This is a list of compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
![Semi-profile of European man (the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams) in early middle age, clean-shaven, with full head of dark hair](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0d/Vaughan-williams-hopp%C3%A9.jpg/220px-Vaughan-williams-hopp%C3%A9.jpg)
Operas
edit- Hugh the Drover, or Love in the Stocks (1910–14; revised 1924, 1933, 1956). Romantic ballad opera in 2 acts, with libretto by Harold Child (later revised by Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams)
- A Cotswold Romance, Cantata for tenor, soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra, adapted from Hugh the Drover by M. Jackson (1950)
- Sir John in Love (1924–28). Opera in 4 acts, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare with interpolations from other authors.
- In Windsor Forest, Cantata for chorus and orchestra, adapted from Sir John in Love (1931)
- Fantasia on "Greensleeves" for strings and harp, adapted from Sir John in Love by Ralph Greaves (1889-1966) in 1934;
- The Poisoned Kiss, or The Empress and the Necromancer (1927–29; revisions 1936–37 and 1956–57). Romantic Extravaganza in 3 acts, with libretto by Evelyn Sharp (later amended by Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams)
- Riders to the Sea (1925–32), from the play by J. M. Synge
- The Pilgrim's Progress (1909–51). Morality in Prologue, 4 acts and Epilogue, based on John Bunyan's allegory
- The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains (1921). Libretto: Ralph Vaughan Williams (from John Bunyan) (Later incorporated, save for the final section, into The Pilgrim's Progress)
- "Seven Songs from The Pilgrim's Progress" for voice and piano (1952)
- "The 23rd Psalm" for soprano and chorus, arranged by John Churchill (1953)
- Pilgrim's Journey, Cantata for soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus and orchestra adapted from The Pilgrim's Progress by Christopher Morris and Roy Douglas (1962)
- Thomas the Rhymer, Opera in 3 acts to libretto by Ursula Vaughan Williams, based on traditional ballads Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin. Uncompleted.
Incidental music
edit- The Wasps (1909): to Aristophanes's play The Wasps, Overture and 17 items
- Aristophanic Suite for orchestra (1912)
- The Bacchae (1911): to Euripides's tragedy
- The Death of Tintagiles (1913): to Maurice Maeterlinck's 1894 play[1]
- Incidental music to Shakespeare's plays (1913): The Merry Wives of Windsor; Richard II, Henry IV Part 2, Richard III, Henry V
- The First Nowell (1958): nativity play adapted from medieval pageants by Simona Pakenham; score completed by Roy Douglas
Ballets
edit- Old King Cole (1923) for orchestra and optional chorus
- On Christmas Night (1926): masque adapted from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Job: A Masque for Dancing (1930)
- The Voice out of the Whirlwind, Motet for mixed choir and organ or orchestra; adapted from "Galliard of the Sons of the Morning" from Job
- The Running Set (1933): Traditional Dance Tunes for orchestra
- The Bridal Day (1938–39): masque founded on Epithalamion by Edmund Spenser
- Revised as Epithalamion (1957), Cantata for baritone, chorus and small orchestra
Orchestral
edit- Symphonies
- Symphony No. 1 A Sea Symphony (1903–1909) (with chorus, on texts by Whitman)
- Symphony No. 2 A London Symphony (1911–13; revised 1918, 1920 and 1933)
- Symphony No. 3 Pastoral Symphony (1921)
- Symphony No. 4 in F minor (1931–34)
- Symphony No. 5 in D major (1938–43)
- Symphony No. 6 in E minor (1944–47, rev. 1950)
- Symphony No. 7 Sinfonia antartica (1949–52) (partly based on his music for the film Scott of the Antarctic)
- Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1953–55)
- Symphony No. 9 in E minor (1956–57)
- Serenade in A minor (1898)
- Heroic Elegy and Triumphal Epilogue (1900)
- Bucolic Suite (1901)
- Burley Heath, impression for orchestra (1902–03)[2]
- The Solent, impression for orchestra (1902–03)[3]
- In the Fen Country, for orchestra (1904)
- Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1, for orchestra (1906, rev. 1914)[4]
- Norfolk Rhapsody No. 2, for orchestra (1906, subsequently withdrawn; reconstructed and recorded in 2002 - see Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1)
