Ralph Vaughan Williams: Royal Throne of Kings

This is the most intriguing disc that I have reviewed (so far) in 2024. Let me explain. Virtually all the works are heard here for the first time. Often, they have been arranged or realised by hands other than Ralph Vaughan Williams. They are an exploration into a corner of his catalogue, that although known to me, I never imagined I would hear.

The press release explains that RVW was enamoured with Shakespeare and was inspired by him “throughout his long composing career.”

The concert opens with Richard III: My Kingdom for a Horse from incidental music written in 1913 for Francis Robert Benson’s Shakespearean season at Stratford-upon-Avon. Benson (1858-1939) was an actor/manager who ran his own company. He had a thirty-year association with Stratford. Michael Kennedy, in his catalogue, notes that the surviving manuscript includes the Hampshire Dargason, a Requiem derived from his score to Richard II and the present piece. Lasting for only 47 seconds this “filmic” music makes a great overture. It was edited by composer, organist and scholar, Malcolm Riley.

Although RVW had produced a score for Benson’s 1913 production of Richard II, he did not reuse this material when he came to prepare the score for a 1944 radio broadcast. Kennedy notes that there are “thirty-four timed sections to cover fifteen scenes. Nathaniel Lew has assembled these in a satisfying Concert Fantasy. A précis of the play would suggest that “In Richard II,’ the titular king wrestles with his sense of self and confronts the repercussions of his choices. Deposed from the throne, he reflects on power, fate, and the fragility of authority. The play weaves political intrigue and poetic introspection, leaving us pondering the nature of leadership and downfall.” Although Lew does not follow the progress of the plot, his resultant score is certainly sympathetic to the play’s temper. It is a worthy addition to RVW’s catalogue.

A bonus on this CD are several songs. These are all sung with innocent beauty by Eloise Irving.

The Willow Song is an early, unpublished piece for voice and piano dating from 1897. The tune was “found” in a book of lute solos. The words are from Othello, with Desdemona reflecting on love, treachery, and impending tragedy.

Everyone enjoys the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. RVW set Shakespeare’s Orpheus and his Lute, with a text taken from Henry VIII, Act III Scene 1. It was completed in 1903 and had its premiere at the Bechstein Hall on 2 December 1904.

Vaughan Williams made another setting of these words in 1925. It was the last number from his Three Songs from Shakespeare. The other two are Take, O take, those lips away and When icicles hang by the wall, the former from Measure for Measure and the latter, Love’s Labour Lost. All three are gnomic in impact and certainly the last is more austere than the 1903 edition.

The incidental music for King Henry IV, Part 2 was also composed for F.B. Benson’s 1913 season. Once again this “Suite” has been realised by Malcolm Riley. The liner notes explain that RVW “drew freely on existing folk dances and other sources” as well as his own music for other plays. The first movement, the reflective Induction uses a tune from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Alman in G minor. This may have been used as an overture to the play. Livelier is Falstaff and Prince Hal, using Halfe Hannikin, which first appeared in Playford’s English Dancing Master of 1651. A traditional dance is provided for the Princess Royal movement. As far as I recall, there is no such character in this play, but I guess RVW used an eponymous tune. The heart of this Suite is the beautiful Music to my Weary Spirit which accompanied the king’s death in Act IV. It is a transcription of Dowland’s Pavane Lachrymae played on muted strings. It is the loveliest thing on this disc and could well be excerpted by a well-known classical radio station. The fifth movement, Arrest, is a fetching arrangement of Lady in the Dark, from Playford’s later The English Dancing-Master dating from 1657. This is followed by a lively Gloria Tibi, which is a splendid miniature anthem. The Suite ends with a lively, Happy Life, which takes its title from King Henry’s earnest wish for his son: “No prince nor peer shall have just cause to say, God shorten Harry’s happy life one day!” This is a lovely Suite that should have a life beyond this disc.

The most significant work on this disc is the premiere recording of the original Henry V Overture. It was written for Benson’s 1913 season at Stratford. Long known in its incarnation for brass band, which was completed in 1933, but not performed until 1979. The original score has been lost. However, Malcolm Riley and David Owen Norris have reconstructed the original from the remaining orchestral parts kept by the Shakespeare Trust. It is quite different to the brass band version. Gone are the “martial fanfares” and the pastoral section based on an old French melody. The two main tunes heard are the Agincourt Carol and the Earl of Oxford’s March. This “vigorously nationalistic medley” is both satisfying and uplifting as befits Shakespeare’s noble play that examines courage, doubt, and destiny. It is another important addition to RVW’s discography.

