-line, a layer added in bar 123.2, is also centered on E.
When these three layers are played concurrently, the resulting harmony

alternates between triads in E minor and A minor.

104

 

When the solo violin takes over the melodic line in bar 131, the
accompaniment changes to a tremolo pattern. A vertical sonority based
on the stacking of thirds is difficult to hear until the tremolos change to
arpeggiated patterns in bar 135. The harmonic center of each beat then
moves in fourths and fifths from the first melodic center of A. These
different ideas are layered to build to the fortissimo in bar 142.2. The ,
harmony at the fortissimo is a B-flat major chord, with embellishing
tones in the tremolos, including: an added sixth and added fourth. 1,:

The solo violin plays theme 5 in bar 146, and the trills are moved ,1

 

to the flutes, second violins and Violas. The cellos sustain a pedal A for
nine measures. The pitch classes make up a D-minor chord in second-
inversion. A solo oboe, which picks up the theme in bar 151, plays over
the same second-inversion D-minor chord and a solo horn picks up the
second part of the theme in bar 1 55. A block chord in bar 1 5 1 replaces
the trills when the oboe picks up the theme. The counter-line also returns
in bar 155.2, transposed up a fourth to A minor. The linear motion of the
three layers generates the vertical sonorities.

The harmony during all of the themes in The Lark Ascending
utilizes some facet of repetition. In themes 1 and 2, the repetition is
measure by measure; in theme 3, the unit of repetition is three measures.
In the fourth and fifth theme areas, the repetition is in larger groupings.
The vertical sonorities in theme 5, which result from the horizontal

motion, alternate between A and E-minor.

105

Pitch classes in the harmonic accompaniment, if only passing
tones, assist in determining the mode that a section is in. The modes in
the harmony generally reflect what is inferred from the linear motion of
the melody. The block chord under the cadenzas support a pentatonic
analysis, except in the final occurrence where the chord is altered. In the
theme 1 area, the harmony points to E Dorian in the A section, but B

Aeolian in the A’ section. The limited number of pitches in the harmony

 

for the second theme area fits in several different patterns. Harmony in

the third theme area is centered on G Dorian in both A sections, while the

 

melody encompasses the pitches of a D Dorian scale. The vertical
sonorities in theme areas 4 and 5 reflect the harmonies in the melody.
The A’ section is a restatement of thematic material presented in
the A section. On a lower level, there are many examples of root
movement by fourths and fifths, but no dominant chord exists before the
return of the A section. Though the thematic material remains on the
same pitch classes at the beginning of the A’ section, the harmony has
been altered. The lack of a strong dominant-tonic progression in The Lark
Ascending makes it difficult to describe climactic points in these terms,

as some biographers have done?”

 

2’9 E. Spurgeon Knights, “The Lark Ascending,” The Strad 52 (December 1941) 188. A
“climax in D major” is indicated.

106

Figure 47: Harmony at beginning of Tuba Romanza

 

The opening theme in the Tuba Romanza has two contrapuntal
lines harmony woven against it, shown in Figure 47. The harmony is in D
major, but contains a strong plagal influence when each line is examined
independently. The lower line alternates between G major and E minor in
the opening 8 measures, while the top line waivers between B minor and
D major, similar to thematic material.

The tuba enters in bar 9.2 over an accompaniment on a B minor
chord, in contrast with the D major progression of the melodic line,
which foreshadows where the theme will cadence in bar 19. The second
violins and first cellos begin a third below the tuba and move in parallel
fashion with the solo tuba until bar 10. The accompaniment is less active
after the tuba begins playing, moving mostly in block fashion at a slower
pace than the tuba. In addition, the accompanying patterns are not

repetitive at a lower level as they were in parts of The Lark Ascending.

107

As the tuba closes in B minor, a harmonized version of theme one
returns in elision with it, shown in Figure 48. There is no separate

Figure 48: Elision themes 1 and 2

AA A

   
     

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harmonic structure, except for the parallel doubling of the strings in the
woodwinds and a pedal point on B in the low reeds and low strings. The
horn line, which moves between pitches B and A, emphasizes the lowered
seventh of the natural minor scale and folksong.

The elision causes a change in vertical harmony from the
beginning, which remains until the tuba returns in bar 21.3 on a line first
stated by the second violins in bar 4.3. The underlying harmony is similar
to the first statement of theme 1 until the tuba leads a mode change
through the use of pitch class F natural in bar 26. The sonority in the
accompaniment is a G major-minor seven chord, which resolves to a D
minor sonority in bar 27, a plagal motion.

Unlike The Lark Ascending and the Harmonica Romance, the B
section of the Tuba Romanza does not introduce new thematic material.

The harmonic structures, however, move around the circle of fifths in a

108

 

traditional fashion. The three different tonalities define the three sections
of the development, and include: D minor, A minor and E minor.

The key signature change to one flat at the beginning of the B
section in bar 27 confirms a change to D minor. The statement of theme
1 by the violins and upper woodwinds follows the natural minor scale
pattern. There are two contrapuntal lines that generate the vertical
structure against the melody.

When the tuba picks up the melody in bar 35.2, a new contrasting
motive has been introduced in the horns and Clarinets. The remaining
instruments move in block fashion with the solo tuba, shown in Figure
49. The tonal center has shifted from D minor to A minor, emphasized

Figure 49: Harmony in the A minor section of the development
6 a

   
   

 

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J J C, e,
by the contrasting theme, which begins on pitch classes C and E. In this
section, the two layers of horizontal movement determine the harmonic
structure. The structure of the contrasting motive assists in establishing
the tonal center of A. As shown in Figure 49, the block accompaniment is
repetitive on a basic level. This section closes by modulating to E minor.
The E minor section of the development begins in bar 43 and is the

most fragmentary of the three sections, due to the repetition and

109

 

sequence of short ideas. The solo tuba is an equal member in a
polyphonic texture of three equal layers, echoing patterns in the low
strings and bassoons.

The order of thematic appearance in the A’ section does not strictly
adhere to the order presented in the A section. For instance, theme 2 is
heard before theme 1 and the contrasting motive from the development
is included at the outset. In addition, these two ideas are of equal
importance until the tuba enters on theme 2 in bar 52.2, where the

Figure 50: Harmonic layers at climax
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contrasting motive drops out. Also, theme 2 appears in B minor, instead
of D major, as it was presented in the A section.

In bar 55.2, D major returns on a statement of theme 2 in the first
violins, flutes and oboe. The accompaniment moves in contrapuntal
fashion, even after the tuba returns in bar 58.2. As the climactic
fortissimo moment is reached in bar 63, each layer of activity is in B
minor. Figure 50 shows the contrapuntal activity in this section, the

movement from D major to B minor, and the similar motion of each layer

 

inbar 63.

 

1" -"il

In bar 67, as the solo tuba cadences in B minor, the strings enter in
elision on theme 1 as they did in bar 18. The harmony is a repetition of
the original statement in the A section, however, there is no thematic
entrance in the strings when the accompaniment pauses on a G major-
minor seven chord in bar 76. After two bars of solo tuba, the harmony
resolves to the original D major sonority of the opening through the use
of a Picardy third. The plagal resolution from G to D is a retrograde
motion of the opening two—beat gesture in the low strings.

The vertical sonorities in the Tuba Romanza are based on the
stacking of thirds, as in The Lark Ascending. Unlike The Lark Ascending,
repetition occurs mainly at the large structural level in the may
Romanza, such as during the statement of theme 1 in the A’ section.
Repetition only makes a brief appearance in the development at a more

basic level, from measure to measure.

111

Figure 51: Scales in theme area 1

3 Linear realization of theme 1
1 i I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As discussed in Chapter 4, thematic material in the Harmonica
Romance is based on a synthetic scale Vaughan Williams constructed,
shown in Figure 51. The final chord of the work is a D-flat major chord,
however, and Vaughan Williams juxtaposes both the major scale and
synthetic scales in the harmony as well as the melody.

The chords of major quality available in theme 1 include D—flat, C,
G and F. The minor chords available include: D, E, F and A. However,
Vaughan Williams does not explore all these possibilities in the
accompaniment. Rather, he adds an extra third to the sonority and
creates a B double-flat major-augmented-major seven chord, or an
enharmonic A major-augmented-major seven chord. These augmented

Figure 52: Opening vertical structures

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structures are contrasted with the tonal possibilities of the D-flat major
scale, primarily a B-flat minor-minor seven chord, shown in Figure 52.

These two chords encompass the majority of the harmonies in the first

thematic section. The possibilities of B-flat minor are explored more
specifically in the theme 4 area.
The contrapuntal motion in the accompaniment alternates between

the two scales in Figure 51. The opening motion, shown in the top line

Figure 53: Linear movement in the accompaniment

 

   

of Figure 53, is a clear setting in D-flat major, which also fits in the
synthetic scale. In bar 9.2, Vaughan Williams transposes this idea down a
half-step, but this transformation still fits the synthetic scale. Each of
these ideas is repeated in the opening eleven measures, additionally,
Figure 53 shows the one-beat repetition in the structure of each idea.

The brief return of theme 1 in the A section includes the top line of
Figure 53, beginning in bar 55.2, along with embellished figures in the
harmonica. The low strings alternate between pitches B-flat and B double-
flat until the short harmonica cadenza that connects to the B section.

The harmony in the second theme area begins with C major chords
in first inversion, shown in Figure 54. The block scoring of the

accompaniment contrasts with the contrapuntal layers in the first theme

113

 

area. In addition, the triple subdivision of the pulse in the orchestra

contrasts with the duple subdivision in the harmonica.

Figure S4: Accompaniment at beginning of theme 2

 

A similar use of a one-beat repetition pattern can be seen in Figure

54. The upper line of this idea is repeated by the harmonica in bar 37,

 

where the upper strings take the melodic line form the harmonica. The
syncopated figure in bar 29 is expanded in bars 32 and 33.

Figure 55: First statement of theme 2 in A’ section

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the theme 2 area returns in the A’ section, an additional third
has been added to the harmony, as shown in Figure 55. This changes the
initial sonority to an A-flat major-augmented-major seven chord, a
vertical structure used in the theme 3 area. The harmonica plays theme 2

above this new sonority.

114

In bar 107, both the melody and harmony are transposed a third
when the key signature changes to three flats. The vertical sonority in the
strings is a C-flat major-augmented-major seven chord, a chord that
remains the focal point until the return of theme 1 material in bar 116.2.

The vertical structures in theme areas 1 and 2 contain, almost
exclusively, pitch classes from Vaughan Williams’ synthetic scale. In the
second theme area, however, the vertical sonorities change much quicker
than in the first, sometimes with every triplet-eighth value, as in bar 30.
Though primarily based on the stacking of thirds, the harmony does
contain some quartal harmonies, as in bar 32. The most common chords
during theme 2 are A—flat augmented, C major, A minor, A minor-seven
and D minor-minor seven.