- Harnham Down, impression for orchestra (1904–07)[5]
- Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910, rev. 1913 and 1919)
- Fantasia on "Greensleeves" (1934)[6] (for string orchestra and harp; arranged by Ralph Greaves from Vaughan Williams's treatment of folk tunes in his opera Sir John in Love)
- Two Hymn Tune Preludes (1936) for small orchestra: 1. Eventide; 2. Dominus regit me
- Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus (1939) for strings and harp
- Partita for Double String Orchestra (1948), rewritten from Double Trio for string sextet with new finale
- Concerto Grosso, for three groups of strings, each requiring different levels of technical skill (1950)
- Flourish for Glorious John (1957)
Concerti
edit- Fantasia for piano and orchestra (1896)
- The Lark Ascending for violin and orchestra (1914)
- Concerto Accademico for violin and string orchestra (1924–25)
- Flos Campi for viola, wordless chorus, and small orchestra (1925)
- Piano Concerto in C major (1926–31)
- Arranged as Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1946) by Joseph Cooper in collaboration with the composer
- Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes (1929) for cello and orchestra; withdrawn by the composer
- Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra (1934)
- Sketches for Cello Concerto (1942–43); incomplete
- 2nd movement completed by David Matthews (2009) as Dark Pastoral
- Oboe Concerto in A minor, for oboe and strings (1944)
- Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1946)
- Fantasia (quasi variazione) on the Old 104th Psalm Tune for piano, chorus, and orchestra (1949)
- Romance in D-flat major for harmonica and orchestra (1951) (written for Larry Adler)
- Tuba Concerto in F minor (1954)
Choral
edit- Three Elizabethan Songs , partsongs for chorus 1. Sweet Day (setting by George Herbert) 2. The Willow Song (Othello) 3. O Mistress Mine (Twelfth Night) (1896)
- The Garden of Proserpine, cantata for soprano, chorus & orchestra, setting of Algernon Charles Swinburne (1899)[7]
- A Cambridge Mass, Missa brevis for SATB, double chorus & orchestra (1899); Doctoral exercise, first performed 3 March 2011.[8][9][10][11]
- "Rest", for unaccompanied SSATB (1902)
- Willow-Wood, Cantata for baritone, women's chorus and orchestra (1903, revised 1909), setting texts by Rossetti from The House of Life[12]
- Toward the Unknown Region, song for chorus and orchestra, setting of Walt Whitman (1906)
- The truth sent from above arranged for unaccompanied chorus (1909)
- Five Mystical Songs for baritone, chorus, and orchestra, settings of George Herbert (1911)
- Fantasia on Christmas Carols for baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1912); arranged also for reduced orchestra of organ, strings, percussion)
- Five English Folk Songs freely arranged for Unaccompanied Chorus (1913)
- O clap your hands, motet for chorus and orchestra, text from Psalm 47 (1920) [13]
- Lord, thou hast been our refuge, motet for chorus, semi chorus and orchestra (or organ); text from Psalm 90 (1921)
- "Ca' the yowes" for tenor and chorus (1922), a setting of the folk song by Isabel Pagan/Robert Burns[14]
- Mass in G minor for unaccompanied choir (1922)
- Sancta Civitas (The Holy City) oratorio, text mainly from the Book of Revelation (1923–25)
- Te Deum in G major (1928)
- Benedicite for soprano, chorus, and orchestra (1929)
- Three Choral Hymns (1929)
- Magnificat for contralto, women's chorus, and orchestra (1932)
- O How Amiable (1934) arrangement of a hymn for chorus and organ, originally written for the Abinger Pageant
- Five Tudor Portraits for contralto, baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1936)
- Dona nobis pacem, text by Walt Whitman and other sources (1936)
- Festival Te Deum for chorus and orchestra or organ (1937)
- Serenade to Music for sixteen solo voices and orchestra, a setting of Shakespeare, dedicated to Sir Henry Wood on the occasion of his Jubilee (1938)
- "Six Choral Songs To Be Sung In Time Of War" (1940)
- A Song of Thanksgiving (originally Thanksgiving for Victory) for narrator, soprano solo, children's chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra (1944)
- An Oxford Elegy for narrator, mixed chorus, and small orchestra (1949)
- Folk Songs of the Four Seasons, Cantata for women's voices with orchestra or piano (1949).