Source-wise, the most complex work on this fascinating CD is the Stratford Suite, realised by Nathaniel Lew. It is based on music composed for five plays produced at the above-mentioned Stratford Festival. These include Henry IV Part II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard II, Richard III, and Twelfth Night. The liner notes explain that the “cues used include thirteen arrangements of folk songs, one hymn tune based on plainchant, three original compositions, two fanfares, and one phrase of a march from the mid-seventeenth-century Elizabeth Rogers Virginal Book.” The “original” music includes the Royal March and the Prelude to Act II of Richard II and the Solemn March from Richard III. The booklet lists the “found” melodies. The arrangement of Greensleeves is quite as ravishing as the more famous Fantasia, but without the central section, Lovely Joan. As a Ricardian who believes that the misaligned Duke of Gloucester needs to be reassessed and a balanced view projected, I declare the short Solemn March is a fitting tribute. I hope that this Suite becomes a favourite with orchestras both professional and amateur. It is a sumptuous re-creation of RVW’s music by Nathaniel Lew.

I do wish that Malcolm Riley’s exquisite transcription of the Dirge for Fidele lasted longer. This beautiful piece for string orchestra and harp will remind the listener of the sheer perfection of RVW’s Dives and Lazarus. Originally devised for two mezzo-sopranos and piano, it was issued in 1922 as a standalone arrangement of Fear no more the heat o’ the sun from Cymbeline, Act IV.

The final offering is Two Shakespeare Sketches from The England of Elizabeth. Once again this has a complex genesis. In 1955, RVW was commissioned to write the score for the British Transport Film The England of Elizabeth. Some years later, the conductor and composer Muir Mathieson adapted the score for the concert hall. Three movements celebrated Oriana as Explorer, Poet, and Queen. This has been recorded a number of times, by Andrew Penny, Andre Previn, and others. At around the same time, Mathieson arranged two sections from the Poet movement. These are adaptations based on two sixteenth-century songs, The Wind and the Rain and It was a lover and His Lass. The first has a prominent fiddle part whilst the second is solid and a touch rumbustious. A CD of nearly all the music from the score was issued on CHAN 10244 in an edition by Stephen Hogger.

The recording is excellent. Equally good are the liner notes developed by John Francis and Malcolm Riley, with additional material from Nathaniel Lew and David Owen Norris. Short resumes of the performers are included. The booklet is well-illustrated, with a wonderful painting Richard III by an unknown artist.

Performances by the Kent Sinfonia and the Albion Chorus, under their director James Ross are outstanding. Soloists Eloise Irving and Malcolm Riley give ideal performances of the songs.

An essential investment for all RVW enthusiasts.

Track Listing:
Richard III: My Kingdom for a Horse (1913) ed. Malcolm Riley (b.1960)
Richard II Concert Fantasy (1944) arr. Nathaniel Lew (?)
The Willow Song (1897)
Henry IV Part II (1913) arr. Malcolm Riley
Orpheus with his Lute (1903)
Henry V Overture (Original Version) (1913) ed. David Owen Norris (b.1953) and Malcolm Riley
Three Songs from Shakespeare (1925)
Stratford Suite (1913) arr. Nathaniel Lew
Dirge for Fidele (1922) arr. for strings and harp, arr. Malcolm Riley
The England of Elizabeth (1955): Two Shakespeare Sketches arr. Muir Mathieson (1911-75)
Kent Sinfonia/James Ross (Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Stratford Suite, Dirge, The England of Elizabeth); Albion Singers/James Ross (Gloria Tibi, Henry IV Part II); Eloise Irving (soprano), Malcolm Riley (piano) (The Willow Song, Orpheus, Three Songs)
rec. 16-17 February 2024 St. Gregory and St. Martin’s Church, Wye, Kent (orchestral works); 29 April 2024 St. Leonard’s Church, Hythe, Kent (songs)
Texts included.
Albion ALBCD062