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Ralph Vaughan Williams OM (/ ˌ r eɪ f v ɔː n ˈ w ɪ l j ə m z / ⓘ RAYF vawn WIL-yəmz; 12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years.
Jun 4, 2024 · Ralph Vaughan Williams (born October 12, 1872, Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England—died August 26, 1958, London, England) was an English composer in the first half of the 20th century, and the founder of the nationalist movement in English music.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The young Ralph Vaughan Williams. Born in the village of Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, Ralph Vaughan Williams was related to Charles Darwin (Ralph's great-uncle) and the ceramics giant Josiah Wedgwood (his great-great-grandfather).
- At the Royal College of Music. Vaughan Williams studied at the Royal College of Music in London, pictured, alongside Gustav Holst and Leopold Stokowski.
- A Pilgrim's Progress. The composer's father Arthur was ordained vicar of All Saints church in Down Ampney, pictured. Despite being agnostic, Vaughan Williams edited The English Hymnal in 1904, composed some stunning Christian choral music, and wrote an opera of The Pilgrim’s Progress.
- Vaughan Williams - A committed socialist. The composer never took his privileged background for granted and worked all his life for democratic and egalitarian ideals.
- The Lark Ascending. The Lark Ascending is a “pastoral romance for orchestra”, with solo violin, based on a poem by George Meredith. The writing – in the poem and the resulting piece of music – is nostalgic, and Vaughan Williams draws on folk melodies and programmatic writing that seems to trace the journey of the lark as it bursts into flight.
- Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Vaughan Williams composed his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis in 1910, to great acclaim. It’s a one-movement piece for string orchestra, based on a tune from the 16th century written by, as the name of VW’s work suggests, one Thomas Tallis.
- The Wasps. The Wasps is an enduringly loved stage score of Vaughan Williams’. It was actually commissioned by a drama committee at Cambridge University, the Cambridge Greek Play committee, who were staging Aristophanes’ work of this name.
- Symphony No. 5. This symphony, written between 1938 and 1943, is Vaughan Williams’ orchestral music at its pastoral, romantic best. The composer used lots of the fine tunes in this symphony that were lying around, waiting to be used for his opera, The Pilgrim’s Progress (see below).
Ralph Vaughan Williams was not only a composer of the utmost importance for English music but also one of the great symphonists of the 20th century. He was born on 12 October 1872 in the Cotswold village of Down Ampney, where his father was vicar.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) 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.
Vaughan Williams Today continues BBC Radio 3’s celebrations marking 150 years since Ralph Vaughan Williams’s birth. Special programming throughout October explores the life and music of...