Figure 56: Transposition of synthetic scale in theme 3

 

Like the melodic line, the vertical sonorities in the third theme area
are based on the transposition of the synthetic scale, shown in Figure 56.
The first triadic structure is an A-flat major-augmented-major seven
chord, down a half step from the harmony in bar 1. The alternation

between this chord and an A minor-minor seven chord drives the section.

115

Figure 57: Harmony in theme 3

 

Similar to the first theme section, the harmony of the third theme
area is largely based on the alternation between two structures, an A-flat
major-augmented-major seven chord and an A minor-minor seven chord.
The harmony is presented in two contrasting manners; first, in an
arpeggiated pattern, which starts in the bass and works its way to the top
of the ensemble, as shown in Figure 57. The arpeggiated patterns in
Figure 57 utilize repetition on two levels, from beat to beat and later,
measure to measure.

The second structure of the harmony, beginning in bar 69, is a
contrapuntal pattern in the low strings, shown in Figure 58. The
harmonica, when not on thematic material, joins in these patterns.

Figure 58: Contrapuntal motion of harmony in theme 3

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116

 

These two methods are used in alternation throughout the section and

embellishments are added during the third statement of the theme.

Figure 59: Vertical structures in theme 4 area

   

87

The primary vertical structures in the theme 4 area are shown in
Figure 59. The harmony begins with an arpeggiated figure in B-flat minor,
the relative minor of D-flat major. In bar 85, the melody and harmony
come to a tonal agreement on an F minor chord. The agreement dissolves
in the following measure with an arpeggiated D-flat augmented chord on
beat 1. The orchestral accompaniment changes in bar 87 to a rapid
progression of chords in second-inversion, which the harmonica unfolds
in its counter-line when the upper strings have the melody in bar 90.

Each of the ideas shown in Figure 59 are based on repetition from
beat to beat. In the bar 87, each chord is repeated an octave higher
between each sixteenth note. Repetition from measure to measure or at a

higher level does not occur, likely due to the brevity of the theme 4 area.

117

 

However, a few motivic ideas are sequenced and restated in two bar
groupings, such as in bars 87 and 88.

Harmonic repetition is common in all three works. In The Lark
Ascending and the Harmonica Romance, repetition is used a basic level,
from beat to beat to extend a thematic idea. In addition, two contrasting

chords are repeated in a single thematic area. In the Tuba Romanza. the

 

repetition occurs primarily at a higher level, with material in theme 1 that
returns in the A’ section. This type of repetition also occurs in The Lark

Ascending and the Harmonica Romance.

 

All three works contain short sections of birnodality or bitonality. L
In The Lark Ascending this occurs between pentatonic and modal
structures in the first theme area and multiple tonal centers in other
thematic areas, as the harmony is not consistently in agreement with the
melody. In the Tuba Romanza short moments of tonal ambiguity occur
where themes are stated in elision. Since the Romance for Harmonica is
based on the juxtaposition of two separate scales, many examples of
bimodality or bitonality can be found in short and long sections. The Lark
Ascending is the only work to include sections constructed on incomplete
or gapped scalar structures.

All three works contain sections of block and contrapuntal
accompaniment. The only significant block accompaniment in the m

Romanza is the contrasting, detached theme presented by the winds. This

118

 

is also the only example among the three works where a contrasting
theme is attached to a timbral group.

Since none of these works are based on functional tonal
progressions, there are no authentic cadences delineating sections of a
work. However, the accompanying sonorities are almost always based on
the stacking of thirds. Key signatures in the Harmonica Romance do not
have any functional significance, but in the Tuba Romanza, they
accurately reflect the tonality of the soloist and the accompaniment. In
The Lark Ascending, key signatures do not consistently reflect the modal
center of the thematic or harmonic material.

The Harmonica Romance is the only work based on a synthetic
scale, which is closely allied with the octatonic scale. Other analytical
descriptions of this work, however, are based on the determination that
the B double-flat in the opening is the lowered sixth scale degree of the
D-flat major scale. This analysis, however, is a functional analysis that
fails to account for the remaining pitches not in a D-flat major structure.

In the Harmonica Romance, the vertical sonorities remain the same
when thematic material is immediately repeated or returns in the A’
section. They may be rhythmically embellished, but the essential
harmonic fabric remains unchanged. This is also true in the Tag;
Romanza, and themes 2 and 3 of The Lark Ascending. In theme 1 of the
A’ section in The Lark Ascending, however, thematic material remains

unchanged over transformed vertical sonorities.

119

 

 

The recapitulation of theme 4 in the B section of The Lark
Ascending also contains the same vertical treatment, emphasizing its
ternary structure and independence from the A section. The B section of
the Harmonica Romance. however, does not contain a recapitulation of
theme 3, weakening the independence of the middle section. In addition,

. the transposition of the synthetic scale to the dominant pitch also

 

 

weakens the independence of the B section. Large-scale sectional contrast
i
in the Tuba Romanza. however, is dependent on the modulation of
material presented in the A section, a functional treatment.
i

120

Chapter 6: Textural Considerations

In choosing accompanying instruments, Vaughan
Williams was able to create textures that did not
dominate the solo voice. While the violin is a common
choice for a solo instrument, the harmonica and tuba
were unusual choices at the time. In other works,
Vaughan Williams commonly assigned thematic
content to specific timbres, emphasized contrasting
ideas through texture and grouped instruments I"
together in thematic statements.

Each of the solo instruments in the works of this study poses their

9.: '3

own individual challenge in scoring with an orchestra. Vaughan Williams

 

wrote The Lark Ascending for strings, oboe, triangle, and pairs of flutes, L-
clarinets, bassoons and horns. An optional edition with reduced winds
was also prepared. The harmonica, in the Romance for Harmonica. is only
accompanied by strings and piano, while the tuba is accompanied by
chamber sized winds, limited percussion and a string choir.

Textural change is the primary means of variety in the A section of
The Lark Ascending. As themes are restated, they are frequently on the
same pitch classes, just passed between different instruments. The solo
violin’s sole opportunity to introduce a theme is with theme 1, which was
presented in the opening cadenza with accompaniment. Otherwise, the
orchestral instruments introduce thematic material.

In addition to providing variety, timbral change is used as a form
of development since it is the primary form of variation in thematic

sections. The exception is theme 3, where a tutti ensemble plays in bar

121

40. During the second statement of theme 2, the harmony is moved from
the strings to the winds. Textural change is also emphasized during
sections of limited instrumentation, such as during the theme 5 area.
After the hemiola in bars 48 to 49, the A section begins to close
with an exchange of the fragmentary motive. However, each statement
begins on the same pitch classes and the primary change is textural, as

shown below in Figure 60.

Figure 60: Beginning of the A section closing area

Solo vln. - J I

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Another imitative entrance begins in bar 59.2, on a fragment of the
beginning of theme 1. This entrance is passed in similar fashion through
different timbres, which all begin on the same pitch class.

The independence of the solo violin is more pronounced in the B
section, as three statements of theme 4 have occurred before the solo
violin plays only the closing part of the melody. During theme 2, the
counter-line of the solo violin was derived from the cadenza, as shown in
Figure 61. In the theme 4 section, the solo violin presents an unfolded E

minor-minor seven chord, then a B diminished-minor seven chord,

122

 

Figure 61: Solo violin in A section, theme 2 area

 

 

 

 

 

 

shown in Figure 62.

The harmonic texture in the B section begins with a combination of
horns, low strings and bassoons, thinner than in bar 5 at the beginning of
the A section. Accompanying voices are doubled at the second statement
of theme 4, and the melodic voices are doubled in the third statement.

Figure 63: Closing area of theme 4

 

Solo vln.

    

A

123

 

As the theme area begins to come to a close, the second part of theme 4
is exchanged in imitation between several voices, shown in Figure 63. The
layering is similar to the treatment of the fragmentary motive.

The triangle plays an important role by setting up a new tempo
prior to the oboe’s entrance on theme 5. This section is the most thinly

scored of the work, even when a counter-line is introduced in the bassoon

Figure 64: Counter-line to theme 5

    

123

in bar 123.2, shown in Figure 64, which is later passed to a clarinet.

Beginning in bar 131, the tremolos in the strings replace the
counter-line as the primary accompanying material. Four layers of activity
spread throughout the tutti ensemble, contributing to a buildup to the
Anirnato in bar 142.2. After this moment, each layer drops out one by
one until only the solo violin is left in bar 168.

A return of the duple meter and theme 4 occurs in bar 169, and the
texture in the harmony has changed from pizzicato strings to a lyrical,
block pattern. After the theme is completed, the solo violin states the
unfolded E minor-minor seven chord as before, but a restatement of
theme 4 does not occur. Rather, the musical line decrescendos to bar 190,
where a short two-bar idea, derived from the introduction begins. This
idea is repeated twice with different voices layering on top to build to the

A’ section in bar 196.

124

 

Theme 1 is doubled when it returns in bar 196, unlike the solo
presentation in the initial A section. The texture has been thickened by
the transformation of the block chords in the accompaniment to
independent contrapuntal lines in a full ensemble texture. After the first
theme area is complete, the fragmentary motive is heard in imitation, but

this time there are only two statements before theme 2 enters. Texturally,

 

...-
themes 2 and 3 are treated in similar manners in the A’ section, as is the
fragmentary restatement of theme 1 prior to the final cadenza.
Theme 1 of the Tuba Romanza is passed between several
instruments during its initial statement. The theme begins in the first '

violins, passes to the second violins and a clarinet at the end of bar 4,
and a solo horn completes the theme, beginning in bar 8.1. The bassoon
also reinforces the melodic line, begirming in bar 7.2. The texture of the
harmonic accompaniment is thick, as the parts move in contrapuntal
fashion and the cellos and Violas are marked divisi.

Following the entrance of the tuba in bar 9 on theme 2, the viola
and cello parts returns to a single line. The entire woodwind choir
interjects an E minor chord, with an added fourth, on beat 2 of bar 10,
masking the D major progression in the solo tuba.

When the tuba begins the second half of theme 2 in bar 14, two
horns add a layer to the accompaniment. The lower horn is on a pedal D
for two measures, while the first horn moves in similar motion to the

remainder of the ensemble. As the tuba completes its statement in bar 18

125

and modulates to B minor, the strings and woodwinds emerge in elision
on theme 1. The horns have changed to a B pedal tone with the string
basses. After the horn drops out and returns in bar 22, it again adds its
own layer to the texture.

