Ralph Vaughan Williams: Six Studies in English Folk Song (1926)

The Six Studies in English Folk Song were written a century ago in 1926. The previous year, Ralph Vaughan Williams had completed a number of important works including the enigmatic Suite for solo viola, small wordless chorus, and small orchestra Flos Campi, the oratorio Sancta Civitas and the Concerto in D minor (Concerto Accademico) for violin and orchestra. He had also made a major contribution to the hymnbook Songs of Praise with many new and edited tunes. The present year was less hectic, with only one other piece listed in the catalogue: the masque On Christmas Night.

Vaughan Williams had long been a collector of folk song and had used the results in a number of works, either literally or by allusion. Important compositions inspired by these folk songs included the three (the third was discarded) Norfolk Rhapsodies (1906), the ballad-opera Hugh the Drover (1924) and Fantasia on Greensleeves (1934) as well as many arrangements for choir and solo singers.

Six Studies in English Folk Song, although not being exact transcriptions of any song have been identified with particular tunes. (Kennedy, Michael, A Catalogue of the Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Oxford, OUP, 1996))

1.      Adagio (Lovely on the Water: The Springtime of the Year)

2.      Andante sostenuto (Spurn Point)

3.      Larghetto (Van Dieman's Land)

4.      Lento (She Borrowed Some of her Mother's Gold)

5.      Andante tranquillo (The Lady and the Dragoon)

6.      Allegro vivace (As I walked over London Bridge)

All the tunes were collected ‘in the field’ by the composer. Each is presented in a relatively simple manner and is then freely treated and ornamented by the soloists. The mood of the complete set is reflective with only the concluding allegro vivace being more outgoing. The impact of these studies is heightened by their conciseness and brevity.

The Six Studies were dedicated to the cellist May Mukle (1880-1963) who gave the first performance at the Scala Theatre, London on 4 June 1926 during the English Folk Dance Society Festival. She was accompanied on the piano by her sister, Anne.

There are a number of versions of the Six Studies in the R.V.W. catalogue including for solo violin, viola and clarinet. In 1957 Arnold Foster (1896/8-1963) made an attractive arrangement for cello and small orchestra.

Listen to Vaughan Williams’s Six Studies in English Folk Song on YouTube, here. The performers are Denise Djokic (cello), David Jalbert (piano).

With thanks to the English Music Festival where this was first published.