Ralph
Vaughan Williams, born on 12 October 1872, is one of several composers who led
the English Music Revival during the late nineteenth/early twentieth century.
Other names would include Charles Villiers Stanford, Charles Hubert Hastings
Parry and Edward Elgar. Many more would follow as the 20th century unfolded.
It
has always been difficult to give an accurate stylistic definition of RVW’s
music. It is easy to say “pastoral,” (cow and gate music) however that would
seem to deny credence to such powerful, dissonant works such as the Symphony
No.4.
To
be sure, RVW did enthuse about English folksong, which even more than a century
ago was rapidly disappearing from rural communities. Along with Cecil Sharp,
Maud Karpeles, Gustav Holst and others, Vaughan Williams spent much time “in
the field” collecting original folksong before it was finally lost. And he had
a great interest in Tudor composers such as Tallis and William Byrd. This is
exemplified in his wonderful Mass in G minor.
A
good aesthetic hermeneutic was described by Hubert Foss who once suggested that
“[RVW’s] musical language is an instrument which he forges anew on the anvil of
each major work.” There is no better way of seeing this development than in the
nine symphonies, worked on between 1903 and 1957.
RVW
was a late developer. Although his catalogue includes much music written in the
years leading up to the Great War, it was his Sea Symphony (1903-09)
first heard on 12 October 1910 during that year’s Leeds Festival that caused a
sensation. Leaning on the achievement of Elgar, Parry and Stanford it functioned
as major steppingstone in the “new era of symphonic and choral music in the
first half of the 20th century.” This mixture of “symphony, oratorio
and cantata,” successfully combines choir, soloist and orchestra. The text is
taken from the works of American poet Walt Whitman.
The
composer’s further development can be charted through the eight symphonies that
followed. The London Symphony, finished in 1913 and revised several
times, is boisterous, sometimes harsh and musically picturesque of the Capital.
Each of the four movements has a “programme” devised by the composer. It was his
favourite of his own symphonies.
The Pastoral
Symphony (1921) is a little bit of a misnomer. In fact, Vaughan Williams
had prepared the ground for music critics to derive a false understanding of
this work within the parameters of ‘English Pastoral.’ Pre-war compositions had
included the Norfolk Rhapsodies and In the Fen Country. Earlier
tone-poems musically evoking the English countryside and coast had delivered Harnam
Down, Boldre Wood and The Solent. And finally there was that
arch-typical example of the pastoral genre, the ever popular The Lark
Ascending which had gestated during the war years. The
composer never explicitly defined what inspired his Pastoral Symphony. The
nearest he came to explaining it was in a letter to his future wife Ursula
Wood: - ‘It’s
not really lambkins frisking at all, as most people take for granted… It’s
really wartime music – a great deal of it incubated when I used to go up night
after night with the ambulance wagon at Écoivres and we went up a steep hill
and there was a wonderful Corot-like landscape in the sunset.’ The
resulting Pastoral Symphony is a huge ‘tragedy’ modified by a great hope
for the future. It epitomises a subtle balance of melancholy with and active
remembrance of the rural aspects of England that the composer recalled whilst
on active service.
The
Symphony No.4 in F minor, completed in 1934, is dissonant, often aggressive,
strident, technically complex, and sometimes downright pessimistic. Bearing in
mind that this work was written at a time of great upheaval in Europe (and
elsewhere), the composer denied any obvious programme to this music. That said,
it would be naïve to suggest that the world situation did not influence this
unsettling work.
After
the war, RVW finalized his Symphony No.5 in D major (1943) which has been
described as a “monument to philosophic resignation.” This serene work does
little to challenge the listener. Neville Cardus, critic and cricketeer,
suggested that "[it] contains the most benedictory and consoling music of
our time." Some of the material was borrowed from the opera The
Pilgrim’s Progress. The composer was aged over 70 at the time of
composition. Many commentators felt that it would be his last symphony. How
wrong! There would be another four before his death in 1958.
A
return to turbulent, troubled music characterised the Symphony No.6 in E minor
(1947). It has also been described as an “eloquent” work. It is noted for the
strange finale, which is played very quietly from end to end. One critic dubbed
it “the quietest piece of music imaginable.” Many felt that this symphony, with
its powerful and “demonic” scherzo, the violent orchestral clashes in the opening
movement, and the enigmatic ending, was the composer’s attempt to describe a
nuclear winter. RVW denied this charge.
The
Symphony No.7 is subtitled Sinfonia Antartica (1952). In many ways this
is not actually a formal symphony, but an adaptation of RVW’s film score for Scott
of the Antarctic. This movie, starring John Mills, James Robertson Justice and
just about every famous actor of the day, was a box office success. Sadly, despite
the symphony being a “realistic picture” of the polar landscape, even down to
simulated weather conditions made by a wind machine, an out of this world
soprano solo, wordless women’s chorus and vibraphone echoing the vast wastes,
it is not a momentous success. Perhaps it fails by being neither a symphony nor
a tone poem? It is more a “free form” fantasia or perhaps it could be defined
as a stitching together of sections of the incidental music – a Suite of film
music. Yet it was well received and is many listeners favourite of RVW’s
symphonies.
Four
years later, the Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1953-55) was premiered in
Manchester. The work is shorter than the previous seven. Its mood is
light-hearted and always lyrical. The opening movement is unusual in being a
set of variations in search of a theme. The Scherzo alla marcia is scored for
wind instruments only. A return to more pastoral music is heard in the
Cavatina, scored for strings only. Finally, the last movement, headed Toccata, is
a tour de force. The composer has called for a vast percussion section, “all
the ‘phones and ‘speils known to the composer.” This is a dynamic conclusion
full of rhythmic vitality. It exudes “youthful enthusiasm” for a man 84 year’s
young.
In the
year before his death, RVW completed his ninth and last symphony. It was
premiered during April 1958. It has been stated that this was written “as a
summation of his artistic faith and principles.” Grove’s Dictionary has
described the work as "at once heroic and contemplative, defiant and
wistfully absorbed.” The mood of the
work is one of “frustration and despair.” Even the finale is not triumphant.
This is a stoical acceptance of old age and is in no way optimistic. After the
concluding bar, Vaughan Williams wrote the word “Niente” – nothing. In my
opinion, it is one of his greatest achievements: there is nothing negative
about a studied acceptance of the meaning of life.
It
would be amiss to fail to mention the mystical side of RVW’s accomplishment.
Known to be an agnostic, he nevertheless had a great love of the Bible, the
Book of Common Prayer, Shakespeare and English Poetry. Major works expressing
this interest included the Mass in G minor, Flos Campi and the Five Mystical
Songs. Operas interested the composer too. From the ballad opera Hugh
the Drover to the late The Pilgrim’s Progress, by way of Sir John
in Love, various literary subjects challenged his mind.
Listeners
often forget the essays that RVW composed in the eighteenth century concerto
form such as those for violin and for oboe. Interesting developments of this
genre included examples for harmonica and tuba.
The massive
choral works such as the Five Tudor Portraits, Dona Nobis Pacem
and Hodie proclaim his interest in poetry and liturgical texts.
Ralph
Vaughan Williams died on 26 August 1958. He was aged 85 years. There is little
doubt that he has taken a place in the history of the nation alongside such
illustrious figures as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Blake and Hardy.
