Artist
Ralph Vaughan Williams
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Ralph Vaughan Williams (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal compositions, and orchestral works, including nine symphonies written over a period of more than sixty years. Influenced by Tudor music and English folk song, his compositions contributed to the development of a distinctively English style of classical music in the early 20th century. Vaughan Williams was born into a well-to-do family with progressive social views. Throughout his life he expressed a belief that music should be accessible to a wide audience and wrote many works intended for amateur and student performers. His development as a composer was gradual, and he did not establish his mature style until his late thirties. His studies with the French composer Maurice Ravel in 1907–1908 influenced his orchestration and helped him refine the textures of his music. Vaughan Williams is regarded as one of the leading British symphonists. His orchestral works include compositions with a wide range of musical character and atmosphere. Among his best known concert works are "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" (1910) and "The Lark Ascending" (1914). His vocal music includes hymns, arrangements of folk songs, and large-scale choral works. Between 1919 and 1951 he composed eight stage works. Although his operas have not become standard repertoire, his ballet "Job: A Masque for Dancing" (1930) achieved lasting success and has been frequently performed. Two events had a significant influence on Vaughan Williams's life. His service in the British Army during the First World War had a lasting personal impact. About twenty years later he formed a relationship with a younger woman who later became his second wife. Vaughan Williams continued composing into his seventies and eighties and completed his final symphony shortly before his death at the age of 85. His music has remained an important part of the British concert repertoire, and his major works and many of his lesser-known compositions have been widely recorded. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Popular
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
English Fantasia: Vaughan Williams, Delius & Elgar
The Lark Ascending
English Fantasia: Vaughan Williams, Delius & Elgar
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Vaughan Williams: Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus"
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
The Lark Ascending
Notes of Nature
English Folk Song Suite : Vaughan Williams: English Folk Song Suite: 3. March: Folk Songs from Somerset
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Vaughan Williams: Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus"
Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia; Fantasia on Greensleeves; The Lark Ascending etc.
Concerto for Oboe and Strings : Vaughan Williams: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: 1. Rondo Pastorale
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia; Fantasia on Greensleeves; The Lark Ascending etc.
Concerto Grosso : Vaughan Williams: Concerto Grosso: 3. Sarabande
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Concerto Grosso : Vaughan Williams: Concerto Grosso: 2. Burlesca Ostinata
Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works
Vaughan Williams: 4 Hymns: No. 2, Who Is This fair One?
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge & Other Songs
Albums
Centenary of HM Queen Elizabeth II: 100 songs for 100 years
2026
Wishing Tree
2026
"Classical Drive - Guess that Theme"
2025
"Classical Drive - Guess that Theme"
2025
"Summer Classical Drive" - Guess that Theme
2025
Christmas by the Fire
2025
Classical for Meditation
2025
Namaste - Classical Music for Yoga
2025
The Best of Andrew Penny
2025
The Best of James Judd
2025
The Essential New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
2025
The Essential RTÉ Concert Orchestra
2025
The Essential Roderick Williams
2025
British Classical Masterpieces
2024
Hymns to Saint Cecilia: Music for the Patron Saint of Music
2024
Lumina: Flute Transcriptions by Katrina Penman
2024
Pastoral
2024
The Best of David Lloyd-Jones
2024
The Essential English Northern Philharmonia
2024
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)
2024
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
2024
Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem – Hough: Missa Mirabilis
2024
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Pastoral" & 4
2024
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8
2024
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 & Scenes from Pilgrim's Progress
2024
Best of Ralph Vaughan Williams
2023
Christmas: A Cappella Carols and Hymns
2023
Music for Remembrance: Duruflé Requiem & Other Works
2023
Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata – Bridge: Cello Sonata
2023
Rejoice, the Lord is King: Great Hymns from Westminster Abbey
2023
The Official Album of The Coronation: The Complete Recording
2023
The Official Music of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
2023
Vaughan Williams, MacMillan & Tavener: Choral Works
2023
Vaughan Williams: Flos Campi & Suite; McEwen: Viola Concerto
2023
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge & Other Songs
2023
Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia antartica (Symphony No. 7) & Symphony No. 9
2023
Queen Elizabeth II: Music in Memoriam
2022
Remembering Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)
2022
![Vaughan Williams Live, Vol. 3 (Live) [2022 Remastered Version]](https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/ecc4186617871f0d4ac3ccab9d694e21/500x500-000000-80-0-0.jpg)
Vaughan Williams Live, Vol. 3 (Live) [2022 Remastered Version]
2022
Classical's Coming Home
2021
British Classical Music: VE Day 75
2020
British Composers
2020
Work From Home with British Classics
2020
Classical Romance with Ralph Vaughan Williams
2019
Vaughan Williams Gramophone Premieres
2019
Best of the British Isles
2014
Scott of the Antarctic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
2014
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D Major & Dona Nobis Pacem
2014
Scott of the Antarctic (Original Soundtrack)
2013
Fantasie
2009
English Fantasia: Vaughan Williams, Delius & Elgar
1998
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