August 26, 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan
Williams’ death. To celebrate his life and work, let’s take a look at some of
his lesser-known compositions including his Serenade
to Music, Flos Campi, and Five Tudor Portraits. This post was
written by WGUC intern, Connor Annable.
Did you know that Vaughan Williams wrote his Serenade to Music
for sixteen of the most well-known British singers of his era? He wrote is as a
tribute to English conductor Henry Wood, who at the time was celebrating the
50th anniversary of his conducting debut. Serenade
to Music uses text from Act V of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, which evokes the power of music and the
music of the spheres.
Flos Campi was composed
a little over 15 years before Serenade to Music. It is a work that is
sometimes described as a celebration of love (Flos Campi is translated
most often in the context of the Hebrew Bible as “Flower of the Field,” evoking
the Rose of Sharon as described in the Song of Solomon). Premiered on October
10, 1925, it is cast in six interconnected sections, each using a Latin quote
from the Song of Solomon. It is dedicated to the eminent English violist Lionel
Tertis. This dedication seems fitting, since the viola has a prominent solo
part against a backdrop of wordless chorus and small orchestra. As a result, it
could be considered a choral-orchestral work, but the chorus and orchestra are
not necessarily on equal footing.
A work that marks a complete contrast from pure Romanticism for
Vaughan Williams is the ‘choral suite’ Five
Tudor Portraits, composed in 1935 and premiered at the Norwich Festival
on September 25, 1936. Scored for solo alto (or mezzo-soprano), baritone,
chorus and orchestra, it sets five poems by the 15th-16th century poet John
Skelton, who served as tutor to the young Henry VIII and poet laureate for
Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
It is interesting to examine lesser-known music by Ralph Vaughan
Williams in order to more fully appreciate him as a composer. He seems to
maintain a feeling of immense pride for his home country by incorporating
musical and textual sources which are unmistakably English. Because of this and
other factors, Ralph Vaughan Williams may be regarded as an undisputed master
of English choral-orchestral writing, writing which demands as much attention
now as it did when these works premiered over 80-90 years ago.
RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS
Serenade to Music:
Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Peter Oundjian, conductor; Elmer Iseler
Singers
Chandos CHSA5201
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult, conductor; vocal
soloists
EMI Classics 007777640253
Flos Campi:
Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Peter Oundjian, conductor; Teng Li,
solo viola; Elmer Iseler Singers
Chandos CHSA5201
Bournemouth Sinfonietta & Choir/Norman Del Mar, conductor;
Frederick Rittle, viola
Chandos CHAN8374
Five Tudor Portraits:
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Richard Hickox, conductor;
Jean Rigby, alto; John Shirley-Quirk, baritone
Chandos CHAN9593