The texture thins at the beginning of the B section, where the flutes
and both violin parts enter on theme 1. In bar 30, a clarinet and oboe
interrupt the flutes and double the melodic line with the violins for a
measure. In bar 31, the texture thickens as the three layers are doubled in

multiple instruments.

Figure 65: Contrary theme in the Romanza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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34

 

 

In bar 34.2, the horns and Clarinets enter on a counter theme
foreign to the lyrical style of the entire movement, as shown in Figure 65.
This idea contrasts with the solo tuba’s entrance in the following

measure, a procedure common in many of Vaughan Williams’ symphonic

Figure 66: Contrary theme at the beginning of the A’ section

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

126

 

works, though here a new instrumentation is not introduced with the
style contrast, but the instrumentation does emphasize the detached
nature of the idea. This contrasting idea is played forte at the return of
the A section, as shown in Figure 66, by the trumpets, trombones, oboe
and Clarinets, over the B minor version of theme 2 in the low strings and

solo tuba. The orchestration changes in bar 49, where the strings begin to

:—

altemate between lyrical and detached figures. The detached theme fades

away prior to the return of the solo tuba in bar 52 on theme 2. r
The solo tuba is scored in the top tessitura of its range in bar 62

and able to project over the orchestra, even at the climax when the first E"

 

trumpet is doubled with the first violins in octaves, a powerful
combination. The contrapuntal nature of each line allows the texture to
be balanced in this section. The only other tutti section of the work is at
the end of the B section, where the tuba leads a crescendo from
pianissimo to forte at the return of the A section in B minor at bar 48.
When theme 1 returns in bar 67, the texture is similar to the
entrance in bar 18, except a pedal B in the second horn is the only Wind
accompaniment. The texture remains thin, as in the beginning, though
the melody is harmonized in parallel triads in the strings. The
woodwinds return in bar 70, thickening the texture at a pianissimo
dynamic, as the solo tuba returns on beat 3 of the measure. Only the solo

tuba and string choir remains at the end.

127

Vaughan Williams takes full advantage of the harmonica’s ability to
play multiple pitches at the same time in the Romance for Harmonica.
The opening theme is an exploration of triads in various inversions of D-
flat major and C major.

The piano, in the Harmonica Romance. is orchestrated to reinforce

moving lines in the strings. In addition to textural change, the inclusion

 

I“
of a piano provides a stronger articulation style to compliment the solo 2;
l.
harmonica. ‘
Of the three pieces in this study, textural variety is most important
in The Lark Ascending, due to the amount of thematic and harmonic L

repetition. The textural changes in The Lark Ascending amount to a
method of development, a common technique in Vaughan Williams’
works. The Harmonica Romance. lacking winds and percussion on the
other hand, was likely a difficult work for Vaughan Williams to score, but
completed in an effective fashion. If winds had been included, they likely
could have only been used in sections where the harmonica was silent,
for reasons of balance.

Textural variety is used at a more basic level in The Lark Ascending
and the Tuba Romanza. In the first statement of theme 1 in the T_uba_
Romanza, the melody is passed between the first violins, second violins,

clarinet, bassoon and horn. During a later statement, the tuba enters at

128

 

Figure 67: Theme 1 overlap in Tuba Romanza
A /—\

First violins

     

/—\‘ ft

 

one of these points of exchange, as shown in Figure 67. In themes 4 and 5
of The Lark Ascending, the passing of the line to another melodic
instrument is also characteristic. As evidenced in these works, textural
variety was important at the early and later stages of Vaughan Williams’
compositional career.

In the Harmonica Romance, when the strings take over the melodic
line, the harmonica often juxtaposes a counter-line the strings had played
earlier, or a variation of it. Though this technique is not utilized in the
Tuba Romanza, however, in The Lark Ascending the bird-like trills are
passed between the solo violin and flutes. In addition, counter material
derived from the rhapsodic cadenza is exchanged between the solo violin

and upper woodwinds in The Lark Ascending.

129

The winds play an important role in presenting thematic material
in The Lark Ascending. In the Tuba Romanza. the winds are largely
subordinate to the strings, but rise to prominence when the contrasting
theme is introduced in the B section. Of the three works, this is the only

example of a theme being introduced in a sudden, contrasting style.

 

fr

130

Chapter 7: Biographical Sketches

The purpose of this chapter is to provide biographical
information about the performers who premiered the
works discussed in this document. The Lark
Ascending was written for Marie Hall, the Romance
for Harmonica was composed for Larry Adler, and the
Tuba Concerto was premiered by Philip Catelinet.

The Lark Ascendlng - Violin 3*
Marie Hall was the daughter of two musicians and oldest of three

other siblings. She was born in 1884 in Newcastle-upon Tyne where her

 

father, Edward Felix, was a harpist. He worked for the Carl Rosa Opera

Company,220 while Hall’s mother was a pianist. Her father wanted Marie
to play the harp, but she took up violin with the help of a local teacher,
Hildegarde Werner. At nine, Emile Sauret heard Hall play and suggested
that she be sent to the Royal Academy of Music, but this was beyond the
family’s financial abilities.221

Edward Elgar discovered her playing on the street with her father
when she was ten and gave her some lessons. The Roeckel family of
London later provided care and assistance under an agreement with
Hall’s father that allowed Marie to be in London for three years.222 She

was able to receive instruction from August Wilhelrnj for three months

 

220 Dictionag of Modern Music and Musicians, A. Eaglefield-Hull, ed. (London: J .M.

Dent & Sons [1924]) 209-210.

221 w,w, Cobbett, “Marie Hall,” Grove’s Dictionary of Music (New York: MacMillan,
1947) 498.

222 “New Violinist Coming,” New York Times (1 October 1905) SMIO.

131

and later from Max Mossel and Johann Kruse. Mossel taught her for free

at the Midland Institute School of Music in Birmingham while she stayed

with a local family, the Radcliffs.223

In 1899, Hall won a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of
Music, but could not afford to accept the offer. Her status, however,
rapidly grew and she was able to travel to Prague to study with Otakar I.

Sevcik in 1901. He thought highly of her, pronouncing that she was a

genius and one of the greatest violinists of the century.224

Hall made solo debuts throughout Europe, including: Vienna,

 

Prague and London. In 1903, she was called back to the stage six times
after performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Henry Wood in

London. She was received as a star and regarded as a leading virtuoso

performer in Europe.225
She was known for her excellent tone, intonation and a remarkable

technical skill. The story that she had been discovered on the street
playing for pennies only reinforced a celebrity appeal.226 Hall came along

at a time when the public had an appetite for virtuosic talent and in a

profession that allowed women. She was the first British female violin

 

223
356.

22" “Musical Notes: Marie Hall,” New York Times (2 July 1905) x3.

225 “Music and Musicians: Marie Hall,” New York Times (8 March 1903) 26.

226 Ronald Pearsall, “The Lady Violinist of the Victorian Era.” T__he Strad 75 (February
1966) 371.

M. Montagu-Nathan, “Correspondence: Marie Hall,” The Strad 67 (October 1957)

132

player to establish an international reputation?” Hall presented a concert
under the patronage of the queen, who also took an interest in her
career.228

Her popularity spread to other parts of the world and performance
debuts were planned in the United States, Australia and South Africa.

Before leaving in 1905, Hall gave a charity performance for the aid of the

Sirnla Holiday Home for Women and Girls in London.229

Hall’s debut concert in New York was given in Carnegie Hall with
Hamilton Harry at the piano in November of 1905. Sixty concerts were
planned in New York, including appearances with the New York
Symphony, Boston Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera House
Orchestra. Some of the works she performed included: Mendelssohn’s
Violin Concerto, Wieniawski’s “Faust” Fantasia. Paganirri’s Viglig

Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Saint-Saens’ Rondo

 

Canriccioso.

While the London public and critics accepted her as a great artist
for her “purity and sweetness,”230 New York critics found that Hall’s

performances lacked “individual touch” and a “deep musical feeling.”231

 

227 Margaret Campbell, The Great Violinists (Garden City, New York: Doubleday &

Co., 1981) 206-7.
228 “New Violinist Corning,” New York Times (I October 1905) SMIO.
229 “Concerts,” The (London) Times (30 January 1907) 12.
230 “Of Music and Musicians: Marie Hall,” New York Times (1 November 1903) 25.

231 “Miss Marie Hall’s Recital: She Appears in Carnegie Hall Before a Large Audience,”
New York Times (23 November 1905) 6.

133

 

Further, that she did not have a natural instinct to interpret style, likely
due to her youth. By the time she was 21, she had already become one of
the most popular violinists in England?”

While in New York, Hall purchased a violin she thought was a
Stradivarius. The family in possession of the instrument treated it as an
heirloom, but thought it should be played again.233 Previously, she 3"
performed on a Guarnerius violin234 that Paganini had performed on.235

After marrying Edward Baring in 1911, Hall appeared less

frequently in recital and on tour. She recorded Elgar’s Violin Concerto in

 

1916, which is available today under the title: “Great Virtuosi of the
Golden Age.” A current review notes her “sparing vibrato,”236 but this
characteristic was viewed as “neatness of tone” when compared to the
vibrato of the early twentieth century?”

Hall apparently recovered from an ailment that required an
operation in 1920,238 but her period of notoriety had already been in

decline. In 1922, she presented a concert at Queen’s Hall, but the critics

 

232 “obituary: Marie Hall,” Musical America 77 (1 January 1957) 46-

233 “Miss Marie Hall’s Violin Find: May Buy Here What She Believes to be a
Stradivarius,” New York Times (31 December 1905) X2.

234 “New Violinist Coming,” New York Times (1 October 1905) SMIO.
235 “Miss Marie Hall Arrives," New York Times (6 November 1905), 9.

236 Scott Cantrell, “Is Elgar’s Music Stodgy? Not the Way He Conducts It," New York
Times (2 May 1993) H31.

237 “Miss Marie Hall,” B.F. The Musical Times 68 (1 December 1927) 1122.
238 “[Operation: Marie Hall],” The (London) Times (24 March 1920) 19-

 

134

found her performance was presented “with an air of scientific

detachment that [was] almost disconcerting.”239

Throughout her career, Hall appeared on stages in Europe,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and India.
She premiered many new works, including those by Rutland Boughton,
Percy Sherwood, Gordon Bryan and Ralph Vaughan Williams. She died at
the age of seventy—two in 1956.
Rgmance for Harmonica - Harmonica S

Born in 1914, Larry Adler was largely a self-taught performer and

 

 

composer. He was the older of two siblings, and his parents immigrated
to the United States as infants from Russia. Fascinated by music at an
early age, he disliked his parents’ old piano so much that he talked the
owner of a store into sending a new one to his home without deposit. His
parents, however, had to work out a payment plan, as they could not

afford a $2500 instrument. The owner gave him a harmonica as

commission, and he taught himself to play it.240

Adler won a harmonica contest sponsored by the Baltimore Sun
when he was 14 and left Baltimore for New York. After an audition,

Borrah Minevitch’s Harmonica Band told him he stunk and thus began his

 

239 “Concerts: Miss Marie Hall’s Recital,” The (London) Times (1 November 192 7) 12.