- Suite for small orchestra from Folk Songs of the Four Seasons, arranged by Roy Douglas (1956)
- Three Shakespeare Songs for SATB unaccompanied, composed for The British Federation of Music Festivals National Competitive Festival (1951)
- The Sons of Light (1950), Cantata for chorus and orchestra; text by Ursula Vaughan Williams
- Sun, Moon and Stars (1955), Cycle of four songs from The Sons of Light with strings or piano
- O taste and see, a motet setting of Psalm 34:8. The original SATB version was composed for the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in June 1953. (1953)
- Hodie, a Christmas cantata (1954)
- A Choral Flourish for unaccompanied SATB chorus, composed for a large choral event in the Royal Albert Hall at the invitation of (and dedicated to) Alan Kirby (c. 1952).[15]
- Nine Carols for Male Voices arrangements made during the Second World War at the request of the British Council for performance by H.M. Forces in Iceland.[16]
Hymn tunes and carols
editVaughan Williams was the musical editor[17] of the English Hymnal of 1906, and the co-editor with Martin Shaw of Songs of Praise of 1925 and the Oxford Book of Carols of 1928, all in collaboration with Percy Dearmer. In addition to arranging many pre-existing hymn tunes and creating hymn tunes based on folk songs, he wrote several original hymn tunes:
- Original hymn tunes included in The English Hymnal (1906)
- "Come Down, O Love Divine": entitled Down Ampney in honour of Vaughan Williams's birthplace
- "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" (Randolph)
- "Hail Thee, Festival day" (Salva festa dies)
- "For All the Saints" (Sine nomine)
- Original hymn tunes included in Songs of Praise (1925)
- "Saviour, again to Thy dear name" (Magda)
- "The night is come like to the day" (Oakley)
- "Servants of God" (Cumnor)
- "England Arise! the long, long night is over" (Guildford)
- "At the Name of Jesus" (King's Weston)
- Original tunes included in Oxford Book of Carols (1928)
- The Golden Carol ("Now is Christmas y-come")
- Wither's Rocking Hymn ("Sweet baby, sleep!")
- Snow in the Street ("From far away we come to you")
- Blake's Cradle Song ("Sweet dreams, form a shade")
- Extra original hymn tunes included in the enlarged edition of Songs of Praise (1931)
- "Into the woods my master went" (Mantegna)
- "Servants of the great adventure" (Marathon)
- "I vow to thee my country" (Abinger)
- "Let us now praise famous men" (Famous Men)
- "Fierce raged the tempest" (White Gates)
Vocal
edit- "Summum bonum", song (1891), setting text by Browning
- "To daffodils", song (1895), setting text by Herrick[18]
- "Dirge for Fidele", duet (1895), setting text by Shakespeare from Cymbeline, published 1922
- "Rondel", song (1896), setting text by Swinburne
- "How can the tree but wither", song (1896), setting text by Thomas, Lord Vaux
- "Claribel", song (1896), setting text by Tennyson
- "Linden Lea", song (1901); from the William Barnes poem “My Orcha’d in Lindèn Lea”
- "Blackmwore by the Stour", song (1902); from the William Barnes poem “Blackmwore Maïdens”
- "Boy Johnny", song (1902), setting text by Christina Rossetti
- "Whither Must I Wander", song (1902)
- "If I were a Queen", duet (1903), setting text by Christina Rossetti
- "When I am dead, my dearest", song (1903), setting text by Christina Rossetti
- "Tears, idle tears", song (1903), setting text by Tennyson
- "The Splendour Falls", song, setting text by Tennyson
- "The Winter's Willow", song (1903); from the William Barnes poem of the same name
- "Adieu", duet, translated from German by Arthur Foxton Ferguson (1903)
- "Think of Me", duet, translated from German by Arthur Foxton Ferguson (1903)
- "Orpheus with his Lute", song (1904), setting text by Shakespeare
- The House of Life, six sonnets by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1904): 1. Lovesight; 2. Silent noon; 3. Love's minstrels; 4. Heart's haven; 5. Death-in-Love; 6. Love's last gift
- Two Vocal Duets, for soprano, baritone and violin with piano, setting texts by Walt Whitman (1904)
- Songs of Travel, song cycle for baritone and piano, setting texts by R. L. Stevenson (1901–04). Includes "The Vagabond".
