It has been a while since I featured music from Britain here, at my Blog. Today is the day that I correct that deficiency with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as two selections by Edward Elgar.
The four compositions are:
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra ‘Concerto Accademico’
- Edward Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47
- Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings, Op. 20
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
The violin soloist in the “Lark Ascending” and the Vaughan Williams violin concerto is Tamsin Waley-Cohen.
In my view, there are times when music is abstract. It is just there for the listening pleasure. There’s no need to analyze this pleasure, to label it, or to explore it. It is just an awesome auditory experience.
The Lark Ascending is one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ most well – known pieces. It originated as a poem by the English poet George Meredith about the song of the skylark.
The poem inspired the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams to write a musical work of the same name, which is now more widely known than the poem. It was originally composed in 1914 for violin and piano. Later, the composer re-scored it for solo violin and orchestra, which premiered in 1921, and this is now the most frequently performed version.
Here is The Lark Ascending performed by Tamsin Waley-Cohen, violin:
And another of my favorite interpreters of this piece is violinist Janine Jansen. Listen carefully and fly away with her:
Tags: “Lark Ascending”, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, violin, Edward Elgar, Janine Jansen