240 Richard Severo, “Larry Adler, Political Exile Who Brought The Harmonica to
Concert Stage, Dies...,” New York Times (8 August 2001) A15.

135

solo career, which started as a nightclub act?41 He later attended the

Peabody Conservatory of Music, but was expelled for “mischief-

making.”242 In 1985, Peabody awarded him an Honorary Doctorate.
Over his seventy years of performance, he played with
professionals in the classical, jazz and popular worlds of music,
including: Sting, Fred Astaire, Jack Benny, Dizzy Gillespie and George F
Gershwin. He was the first player to raise the harmonica to concert 1
status,243 getting Vaughan Williams, Darius Milhaud, Malcolm Arnold, li-

Gordon Jacob, Joaquin Rodrigo and Arthur Benjamin to write works

 

featuring the instrument.
He was at a height of popularity in the 19403 and 19503, when he

2’4 the term he preferred

was known as the maestro of the mouth-organ,
to harmonica. During World War II, he entertained troops in the Middle
East and North Africa with Jack Benny and Ingrid Bergman. Before the
war, he had married Eileen Walser in 1938 and had also begun a
professional association with Paul Draper, a tap dancer, which resulted in
a tour of Europe after the war.

In the late 19403, however, he was attacked as a communist in the

United States and appeared before the McCarthy Commission in 1952.

 

2‘“ Stephen Holding, “Larry Adler ‘Sings’ Mouth Organ at Ballroom,” New York Times

(24 December 1975) C1.

242 Doug Galloway and Eric Bloom, “Obituary: Larry Adler,” Variety (13 August 2001).
59.

243 “Obituary: Larry Adler,” Gramophone 79 (October 2001) 21.

2“" Tim Devlin, “Larry Adler: His Heart in His Mouth,” The (London) Times (2 June
1973)12.

136

 

Blacklisted for refusing to name friends who were suspected of being
communists, his career in the United States was ruined. Adler moved to
England, which remained his home for the rest of his life. He continued
to teach, tour and broadcast on radio. He wrote music for the movie
Genevieve in 1953, but his name was left off the credits. The music,

however, was eventually nominated for an Oscar.

 

F
Adler’s life was marked by periods of depression, which {i
I
contributed to the breakup of two marriages and hurt his performance 1
reputation. His first marriage ended in 1961, and a 1967 union with Sally
i

Cline, a journalist, ended in 1977. As a child he was raised an orthodox

Jew and became famous for his Jewish jokes later in life?“15

During his lifetime, Adler appeared on diverse stages, including:
Broadway, vaudeville, the concert hall stage, and in movies as himself. In
1952, his first full solo recital in Town Hall marked the introduction of
the mouth-organ to the concert hall, a performance remembered for
Adler’s great skill and heartwarming renditions of the music
performed.246 Suffering from cancer, Adler died in 2001.

Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra - Tuba

Philip Catelinet was a composer, arranger, performer and teacher.

He was a pianist of distinction and a dedicated Salvation Army officer.

Born in 1910 in Guernsey, he was a bandmaster by the time he was 19. In

 

245 Tim Devlin, “Larry Adler: His Heart in His Mouth,” The (London) Times (2 June

1973) 12.
246 “Larry Adler Gives Solo Recital Here,” R.P., New York Times (4 May 1952) 89-

137

1934, he married Rosalind Hill and later joined BBC Military Band as a

euphonium player?“ The couple would work together to compose many
vocal works for the Salvation Army. During World War II, he served in the
Royal Army Medical Corp, the same division Ralph Vaughan Williams had
served with during the Great War.

After completing more than four years of service, he returned to

 

:—
the BBC as a musician, as former employers were responsible for

employing former soldiers. Catelinet would have preferred returning to a @-

position on the piano, but the only openings were on tuba in London and

Glasgow as the BBC Military Band had been disbanded. The BBC organiz- L

ed an audition for him in front of a committee headed by Adrian Boult?“

Catelinet was assigned as the tubist of the BBC Theatre Orchestra
in London. He was happy to not be returning to Glasglow, where his first
two sons had died in an air raid early in the war. After this group was
reduced, he was offered employment as tubist in the London Symphony
and Philharmonic Orchestras.

In 1956, he immigrated to the United States and became a
Professor of Music at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1971 he presented
the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto in Carnegie Hall under Richard

Strange. Catelinet died in 1995.

 

247 Peter Wilson ed., “In Memoriam: Philip Catelinet,” T.U.B.A. loumal 23 (Winter
1996) 38.

248 Philip Catelinet, “The Truth About the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto.”
T.U.B.A. loumal 18 (Summer 1991) 52.

138

Appendix A: Discography

Thg grk Ascgnging, Romance for Vlolln and Qrchgatya

Bae, Ik-Hwan, violin. Holst: Savitri et.al. Manhattan School of Music
Chamber Sinfonia. Glen Cortese, dir. Phoenix Usa 145, 2000.

 

Bagnall, Catherine, violin. Tu es petra. Richard Morgan, Organ. AFKA
S4662, 1981.

Beam, Hugh, violin. Symphony no. 6 in E Minor. New Philharmonia
Orchestra. Adrian Boult, dir. Angel 536469 (LP), 1967.

Nine Symphonies. The. EMI, 1967-1971.
Pastoral Music of Vaughan Williams, The. Angel 836902 (LP), 1973.

Sir Adrian Boult Conducts Vaughan Williams. EMI CDC 7472182,
1987.

The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World. . .ever! II. EMI
Classics 66967, 2001.

Vaughan Williams: Norfolk Rhapsody. EMI Classics 64022, 1991.

Vaughan Williams: Complete Symphonies. EMI Classics 73924,
2000.

Bochmann, Michael, violin. Vaughan Williams: The Wasps. English String
Orchestra. William Boughton, dir. Nimbus 1754, 1999.

Explore The Classics: Love. Allegro 1, 1998.

Meditations For a Quiet Dawn: Vaughan Williams, Ives, et.al.
Nimbus 7009, 1994.

Orchestral Favorites vol. III: Broughton. et.al. Nimbus 7013, 1994.

Portrait of Vaughan Williams, A. Nimbus 5208, 1992.

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis,
et.al. Musical Heritage Society 515224A, 1998.

Spirit of England, The. Nimbus 5210, 1992.

139

l‘d’j’. ' In —

 

“Tm-'1'! ..
'16:. .

 

Brown, Iona, violin. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. et.al.
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fileds. Neville Marriner, dir. Argo
ZRG 696, 1972.

Adagio II. Celestial Harmonies CD 14052, 1992.

English Connection. The. Musical Heritage Society MHC 9001,
1984.

Equal Music: Music Featured In The Novel By Vikram Smith, An.
London/Decca CD 466945, 2000.

Fantasia On Greensleeves et.al. London/Decca CD 452707, 1997.
For Your Life - For A Rainy Day. London/Decca CD 470237, 2001. E
Heavenly Adagipa. London/Decca 149602, 2003.

Lie Back and Eniov England. BBC WMEF00412, 2002.

 

 

Platinum: Vaughan Williams; Three Vocalises et.al. ASV 8520,
2002.

Vaughan Williams Weekend. London/Decca Weekend Classics
433085, 1992.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme By Tallis. Argo 414595,
1990.

Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works. Decca CD 289 460 357-2,
1999

Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works. London/Decca Double
Decker 460357, 1999.

Carney, Jonathan, violin. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Vaughan
Williams. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Christopher Seaman, dir.

Platinum Entertainment 2836, 1998.

Chang, Sarah, violin. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 5. London
Philharmonic Orchestra. Bernard Haitink, dir. EMI Classics 55487,
1995.

Orchestral Works. EMI Classics 86026, 2004.

Chausow, Oscar, violin. Belshazzar’s Feast. Utah Symphony Orchestra.
Maurice Abravanel, dir. Candide CE 31052, 1971.

140

Creswick, Bradley, violin. Selections. Northern Sinfonia of England.
Richard Hickox, dir. Angel DS38244, 1985.

British Composers: Hickox Conducts Vaughan Williams. EMI
Classics 73986, 2000.

Davis, Michael, violin. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 5. London
Symphony Orchestra. Bryden Thomson, dir. Chandos 8554, 1987.

Vaughan Williams: Complete Concertos. Chandos 9262, 1994.
Varghan Williams: Norfolk Rhapsody no. 1. Chandos 9775, 1999. u-

Druian, Raphael, violin. Romances and Serenades. Cleveland Sinfonietta.
Louis Lane, dir. Epic BC 1275, 1963.

Works for Orchestra: Vaughan Williams, Delius. Sony Classical
Essential Classics 62645, 1996.

 

Dyck, Calvin. Meditation. Betty Suderman, Piano. Mennonite Central L
Committee Supportive Care Services IKR008CD, 1998.

Friedman, Richard, violin. Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia. London
Festival Orchestra. Ross Pople, dir. ASV 779, 1993.

Greed, David, violin. Vapghan Williams: Job - A Masque for Dancing. The
Lark Ascending. English Northern Philharmonia. David Lloyd-
Jones, dir. Naxos 8.553955, 1997.

Classical Thanksgiving: We Gather ngether. A. Naxos 8555293,
2000.

Lark Ascending: Violin Showpieces, The. Naxos 553509, 1997.
Griffiths, Barry, violin. Classics: Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. A

et.al. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Andre Previn, dir. Telarc

80138, 1987.

The Man in the Shadow. SSR172, 2001.

Griffiths, Barry, violin. [No Titlel. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Paavo
Berglund, dir. EMI ASD 3904, n.d.

Grinke, Frederick, violin. lVaughan Williamsl. Boyd Neel String
Orchestra. Boyd Neel, dir. Decca X259/260, 1940.

Boyd Neel Conducts Britten and Vaughan Williams. Dutton
259/60+Z2812, 1994.

141

Hahn, Hillary. Elgar. Vaughan Williams. London Symphony Orchestra.
Colin Davis, dir. Deutsche Grammophon 302602, 2004.

Elgar, Vaughan Williams. Deutsche Grammophon 312136, 2004.

Hoebig, Gwen. The Lark Ascending. Winnepeg Symphony Orchestra.
Bramwell Tovey, dir. CBC SM 5000, 2001..

Jansen, Janine. lanine lansen. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Barry
Wordsworth, dir. London/Decca 200902, 2004.