- Songs 1 3 8 arranged for baritone and orchestra (1905)
- "I have trod the upward and the downward slope" was added to the original eight songs in 1960, after the composer's death
- Songs 2 4 5 6 7 9 arranged for baritone & orchestra by Roy Douglas (1962)
- "Dreamland", song, setting text by Christina Rossetti (1906)
- "Nocturne", for baritone and orchestra, setting of "Whispers of Heavenly Death" by Walt Whitman (1908)[19]
- "The Sky Above The Roof", song (1908), setting translation by Mabel Dearmer of Paul Verlaine poem 'Le ciel est pardessus le toit'
- On Wenlock Edge, song cycle (1909) for tenor, piano and string quartet, setting texts by A. E. Housman
- Four Hymns: (1914) for tenor and piano (or strings) with viola obbligato
- Merciless Beauty, three rondels for tenor, two violins and cello (1921)
- Four Poems by Fredegond Shove: for baritone and piano (1922–25): 1. Motion and Stillness; 2. Four Nights; 3. The New Ghost; 4. The Water Mill
- Two Poems by Seumas O'Sullivan (1925): 1. The Twilight People; 2. A Piper;
- Three Songs from Shakespeare (1925): 1. Take, O take those lips away; 2. When icicles hang by the wall; 3. Orpheus with his lute
- Three Poems by Walt Whitman for baritone and piano (1925): 1. Nocturne; 2. A Clear Midnight; 3. Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
- "Along the Field", for tenor and violin, setting texts by A. E. Housman (1927)
- "In the Spring", song (1952); from the William Barnes poem of the same name
- Ten Blake Songs, song cycle for high voice and oboe (1957), written for film The Vision of William Blake
- Four Last Songs (1954–58) to poems of Ursula Vaughan Williams: 1. Procris; 2. Tired; 3. Hands, Eyes and Heart; 4. Menelaus
- Three Vocalises (wordless) for soprano and clarinet (1958)
Chamber
edit- String Quartet in C minor (1898)
- Quintet in D major for clarinet, horn, violin, cello, and piano (1898)
- Piano Quintet in C minor for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (1903)
- Scherzo for string quintet (1904)
- Nocturne & Scherzo for string quintet (1906)[20]
- String Quartet No. 1 in G minor (1908)
- Phantasy Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas, and cello (1912)
- Suite de Ballet for flute and piano (1913–24)
- Romance and Pastorale for violin and piano (1914)
- Romance for viola and piano (undated; possibly 1914)
- Six Studies in English Folk Song, for cello (or clarinet, violin, viola) and piano (1926)
- Double Trio for string sextet (1938): withdrawn and revised as Partita for Double String Orchestra
- Suite for Pipes (1939)
- Household Music: Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes for string quartet or other instruments (1941): 1. Fantasia, Crug-y-bar; 2. Scherzo, St. Denio; 3. Variation, Aberystwyth
- String Quartet No. 2 in A minor ("For Jean, on her birthday," 1942–44. Dedicated to the violist Jean Stewart[21])
- Sonata in A minor for violin and piano (1952)
Keyboard
edit- Pezzo Ostinato for piano (1905)
- Three Preludes for Organ founded on Welsh hymn tunes (1920); 1. Bryn Calfaria, 2. Rhosymedre, 3. Hyfrydol
- No. 2 & No. 3 arranged for orchestra by Arnold Foster
- Arranged for two pianos by Leslie Russell (1939)
- Suite of Six Short Pieces for piano (1921)
- Arranged for string orchestra by James Brown in collaboration with the composer as The Charterhouse Suite (1923)
- Prelude and Fugue in C minor for organ (1921)
- Version for orchestra (1930)
- Hymn Tune Prelude on 'Song 13' by Orlando Gibbons for piano (1930)
- Arranged for string orchestra by Helen Glatz
- Six Teaching Pieces for piano (1934)
- A Wedding Tune for Ann for organ (1943)
- A Winter Piece for piano (1943)
- Introduction and Fugue for two pianos (1947)
- The Old One Hundredth Psalm Tune, harmonisation and arrangement (1953)
- Two Organ Preludes founded on Welsh Folk Songs (1956): 1. Romanza, The White Rock; 2. Toccata, St. David's Day
Film scores
edit- 49th Parallel, 1940, his first, talked into it by Muir Mathieson to assuage his guilt at being able to do nothing for the war effort
- Song The New Commonwealth (1943) adapted from Prelude to 49th Parallel, words by Harold Child
- The Lake in the Mountains for piano, based on episode from 49th Parallel (1947)
- Prelude to 49th Parallel for orchestra, published 1960
- Coastal Command, 1942
- The People's Land, 1943 [22]
- The Flemish Farm, 1943
- Suite The Story of a Flemish Farm in 7 movements (1945)
- Stricken Peninsula, 1945
- The Loves of Joanna Godden, 1946
- Scott of the Antarctic,[23] 1948
- Partially reused for his Sinfonia antartica (Symphony No. 7)
- The Dim Little Island, 1949 [24]
- Bitter Springs, 1950 (music composed jointly with Ernest Irving)[25]
- The England of Elizabeth, 1955
