Title: The Cambridge companion to Vaughan Williams /
Authors: Frogley, Alain; Thomson, Aidan J., 1975-
Year: 2013
Subjects: Vaughan Williams, Ralph,; Vaughan Williams, Ralph, Criticism and interpretation.; Vaughan Williams, Ralph; Composers England Biography; Music England History and criticism
Abstract: An icon of British national identity and one of the most widely performed twentieth-century composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams has been misunderstood as much as he had been revered; his international impact and enduring influence on areas as diverse as church music, film scores and popular music has been insufficiently appreciated. This volume brings together a team of leading scholars, examining all areas of the composer's output from new perspectives, and re-evaluating the cultural politics of his lifelong advocacy for the music-making of ordinary people. Surveys of major genres are complemented by chapters exploring such topics as the composer's relationship with the BBC and his studies with Ravel; uniquely, the book also includes specially commissioned interviews with major living composers Peter Maxwell Davies, Piers Hellawell, Nicola Lefanu and Anthony Payne. The Companion is a vital resource for all those interested in this pivotal figure of modern music [Publisher description]
Contents: The composer and society: family, politics, nation / Julian Onderdonk -- Vaughan Williams's musical apprenticeship / Byron Adams -- Becoming a national composer: critical reception to c.1925 / Aidan J. Thomson -- History and geography: the early orchestral works and first three symphonies / Alain Frogley -- The songs and shorter secular choral works / Sophie Fuller -- 'An Englishman and a democrat': Vaughan Williams, large choral works and the English festival tradition / Charles Edward McGuire -- Folksong arrangements, hymn tunes, and church music / Julian Onderdonk -- Music for stage and film / Eric Saylor -- Chamber music and works for soloist with orchestra / Christopher Mark -- The later symphonies / Julian Horton -- The public figure: Vaughan Williams as writer and activist / David Manning -- Vaughan Williams, Boult, and the BBC / Jenny Doctor -- Fluctuations in the response to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams / Michael Kennedy -- Vaughan Williams and his successors: composers' forum / Peter Maxwell Davies, Piers Hellawell, Nicola LeFanu and Anthony Payne in conversation with Aidan J. Thomson.