Juritz, David, violin. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves. F
Consort of London. Robert Haydon Clark, dir. Collins Classics
1 140, 2000.

Hoebig, Gwen, violin. The Lark Ascending. Winnepeg Symphony
Orchestra. Bramwell Tovy, dir. CBC SM 5000 Series 5176, 2001.

 

Kennedy, Nigel, violin. flgar violin Concerto, Vaughan Williams. City of 1,.—
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Simon Rattle, dir. EMI Classics
566413, 1998.

Best Classics 100. EMI Classics 85842. 2004.
Nigel Kennedy’s Greatest Hits. EMI Classics 57330, 2003.

Walton. Vaughan Williams. et.al. EMI Great Artists of the Century
62814, 2004.

Little, Tasmin, violin. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 6. BBC
Symphony Orchestra. Andrew Davis, dir. Teldec 73127, 1991.

Purcell et.al.: English Experience. Teldec 20590, 2002.

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies, The Lark Ascending. Ultima
84070, 2000.

Menges, Isolde, violin. [No Titlel. Orchestra. Malcom Sargent, dir. HMV
C1622, n.d.

Meyers, Anne Akiko, violin. Anne Akiko Meyers: Mendelssohn et.al.
Philharmonia Orchestra. Andrew Litton, dir. RCA Victor Red Seal
61 700, 1997.

Violin for Relaxation. RCA Victor 63676, 2000.

Mordkovitch, Lydia, violin. Vaughan Williams: Works for violin & Piano.
Julian Milford, Piano. IMP Masters 6600132, 1996.

142

Nolan, David, violin. The Lark Ascending et.al. London Philharmonic
Orchestra. Vernon Handley, dir. EMI Eminence 4120821 (LP), 1985.

Elgar: Enigma Variations; Vaughan Williams: Fantasias et.al.
Classics For Pleasure 574880, 2002.

Unforgettable Classics. Classics for Pleasure 573538, 2000.

Vaughan Williams: Lark Ascending. Variants. Classics for Pleasure
9508, 1995.

Pougnet, Jean, violin. Sorgg of Thanksgiving, et.al. London Philharmonic
Orchestra. Adrian Boult, dir. Parlophone Odeon PMB 1003 (LP), n.d.

British Composers: Vaughan Williams; Dona Nobis Pacem, et.al. EMI
Classics 574782, 2002

Symphony no. 6. et.al. Dutton Laboratories 9703, 2000.

Shaham, Hagai, violin. Lark Ascending: The Soft Sounds of Vaughan
Williams. New Queen’s Hall Orchestra. Barry Wordsworth, dir.
London/Decca 455612, 1997.

The World of Great British Classics. London/Decca 466351, 1999.

Teal, Christian, violin. Black Tie Optional. Vanderbflt Orchestra. John
Russell, dir. Vanderbflt University Blair School of Music VU-BSM-OI,
[1992].

Warren—Green, Christopher, violin. Introduction and Allegro for String;
The Lark Ascendirg. London Chamber Orchestra. Christopher
Warren-Green, dir. Virgin 259 857—218, 1989.

String§erenadesz Tchaikovsky. Dvorakmar. et.al. Virgin Classics
61 763, 2000.

Vaugfin Williams. Elgar. Virgin Classics Ultraviolet 61 126, 1994.

Wise, David, violin. [No Titlel. Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Malcolm Sargent, dir. Columbia DX 1386/7, n.d.

Malcohn Sargent Conducts English Music. Dutton CDAX8012,
1995.:

Zukerman, Pinchas, violin. Fantasia on Greensleeves. et.al. English
Chamber Orchestra. Daniel Barenboirn, dir. Deutsche
Grammophon 2862 068, 1975.

143

 

Concerto fur tuba, The Lark Ascending, Concerto fiir Oboe.
Deutsche Grammophone 2530 906 (LP), 1977.

Four Seasons: A Musical Calendar of Favorite Classics. The.
Deutsche Grammophon CD 469376, 2003.

Mghtmoods: Twilight Hour. Deutsche Grammophon 453909, 1998

Vaughan Williams: Greensleeves, The Lark Ascending. DG Galleria
439529, 1993.

Concerto In F Minor for Bass Tuba

Arwood, Jeffrey, tuba. ASBDA Convention: June 1985. The United States
Army Band (Pershing’s Own). Col. Eugene W. Allen, dir. New Age
Sight and Sound (T), 1985.

Catelinet, Philip, tuba. [No Titlel. London Symphony Orchestra. John
Barbirolli, dir. His Master’s Voice (LP) BLP 1078, (T) HTB 410, 1955.

Barbirolli Collection. A. EMI Classics 5757902, 2002.

Barbirolli Conducts Elgar and Vaughan Willams. British Composers
CMSS665432, 1998.

British Composers: Vaughan Williams: Symphony no. 7. Oboe
Concerto. tuba Concerto. et.al. EMI Classics CD 7243 566543 2 7,
2002.

Cooley, Floyd, tuba. DePaul University Wind Ensemble. vol. 3. DePaul
University Wind Ensemble. Donald DeRoche, dir. Albany TROY
501, 2002.

Dowling, Eugene, tuba. Music Featuring the Tuba. London Symphony
Orchestra. Paul Freeman, dir. Digitally Encoded Cassette Classics
CS EC-6033, n.d.

English Tuba. The. Pro Arte CDD 595, 1992.

Droste, Paul, euphonium. Euphonium Solos: Way Out. But Not Too Far.
Anne Droste, piano. Coronet, n.d.

Fletcher, John, tuba. Vaughan Williams: Pastoral Symphony/Tuba
Concerto. London Symphony Orchestra. Andre Previn, dir. RCA
Red Sea] LSC-3281 (LP), 1972.

than Williams: Symphony no. 5. et.al. RCA Victor Gold Seal
60586, 1990.

144

 

__-£——~—___4

 

Comlete Collections: The Nine Symphonies. et.al. RCA Victor Red
Seal 55708, 2004.

Harrild, Patrick, tuba. Vatighan Williams. London Symphony Orchestra;
Bryden Thomson, dir. Chandos 8740, 1989.

than Williams: Complete Concertos. Chandos 9262, 1994.
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works. Chandos 92623, 1994.

Jacobs, Arnold, tuba. Portrait of an Artist. First movement from the
Tuba Concerto. the home practice tapes. Summit Records DCD I}
267, 2000.

. . “ban.

Jacobs, Arnold, tuba. Concerto fur tuba, The Lark Ascending. Concerto
fiir Oboe. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber ‘
Orchestra. Daniel Barenboirn, dir. Deutsche Grammophone 2530 g

 

906 (LP), 1977.
Chicago Principal, The. Deutsche Grammophon 2502, 2003.

Lind, Michael, tuba. Michael Lind Spelar Musik. Royal Stockholm
Philharmonic Orchestra. Leif Segerstam, dir. Caprice CAP 1143,
1980.

Virtuoso Tuba. The. Caprice Records CAP 21493, 1995.

Nahatzki, Richard, tuba. 20th Century Wind Concertos. Deutsches
Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Hans Zimmer, dir. Capriccio Records
10522, 1999.

Perantoni, Daniel, tuba. In Concert with the University of Illinois Band.
University of Illinois Symphonic Band. Harry Begian, dir. College
Presentation Series 106, n.d.

Phillips, Harvey, tuba. Music for the Underdogs of the Orchestra. New
England Conservatory Orchestra. Gunther Schuller, dir. GM
Recordings GM 2004, 1984.

Strand, Donald, tuba. 1979 Music Teachers National Association
Collegiate Artists Winners. Peggy Randolph, Piano. Silver Crest
MTNA-79-2B, 1979.

Webber, Julian, cello. English Idyll. Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
Neville Marriner, dir. Philips 4425302, 1994.

145

 

Rpmanpg In D flat for Harmonica, Strings ang Planp

Adler, Larry, harmonica. Discovepy. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Morton Gould, dir. RCA Victor LSC 2986, 1968

 

Larry Adler Plays Works for Harmonica and Orchestra. RCA Red
Seal LSC 3078, 1969.

Adler, Larry, harmonica. lNo titlel. BBC Symphony Orchestra. Malcolm
Sargent, dir. Columbia DX 1861, 1952.

British Composers — Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem. et.al.
EMI Classics CD 574782, 2001.

Reilly, Tommy, harmonica. Works for Harmonica and Orchestra.
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fileds. Neville Marriner, dir. Argo ZRG
856, 1977.

Romance for Harmonica. Strings and Piano. Decca 289 460 357-2.
1999.

VauQan Williams: The Poisoned Kiss. Sea Songs. et.al. Chandos
2409, 1999.

Vaughan Williams. Tausky. Moody. Jacob. Chandos 8617, 1992.

146

 

Appendix B: Dissertations and Theses

Adams, William. “Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel: An
Historical, Theoretical, and Performance Practice Investigation and
Analysis (Robert Louis Stevenson, England).” D.M.A. doc., The
University of Texas at Austin, 1999.

 

Baker, Norma. “Concerning the Dona Nobis Pacem of Ralph Vaughan
Williams and the War Requiem of Benjamin Britten.” M.A. thesis,
University of Southern California, 1969.

Ballantine, Christopher. “Tradition and Innovation in the Twentieth
Century Symphony.” Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University, 1971.

Bartels, Bruce. “The English Symphony in the Nineteenth Century.” M.A.
thesis, University of Nebraska, 1967.

Batista, Ned. “Vaughan Williams and the Sixth Symphony in E minor.”
M.M. thesis, University of Houston, 1964.

Bergsagel, John. “The National Aspects of the Music of Ralph Vaughan
Williams.” Ph.D. diss., Cornell University, 1957.

Biggar, Alice. “An Analysis of the Oboe Concertos Dedicated to Leon
Goossens Composed by Malcohn Arnold, Eugene Goossens, and
Ralph Vaughan Williams.” D.M. doc., Florida State University, 1997.

Birdwell, John. “The Utilization of Folk Song Elements in Selected Works
by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Grainger with Subsequent
Treatment Exemplified in the Wind Band Music of David Stanhope.”
D.M.A. doc., University of North Texas, 1996.

Bray, Michael Robert. “The Liturgical Canticle Settings for Chorus and
Organ of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” D.M.A. doc., University of
Arizona, 1993.

Calloway, Edwin. “A Comparative Study of Three Song Cycles Based on
A.E. Housman’s A Shronshire Lad by Ralph Vaughan Williams,
George Butterworth and Arthur Somervell (England).” D.M.A. doc.,
The University of Alabama, 2001.

Cumming, Evelyn. “The Linear Properties of the Writings of Ralph
Vaughan Williams.” M.M. thesis, University of Rochester, 1946.