- Three Portraits from The England of Elizabeth: concert suite (1. Explorer; 2. Poet; 3. Queen) adapted by Muir Mathieson
- Two Shakespeare Sketches from The England of Elizabeth adapted by Muir Mathieson
Scores for radio
edit- BBC adaptation by Edward Sackville-West of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, 1942
- Some of this music was later used in the Morality Play The Pilgrim's Progress
- Richard II (1944); not used
- Incidental music to BBC production of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1951
- Prelude on an Old Carol Tune (1953) was adapted from this incidental music
Band
edit- Rhosymedre (based on a Welsh hymn tune for organ) for concert band (1920)
- English Folk Songs, Suite for military band (1923)
- Arranged for brass band by Gordon Jacob (1924)
- Arranged for orchestra by Gordon Jacob (1942)
- Arranged for piano by Michael Mullinar (1949)
- Sea Songs, Quick march for military and brass bands (1923)
- Arranged by composer for orchestra (1942)
- Toccata Marziale for military band (1924)
- Overture: Henry V for brass band (1933/34)
- Flourish for Wind Band (1939)
- Prelude on Three Welsh Hymn Tunes for brass band (1955): 1. Ebenezer; 2. Calfaria; 3. Hyfrydol
- Variations for brass band (1957)
- Arranged for orchestra by Gordon Jacob (1960)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The Death of Tintagiles
- ^ Recorded in completion by James Francis Brown. Some ideas were used again in A London Symphony - see notes by Stephen Connock with Albion Records CD ALBCD016
- ^ Recorded in edition by James Francis Brown. Opening clarinet melody was used again in A Sea Symphony, in The England of Elizabeth and in Symphony No. 9 - see notes by Stephen Connock with Albion Records CD ALBCD016
- ^ There were two other Norfolk Rhapsodies from the same period: Norfolk Rhapsody No. 2 has been recorded in a completion by Stephen Hogger (Chandos CD 10001), but the score of the third was lost. See Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 for details.
- ^ Some of the music was used again in An Oxford Elegy. Another impression for orchestra from the same period, Boldre Wood, has not survived - see notes by Stephen Connock with Albion Records CD ALBCD016
- ^ see "YouTube videoclip" under External Links
- ^ Stainer & Bell Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Garden of Proserpine
- ^ Discovery announcement on Classic FM Website
- ^ World Premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'A Cambridge Mass' Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Vaughan Williams, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
- ^ Research by Alan Tongue
- ^ Notes by Lewis Foreman with Naxos CD 8.557798
- ^ Notes by Michael Kennedy with EMI CDM 7 69820 2
- ^ "Ralph Vaughan Williams". Robert Burns choral settings. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ^ Publisher Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-5383-6
- ^ Nine Carols for male voices. Oxford University Press. July 1993. ISBN 978-0-19-385940-1. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ see "1956 audio interview" under External Links
- ^ Notes by Stephen Connock included with Albion Records CD ALBCD002
- ^ Written just before he went to study with Ravel. Score dated 11 January 1908. Manuscript discovered in 2000, among the papers of Richard Austin, the son of the baritone & composer Frederic Austin. FP Gloucester Three Choirs Festival, August 2001. Two further Nocturnes orch. by Anthony Payne 2014. Sources: "Ralph Vaughan Williams: Catalogue of Works" (PDF). Faber & Faber Music. February 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 28 September 2021., and "The 39th Delius Society AGM and social weekend" (PDF). Delius Society Journal. 130: 31–33. Autumn 2001. Retrieved 28 September 2021. A different setting of the poem appears in Three Poems by Walt Whitman of 1925.
- ^ Notes by Michael Kennedy with Hyperion CD CDA 67381/2
- ^ "Letter from Jean Stewart to Ralph Vaughan Williams" The Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ The music was based on folksongs and the film describes the work of the National Trust - see notes by Michael Kennedy with Chandos CD CHAN 10007
- ^ The composer wrote more music than was actually used in the finished film: see notes by Michael Kennedy to Chandos CD 10007
- ^ This was a short Central Office of Information film. The music was based on folksongs and incorporates parts of Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus: see notes by Michael Kennedy with Chandos CD CHAN 10244
- ^ Notes with Chandos CD CHAN 10368
- ^ Kennedy, Michael: A Catalogue of the Works of Vaughan Williams, OUP, 1964; revised edition, OUP, 1996
- ^ Jerzy Chwialkowski: The Da Capo Catalog of Classical Music Compositions, Da Capo Press, 1996