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Ralph Vaughan Williams
1872 – 1958
Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Drawing on the influences of English folk song and Tudor polyphony, Ralph succeeded at reviving British music during a career that spanned over six decades.
Life and Music
- Born on October 12, 1872 in Down Ampney, England, Ralph's interest in music began at an early age, when in addition to playing the violin, viola, piano and organ he became increasingly interested in composition.
- He studied at the Royal College of Music alongside Gustav Holst, then for three years at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a pupil of Parry, Charles Wood and Stanford.
- Ralph's early work was influenced by his dissatisfaction with the English music scene. He decided to draw on native resources, rather than turning to foreign influences, therefore English folksong became a pivotal part of his composition.
- His philosophy towards music was that it should be available to everyone, regardless of class, which also explains why he focused on the simplicity of folk music and church hymns.
- Ralph's first big public success came in 1910 at the premiere of his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, before achieving even greater praise for A London Symphony in 1914.
- During the First World War Ralph volunteered himself into army life until the armistice when he was appointed director of music for the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force. His time serving in the Ambulance Service affected the composer deeply and he sought to express his experiences through his music.
- By 1919, Vaughan Williams had returned to the Royal College of Music as a member of teaching staff and soon became conductor of the Bach Choir and the Handel Society. It was during this post-war period that a new phase of music composition emerged from Ralph, characterised by cross-rhythms and clashing harmonies.
- Key works during this time included the ballet Old King Cole, the piano concerto and his Fourth Symphony, first performed in 1935. Ralph's Fourth Symphony was a particular landmark as despite it's controversy, it confirmed Vaughan William's leadership of the 'English School'.
- At the age of 70, Ralph moved into a new genre of film music. Starting with the score for Michael Powell's '49th Parallel' he then wrote the music for Scott of the Antarctica in 1948, from which he developed his Symphonia Antartica.
- Ralph died peacefully in August 1958 and his ashes were placed by the grave of Henry Purcell in Westminster Abbey.
- By 1994 the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society had been founded with the aim to widen knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the composer and to encourage the performance of his works.
- Here at Classic FM, The Lark Ascending written for solo violin and orchestra has been voted by listeners' as their favourite piece of classical music in the Classic FM Hall of Fame in recent years.
Did you know?
By the end of his life, Vaughan Williams had composed in almost every genre, having written nine symphonies, six operas, a ballet and a variety of hymn tunes and scores for the stage and screen.