D’Angelo, Donald. “The Symphonies of Vaughan Williams.” M.M. thesis,
University of Michigan, 1962.

147

 

Dela Mare, J .M. “[A Bibliography of] The Published Musical Works of
Ralph Vaughan Williams in the Library of the British Museum up to
lst May 1949.” Diploma in Librarianship, University of London,
1949.

Dietel, Margarita. “The Treatment of Modality in the Works of Vaughan
Williams.” M.M. thesis, University of Rochester, 1953.

Doonan, Michael. “The Pilgrim’s Progress: An Analytical Study and Case
for Performance of the Opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams.” D.M.
diss., Indiana University, 1980.

Edmonds, William. “Harmony in the Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan
Williams.” M.A. thesis, North Texas State University, 1958.

Edwardes, Janet. “Unknown Regions: Some Choral Works of Ralph
Vaughan Williams.” Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr College, 1986.

Edwards, Aubrey. “The Life and Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams.”
M.C.M. thesis, South Western Baptist Theological Seminary, 1962.

Etter, Paul. “Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Hodie: An Analysis and
Performance Guide for the Choral Conductor.” Ph.D. diss., Texas
Tech University, 2002.

Fisher, Charles. “Analysis of the Part Writing Technic in the Later Works
of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” M.M. thesis, University of Rochester,
1941.

Fischer, Michael. “Ralph Vaughan Williams: An Interpretive Analysis of
the Concerto for Bass Tuba.” D.M.A. doc., University of Northern
Texas, 1998.

Foreman, Ronald. “The British Musical Renaissance: A Guide to
Research.” Fellow of Library Association diss., Library Association
ofLondon,1972.

Fowler, Lauren. “The Twentieth-Century English Unaccompanied Mass: A
Comparative Analysis of Masses by Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Herbert Howells, Bernard Stevens, and Edmund Rubbra.” D.A. doc.,
University of Northern Colorado, 1997.

Gamso, Nancy. “Twentieth-Century Works for Textless Voice and Various
Woodwinds with Three Recitals of Selected Works of Starnitz,
Roussel, Albinoni, Weber, Milhaud, and others [Vaughan Williams].”
D.M.A. doc., University of North Texas, 1992.

148

 

Haldane, John. “The Orchestral Idiom of Ralph Vaughan Williams as
Exemplified in the Fourth Symphony.” M.M. thesis, University of
Rochester, 1946.

Hall, Robert. “The Contribution of Ralph Vaughan Williams to Twentieth
Century English Hymnody.” M.A. thesis, Baptist Theological
Seminary, 1966.

Harris, Douglas. “An Analysis of the Wind Scoring Techniques of Ralph
Vaughan Williams and Transcriptions of Selected Works for
Various Wind Media.” D.A. thesis, University of Northern Colorado,
1997.

Hecht, Christoph. “Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Bliss-Sinfonik ohne
Metaphysik.” Ph.D. diss., Technische Universitat Berlin, 1996.

Hicks, Val. “Compositional Practices of Ralph Vaughan Williams as
revealed in selected choral works.” M.M. thesis, University of
Southern California, 1969.

Hoover, Jean. “Constructions of National Identities: Opera and
Nationalism in the British Isles (Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin
Britten, Arthur Sullivan, Ethel Smyth).” Ph.D. diss., Indiana
University, 1999.

Isted, Lisa. “Modal Structures in European Art Music, 1870-1939.” Ph.D.
diss., University of Bristol, 1993.

Jenifer, Gwendolyn. “An Analytical Study of the Cadence in Selected
Choral Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” M.M. diss., Howard
University, 1969.

Kimmel, William. “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Elements of His Musical
Style.” M.M. thesis, University of Rochester, 1935.”

Larson, Matthew. “Text/Music Relations in Ralph Vaughan Williams
Songs of Travel: An Interpretive Guide.” D.M.A. thesis, Arizona
State University, 2001.

Lathan, Mark. “Emotional Progression in Sacred Choral Music: How
Three Twentieth Century Masterworks Depict Grief in Time of War
and Song of Hope. a Cantata for Chorus and Orchestra (Original
Composition, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Michael Tippett, Benjamin
Britten, England)” Ph.D. diss., University of California-L03 Angeles.
2001.

149

 

 

Lusk, Franklin. “An Analytical Study of the Music and Text of Ralph
Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edga.” Ph.D. diss., Indiana
University, 1975.

Macan, Edward. “An Analytical Survey and Comparative Study of the
Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, c. 1910-193 5.”
Ph.D. diss., Claremont Graduate School, 1991.

Maxson, William. “A Study of Modality and Folk Song in the Choral Music
of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” M.M. thesis, Indiana University, 1957.

McCain, Eula. “Modality in Three of the Choral Works of Ralph Vaughan
Williams.” M.M. thesis, North Texas State University, 1957.

McCray, James. “The British Magnificat in the Twentieth Century.” Ph.D.
diss., University of Iowa, 1968.

Onderdonk, Julian. “Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Folksong Collecting:
English Nationalism and the Rise of Professional Society.” Ph.D.
diss., New York University, 1998.

Payne, Elsie. “The Folksong Element in the Music of Vaughan Williams.”
Ph.D. diss., University of Liverpool, 1952.

Pittman, Daniel. “Percy Grainger, Gustav Holst, and Ralph Vaughan
Williams: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Wind Band
Compositions.” D.M.A. doc., Memphis State University, 1979.

Powell, Steven. “A Conductor’s Analysis of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five
Tudor Portraits.” D.M. doc., Indiana University, 1987.

Probst, Richard. “Ralph Vaughan Williams, His Life and Music With
Special Emphasis on his Contribution to Church Music.” S.M.M.
thesis, Union Theological Seminary, 1956.

Pummil, John. “An Analysis of the Song Cycle On Wenlock Edgg.” M.M.
thesis, North Texas State University, 1965.

Reber, William. “Das Christelflein by Hans Pfitzner, English Version by
William Reber/T he Operas of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” D.M.A.
diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1977.

Rinkel, Lawrence. “The Forms of English Opera: Literary and Musical
Responses to a Continental Genre.” Ph.D. diss., Rutgers University,
1977.

150

 

Schulz, Charles. “Two European Traditions of Tuba Playing as Evidenced
in the Solo Tuba Compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Paul
Hindemith, A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of
Selected Works of W. Ross, R. et.al.” D.M.A. doc., University of
North Texas, 1980.

Schwartz, Elliott. “The Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams: An
Analysis of Their Style Elements.” Ed.D. diss., Columbia University,
1963.

Shepard, James. “The Sacred Choral Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams:
Smaller Works.” S.M.M. thesis, Union Theological Seminary, 1958.

Silvester, William. “A Performance Edition of Ralph Vaughan Williams’
England. My England for Wind Band with Accompanying
Instructional Strategies (Rehearsal, Lesson Plans, Woodruff,
Learning Theory, Psychology).” Ed.D. diss., Arizona State
University, 1985.”

Smith, Lorraine. “Vaughan Williams: An English Composer.” M.A. thesis,
University of Columbia, 1933.

Spencer, Mark. “A Performer’s Analysis of Five Mystical Songa and Seven
Songs from The Pilgrim’s Prpgress by Ralph Vaughan Williams.”
D.M.A. doc., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1992.

Spruce, Gary. “An Analytical and Contextual Study of Ralph Vaughan
Williams’s Third, Fourth and Fifth Symphonies.” M.A. thesis,
University of Birmingham, 1986.

Starbuck, Peter. “Ralph Vaughan Williams-a Bibliography.” Library
Association Fellowship Thesis, 1967.

Taylor, Robert. “A Study of Ralph Vaughan Williams An Oxford Elegy and
Epithalamion. D.Mus. diss., Louisiana State University, 1997.

Tomasick, Paul. “An Analytical Study of the Symphony in E Minor by
Ralph Vaughan Williams.” M.M. thesis, University of Rochester,
1955.

Treter, Christine. “The Significance of Selected Compositions by Ralph
Vaughan Williams Which Feature the Viola.” D.A. diss., Ball State
University, 1993.

Walters, Mark. “A Metrical Study of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ British
Wind Band Work Toccata Marziale.” D.M.A. thesis, Arizona State
University, 1997.

151

 

Wells, John. “Twentieth-Century English Organ Music.” D.M.A. diss.,
Indiana University, 1978.

Wiles, Patricia. “A Study of J ob. A Masque for Dancing by Ralph Vaughan
Williams.” Ph.D. diss., Texas Tech University, 1988.

Yaqub, Hanan. “Five Tudor Portraits by Ralph Vaughan Williams:

Introduction to the Poetry and the Music.” D.M.A. doc., University
of Southern California, 1988.

152

Appendix C: Bibliography
Books

Adams, Byron, and Robin Wells, eds. Vaughan Williams Essays.
Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing, 2003.

Battisti, Frank. The Winds of Change: The Evolution of the Contemporam
American Wind Band/Ensemble and its Conductor. Galesville,
Maryland: Meredith Music, 2002.

Borg, Paul. “Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).” Program Notes for
the Solo Tuba. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press,
1994.

Butterworth, Neil. Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Guide to Research.
Composer Resource Manuals, vol. 21. Garland Reference Library of
the Humanities, vol. 779. New York: Garland Publishing, 1990. :

 

Campbell, Margaret. The Great Violinists. Garden City, New York:
Doubleday & Company, 1981.

Clough, FF, and G.J. Cuming. “Discography.” Ralph Vaughan Williams:
A Comprehensive List Givingjull Details of All Works Now
Available. London: Oxford University Press, [1961].

Cobbett, W.W. “Marie Hall.” Grove’s Dictionary of Music. New York:
MacMillan, 1947.

Day, James. Vaughan Williams. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998.

Dickinson, A.E. Vaughan Williams. London: Faber and Faber, 1963.

Eaglefield-Hull, A. “Marie Hall.” A Dictionary of Modern Music and
Musicians. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, [1924].

Finch, J. David. My Orchestras and Other Adventures: The Memoirs of
Boyd Neel. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985.

Finkelstein, Sydney. Composer and Nation: The Folk Heritage of Music.
New York: International Music Publishers, 1960.

F033, Hubert. Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Study. Reprint ed. London:
George G. Harrap & Company, 1952.

153

Frogley, Alain, ed. Vaughan Williams Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1996.

Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. J .A. Fuller Maitland, ed. Vol.
1. New York: Macmillan, 1911.

Heffer, Simon. Vaughan Williams. Boston: Northeastern Press, 2001.

Heirs and Rebels: Letters Written to Each Other and Occasional Writinga
on Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. Ursula
Vaughan Williams and Imogen Holst, eds. London: Oxford
University Press, 1959.

Holmes, Paul. Vatgghan Williams: His Life and Times. The Illustrated
Lives of the Great Composers. London: Omnibus Press, 1997.

Hurd, Michael. Vaughan Williams. The Great Composers. New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970.

Kennedy, Michael. Adrian Boult. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987.

Kennedy, Michael. Barbirolli: Conductor Laureate. The Authorised
Biography. 2nd ed. Discography comp. by Malcohn Walker.
London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1972.

Kennedy, Michael. Catalogue of the Works of Ralph Vatghan Williams. A.
2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Kennedy, Michael. “Program Note.” Tuba Concerto by Ralph Vaughan
Williams. London: Ernst Eulenburg, 1982.

Kennedy, Michael. Works of Ralmh Vaughan Williams, The. 2nd ed.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.

Letters of Composers: An Anthology 1603-1945. Gertrude Norman and
Miriam Lubell Shrifte, eds. lst ed. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1946.

Lloyd, AL, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, eds. The Penguin Book of
English Folk Song. London: Lowe and Brydone, 1959.

Morris, R. Winston, and Edward R. Goldstein, eds. The Tuba Source Book.
Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1996.

Morrison, Richard. Orchestra, The LSO: A Centug of Triumph and
Turbulence. London: Faber and Faber, 2004.

Music and Friends: Seven Decades of Letters to Adrian Boult from Elga_r,
Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bruno Walter, Yehudi Menuhin and Other

154

 

Friends. Annotated by Jerrold Northrop Moore. London: Hamish
Hamilton, 1979.

Orga, Ates. The Proms. Newton, England: David & Charles, 1974.

Palmer, Roy, ed. Folk Songs Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
London: Dent & Sons Ltd., 1983.

Parkhurst, Winthrop, and L]. de Bekker. The Encyclopedia of Music and
Musicians. New York: Crown Publishers, 193 7.

Schwarz, Boris. Great Masters of the Violin. New York: Simon and
Shnon,1983.

Stauffer, Donald W. A Treatise on the Tuba. A Revised and Enlarged
Edition of a Dissertation Presented as Partial Requirements for the

Master of Music Degree at the Eastman School of Music of the
University of Rochester in 1942. Bessemer, Alabama: Stauffer
Press, 1989.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. National Music and Other Essays. London:
Oxford University Press, 1963.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “Should Music Be National? — Historical
Aspects of Nationalism in Music - Genius.” Composers on Music:
An Anthology of Composers’ Writings. from Palestrina to Copland.
New York: Pantheon Press, 1956.

Vaughan Williams, Ursula. R.V.W.: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan
Williams. Reprint ed. Suffolk, England: Clarendon Press, 1992.

Young, Percy. Vaughan Williams. Contemporary Composers. London:
Dennis Dobson Limited, 1953.

Journal Articles

Atkinson, D. “Resources in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; the
Maud Karpeles Manuscript Collection.” Folk Music Journal 8 (2001)
90-101.

Bainton, Edgar. “Ralph Vaughan Williams: Some Thoughts to Share.”
The Canon 6 (October 1952) 99-101.

Bearman, C.J. “Resources in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library: The
Lucy Broadward Collection, an Interim report.” Folk Music Journal
7, no. 3 (1997) 357-365.

155

 

Blanks, Henry. “Music in England: June 1954.” The Canon 8 (August
1954) 25-2 7.

Boult, Adrian. “Vaughan Williams and His Interpreters.” The Musical
Times 113 (October 1972) 957-958.

 

Brant, LeRoy. “America Holds the Hopes of the Musical World: An
Interview with Ralph Vaughan Williams.” The Etude 67 (April 1949)
2 1 5, 255.

Carlton, Richard A. “Folk-Song, Chant, and the English Symphonic
Renaissance. A Case Study of Ethnic Musical Identity.”
International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 24,
no. 2 (December 1993) 129-142.

Catelinet, Philip. “The Truth About the Vaughan Williams Tuba
Concerto.” T.U.B.A. Journal 18, no. 4 (Summer 1991) 52-56.

Cohn, Wayne. “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Hymnody.” The Hm 19
(1968) 81-85.

“Concerto for Bass Tuba. Arranged for Tuba and Piano.” N .p. Musical
Opinion 78 (September 195 5) 735.

Crichton, Ronald. “Music in London: Vaughan Williams, Panufnik.” Ige
Musical Times 110 (1969) 48.

Dickinson, A. E. “Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Smaphony.” The Music Review
6 (1945) 1-12.

Dickinson, A.E. “Toward the Unknown Region: An Introduction to
Vaughan Williams’ Sixth Symphony.” The Music Review 9 (1948)
275-290.

“Editorial Notes.” N.p. The Strad 65 (July 1954) 67-69.
“England Loses a Master.” N.p. Musical America 77 (September 1958) 4.

Foreman, Lewis. “Vaughan Williams: a Bibliography of Dissertations.”
The Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 962-963.

Francmanis, John. “National Music to National Redeemer: The
Consolidation of a ‘Folk-Song’ Construct in Edwardian England.”
Popular Music 21, no. 1 (2002) 1-25.

156

 

Frogley, Alain. “Vaughan Williams and the New World: Manuscript
Sources in North American Libraries.” Notes 48 (June 1992) 1 175-
1 1 92.

Garvie, Peter. “Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872—1958.” The Canadian Music
[ournal 3, no. 2 (Winter 1959) 36-42.

Goddard, Scott. “London Letter: Romance for Harmonica and String
Orchestra.” The Chesterian 27 (October 1952) 57-59.

 

Goodwin, Noel. “London Music.” The Musical Times 95 (October 1954)
554.

“Gramophone Notes—Marie Hall.” T.D.S. The Strad 80 (January 1970)
437.

Gundry, Inglis. “The Triumph of Vaughan Williams.” Music Parade 2
(1952)15-17.

Hahn, Paul. “Necrology Index.” Notes 58 (June 2002) 787-798.

Holst, Imogen. “The Influence of Folk Song on 20th Century Music.” T_he
Chesterian 30 (July 195 5) 6-9.

Howells, Herbert. “Vaughan Williams.” The Score 7 (December 1952) 55-
57.

Howes, Frank. “The Influence of Folk Music on Modern English
Composition.” murnal of the International Folk Music Council 5
(January 1953) 52-54.

Jones, Lavender. “The Song Seekers: Herefordshire.” E_nglish Dance and
Song 27, no. 1 (1964) 4-6.

Jones, Trevor. “A Student’s View.” The Canon 6 (October 1952) 105-1 10.

“Jubilee Concerts of the L.S.O. (London Symphony Orchestra).” N.p.
London Musical Events 9 (June 1954) 16-19.

Keller, Hans, comp. “The Half-Year’s New Music.” Donald Mitchell, cont.
The Music Review 16 (1955) 5364.

Kennedy, Michael. “Vaughan Williams at Eighty-Five.” The Musical Times
98 (October 1957) 545-6.

Kimmel, William. “Vaughan Williams’s Melodic Style.” The Musical
Quarterly 27 (October 1941) 491-499.

157

 

Knights, E. Spurgeon. “The Lark Ascending—A Postscript. The Strad 52
(December 1941) 187-190.

Martin, F. McKay. “Vaughan Williams and the Amateur Tradition.”
Making Music 21 (Spring 1953) 6-8.

Martin, J. McKay. “Recollections of Ralph Vaughan Williams.” Musical
Opinion 107 (July 1984) 303-6.

Mellers, Wilfrid. “Recent Trends in British Music.” The Musical Quarterly
38, no. 2 (April 1952) 185-201.

“Miss Marie Hall.” B.F. The Musical Times 68 (1 December 1927) 1122.

Milburn, Frank, Jr. “Vaughan Williams Work Given United States
Premiere.” Musical America 75, no. 15 (1 December 195 5) 17.

Mitchell, Donald. “Some First Performances.” The Musical Times 95
(August 1954) 435-6.

Montagu-Nathan, M. “Correspondence: Marie Hall.” The Strad 67
(October 1957) 356.

“New York Concerts: Larry Adler.” H.W.L. Musical Courier 145 (15 May
1952) 1012.

“Obituary: Larry Adler.” N.p. Gramophone 79 (October 2001) 21.
“Obituary: Marie Hall.” N.p. Musical America 77 (1 January 195 7) 46.

Onderdonk, Julian. “The Revised (1904) Version of the Folk Song
Society’s Hints to Collectors.” English Dance and Song 62 (Autumn
2000) 21-23.

Onderdonk, Julian. “Vaughan Williams and the Modes.” Folk Music
[ournal 7, no. 5 (1999) 609-626.

Ottoway, Hugh. Review of Working with R.V.W., by Roy Douglas, and
National Music and Other Essays by Ralph Vaughan Williams. [he
Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 974.

Ottoway, Hugh. “Scott and After: The Final Phase.” The Musical Times
113 (October 1972) 959-962.

Porter, Andrew. “New Music at The Proms.” London Musical Events 9
(August 1954) 30-33.

158

 

Payne, Elsie. “Vaughan Williams and Folk-Song: The relation between
Folk-Song and Other Elements in His Comprehensive Style.” 1hr;
Music Review 15 (1954) 103-129.

Payne, Elsie. “Vaughan Williams’s Orchestral Colourings.” The Monthly
Musical Record 84 (January 1954) 3-10.

Pearsall, Ronald. “The Lady Violinist of the Victorian Era.” The Strad 76
(February 1966) 369-371.

Peart, Donald. “Vaughan Williams and the British Radical Tradition.” T_h_e_
Canon 6 (October 1952) 11 1-1 14.

Pike, Iionel. “From Herbert to Ralph. with Affection.” Tempo 21 5
(January 2001) 18-23.

Raynour, Henry. “Influence and Achievement: Some Thoughts on
Twentieth Century English Song.” .The Chesterian 30 (Winter 1956) .
66-75.

 

Rees, C.B. “A Diamond Celebration.” London Musical Events 9 (July
1 954) 1 5- 1 7.

Rees, C.B. “Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams.” London Musical Events 12
(October 195 7) 26-7.

Rimmer, Frederick. “Sequence and Symmetry in Twentieth-Century
Melody.” The Music Review 26 (1965) 28-50.

“Romance for Harmonica and String Orchestra: First Performance, New
Vaughan Williams Work.” N.p. The Canon 5 (July 1952) 570.

Ruth, Henry. “Women and the Violin.” The Strad 83 (March 1973) 551-
563.

Sabin, Robert. .“Larry Adler, Harmonica Player.” Musical America 77, no.
7 (May 1952) 26.

Sebastian, John. “Why Not the Harmonica?” Music murnal 18, no. 6
(September 1960): 18, 78.

Stevens, John. “Carols and Court Songs of the Early Tudor Period.”
Proceediggs of the Royal Musical Association 77 (1950-1951) 51-62.

Town, Stephen. Review of National Music and Other Essays. by Ralph
Vaughan Williams. Choral Journal 43, no. 1 (August 2002) 66-69.

159

Toye, Francis. “Studies in English Music VI: Vaughan Williams and The
Folk Music Movement.” The Listener 5 (June 1931) 105 7.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “Address—to the International Folk Music
Council.” murnal of the International Folk Music Council 5
(January 1953) 7-8.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “The English Folk Dance and Song Society.”
Ethnomusicology 2 (September 1958) 108-112.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “English Folk-Song: A Lecture Delivered Before
the Oxford Folk-Music Society. November 16, 1910.” The Musical
Times 52 (February 1911)101-104.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “What Have We Learnt From Elgar?” Music and
Letters 16 (1935) 13-19.

 

Vaughan Williams, Ursula. “Ralph Vaughan Williams and Folk Music.”
E_nglish Dance and Song 45, no. 1 (1983) 15-17.

Vaughan Williams, Ursula. “The Vaughan Williams Centenary.” Il_1_e_
Musical Times 113 (October 1972) 955-956.

Wales, Tony. “Ralph Vaughan Williams and English Folk Music.” English
Dance and Stmg 34, no. 3 (1972) 87.

Wienhorst, Richard. “The Church Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams.”
The American Organist 44, no. 11 (November 1961) 18-21.

Wilson, Peter, ed. “In Memoriam: Philip Catelinet.” Reprint from _T_hg
British Bandsman. T.U.B.A. Journal 23, no. 2 (Winter 1996) 38.

Newspaper Articles

“Boston Orchestra, The: Second Concert of Its Fourth Visit to New York.”
N.p. New York Times. 18 February 1906, pg. 9.

“British Music Society.” N.p. The (London) Times. 15 June 1921, pg. 8.

“Busy Days for Musicians and Music Lovers: Marie Hall’s Debut.” N.p.
New York Times. 5 November 1905, pg. X2.

Cantrell, Scott. “13 Elgar’s Music Stodgy? Not the Way He Conducts It.”
New York Times. 2 May 1993, pg. H31.

“Concerts.” N.p. The (London) Times. 30 January 1907, pg. 12.

160

 

“Concerts: Miss Marie Hall’s Recital.” N .p. The (London) Times. 1
November 1927, pg. 12.

 

Crutchfield, Will. “The Lure of History and Interpretive Power.” New
York Times. 25 March 1990, pg. H31.

Davis, Peter. “Carnegie Kilt Band Gives Program Here.” New York Times.
20 April 1971, pg. 49.

Devlin, Tim. “Larry Adler: His Heart in His Mouth.” The (London) Times.
2 June 1973, pg. 12.

Downes, Olin. “Vaughan Williams: Great English Composer Will Visit
Here in Fall.” New York Times. 23 May 1954, pg. X7.

“Dr. R.V.W.: Abbey Commemoration.” N.p. The (London) Times. 20
September 1958, pg. 8.

“Dr. Vaughan Williams.” N.p. The (London) Times. 11 October 1952, pg.
7.

Galloway, Doug, and Eric Bloom. “Obituary: Larry Adler.” Varieg. 13
August 2001, 59.

Hall-Pugno-Hollman Concert: French Pianist Surprised English Violinist
with a Kiss.” N.p. New York Times. 21 January 1906, pg. X1.

Henahan, Donal. “You Want Repertory? Here It Is.” New York Times. 5
May 1991, pg. H27.

Holden, Stephen. “Larry Adler ‘Sings’ Mouth Organ at Ballroom.” New
York Times. 4 October 1985, pg. C1.

Hughes, Allen. “Harvey Phillips Offers Some Solo Repertory for Tuba.”
New York Times. 24 December 1975, pg. 12.

“Larry Adler Gives Solo Recital Here.” P.R. New York Times. 4 May 1952,
pg. 89.

“Liturgical Music: Byrd and Vaughan Williams.” N .p. The @ondon)
Times. 24 March 1923, pg. 8.

“Miss Hall a Philosopher: Social Attentions Have Left Her Democratic,
Her Observations.” N.p. New York Times. 3 December 1905, pg.
X2.

“Miss Marie Hall Arrives.” N.p. New York Times. 6 November 1905, pg.
9.

161

“Miss Marie Hall Plays: English Violinist the Feature of ‘Sunday Concert’
at the Opera House.” N .p. New York Times. 18 December 1905,

pg. 9.

“Miss Marie Hall’s Recital.” N.p. The (London) Times. 24 April 1922, p.
10.

“Miss Marie Hall’s Recital.” N.p. New York Times. 19 November 1905,
pg. X1.

“Miss Marie Hall’s Recital: She Appears in Carnegie Hall Before a Large
Audience.” N.p. New York Times. 23 November 1905, pg. 6.

“Miss Marie Hall’s Violin Find: May Buy Here What She Believes to be a
Stradivarius." N.p. New York Times. 31 December 1905, pg. X2.

“Music and Musicians: Marie Hall.” N.p. New York Times. 8 March 1903,
pg. 26.

“Music of Vaughan Williams: Songs and Song Writing.” N.p. 113
(London) Times. 16 February 1918, pg. 9.

“Musical Notes: Marie Hall.” N.p. New York Times. 2 July 1905, pg. X3.

“Musical Notes: Marie Hall.” N.p. New York Times. 24 September 1905,
pg. SM 10.

“Musical Renaissance in England.” [Music Critic]. The (London) Times.
30 October 1933, pg. 10.

“New Violinist Coming.” N.p. New York Times. 1 October 1905, pg.
SM10.

Newman, Ernest. “An English and Universal Music.” New York Times. 12
October 1952, pg. SM20, 28.

“Of Music and Musicians: Marie Hall.” N.p. New York Times. 1
November 1903, pg. 25.

“[Operation: Marie Hall.]” N.p. The (LondonITimes. 24 March 1920, pg.
19.

Parmenter, Ross. “A Tuba Concerto.” New York Times. 8 November
1955, pg 37.

“Ralph Vaughan Williams: Arrangements for Abbey Commemoration.”
N.p. The (London) Times. 30 August 1958, pg. 8.

162

 

“Recital by Miss Marie Hall.” N .p. The (London) Times. 29 October 1928,
pg. 12.

“[R.V.W.] Will, Biography Wishes.” N .p. The (London) Times. 12
December 1958, pg 14.

Ross, Alex. “Classical Music: In Performance.” New York Times. 6
February 1995, pg. C13.

Salzman, Eric. “Chinese Harmonica Player 13 Heard Here.” New York
Times. 26 September 1959, pg. 15.

Schonberg, Harold. “1872-1958: World Loses a Genius in Vaughan
Williams.” New York Times. 31 August 1958, pg. X7.

Severo, Richard. “Larry Adler, Political Exile Who Brought The Harmonica
to Concert Stage, Dies...” New York Times. 8 August 2001, pg.
A1 5.

“Three Symphonies: Vaughan Williams’s Progress, The Influence of Walt
Whitman.” H.C.C. The (London) Times. 4 February 1922, pg. 8.

“Tuba Concerto, A: Vaughan William’ 3 New Work. ” N. p. The (London)
_T__imes. 14 June 1954, pg. 5.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. “Music and British Music.” The (London)
Times. 22 July 1929, pg. 15.

“Vaughan Williams’s Sixth Symphom: Form and Content.” N.p. 1hr:
(London) Times. 30 April 1948, pg. 7.

“Violin Recital: New But Disappointing.” N. p. The (London) Times. 10
February 1922, pg. 8.

Williams, Stephen. “New Productions of Opera in London: Jubilee
Concerts.” New York Times. 11 July 1954, pg. X7.

Williams, Stephen. “Toscanini in London: Promenade Concerts.” New
York Times. 12 October 1957, pg. X7.

Electronic Resources
Amazon: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk.
Arkiv Music: www.arkivmusic.com.

British Library: www.bl.uk.

163

 

EMI Classics: www.emiclassics.com.

Indiana University Library: www.libraries.iub.edu/.

\

New England Brass Band: newenglandbrassband.org/index.html.
Official Index to The (London) Times on CD ROM, The.

OhioLink: www.ohiolink.edu.

Palmer’s Index to The Times: historynews.chadwyck.com.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature: firstsearch.oc1c.org.

Sibley Music Library: groucho.1ib.rochester.edu.

Music Scores and Recordings
Used for study and reference

Barbirolli, John, dir. Tuba Concerto in F Minor. by Ralph Vaughan
Williams. London Symphony Orchestra. Philip Catelinet, tuba. EMI
Classics 5 66543 2, 1998.

Boult, Adrian, dir. The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
London Philharmonic Orchestra. Jean Pugnet, violin. EMI Classics
5 74782 2, 2001.

Boult, Adrian, dir. Symphonies no. 8 and 9. by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
London Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI Records CDC 7 4721 172,
1986.

Marriner, Neville, dir. Concerto Grosso. by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Decca 289 460 357-2, 1999

Marriner, Neville, dir. The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Academy of St. Martin-in-the—Fields. Iona Brown, violin. Decca 289
460 357-2, 1999.

Marriner, Neville, dir. Romance, by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Academy of
St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Tommy Reilly, harmonica. Decca 289 460
357-2, 1999.

Previn, Andre, dir. Concerto in F Minor Bass Tuba and Orchestra. by
Ralph Vaughan Williams. London Symphony Orchestra. John
Fletcher, tuba. BMG Classics 60586-2-RG, 1985.

164

 

 

Previn, Andre, dir. The Lark Ascending. by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Barry Griffiths, violin. Telarc CD
80138, 1987.

Sargent, Malcolm, dir. Romance in D flat. by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
BBC Symphony Orchestra. Larry Adler, harmonica. EMI Classics
CZS 5 74782 2, 2001.

Thomson, Bryden, dir. Tuba Concerto, by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The
London Symphony Orchestra. Patrick Harrild, tuba. Chandos
ABTD 1379, 1989.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra. London:
Oxford University Press, 1950.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Lark Ascending, The. London: Ernst
Eulenburg, 1982.

 

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. London Symphony. A. Revised ed. Carnegie
Collection of British Music. London: Stainer & Bell Limited, 1920.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. London Symphony. A. Revised ed. Mineola,
New York: Dover Publications, 1996.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Romance for Harmonica. Arranged for
Harmonica and Pianoforte. London: Oxford University Press, 1953.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Symphony no. 8 in D Minor. London: Oxford
University Press, 1956.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Symphony no. 9 in E Minor. London: Oxford
University Press, 1958.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Tuba Concerto. London: Ernst Eulenburg,
1982.

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