Ralph Vaughan Williams Catalogue

Orchestral Works
ed. James Francis Brown
The Solent
Full orchestra
2 fl, ob, ca, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 2 tbn, btbn, tba, timp, str
Study score 9780193399419
Score and parts on hire 9780193395480
This edition is the first publication of an early work for
chamber orchestra, composed in 1903. The main theme
from this work will be recognizable to many listeners,
as it later found its way into both the Sea Symphony and
the Ninth Symphony, albeit in a somewhat altered form.
This duplication has intrigued many Vaughan Williams’s
scholars, as has the Philip Marston quotation that prefaces
the scores: ‘Passion and sorrow in the deep sea’s voice, A
mighty mystery saddening all the wind?’.
10 minutes
Story of Flemish Farm (Suite)
Full orchestra
2 fl, 2 ob, ca, 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 2 perc
(cym, SD, glock, BD, tri, gong), hp, str
Score and parts on hire 9780193693906
Flemish Farm was a 1943 film about the recovery of a
Belgian RAF squadron’s flag from a farm in occupied
Belgium, for which Vaughan Williams wrote the score.
This score was adapted into a suite that was premiered at
the Proms by the London Symphony Orchestra under the
composer’s own baton in 1945. Despite moments of both
grandeur and tranquillity, the general tone of the seven
movements is darkly atmospheric, with the musical style
drawing heavily on Vaughan Williams’s symphonic writing.
In fact, the composer stated that two of the themes for his
Sixth Symphony (composed 1944–7) stemmed from ideas
originally intended for the score to Flemish Farm.
26 minutes
ed. Muir Mathieson
Three Portraits from ‘The England
of Elizabeth’ Suite
Full orchestra
2 fl (II + picc), ob, ca, 2 cl, bn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp,
2-4 perc (tri, cym, SD, gong, glock, BD), hp, cel (opt), str
Score and parts on hire 9780193694767
The England of Elizabeth is a 1957 documentary film about
Elizabethan England, for which Vaughan Williams provided
the soundtrack. In the years following its release Muir
Mathieson arranged the music into this suite to allow
concert performance, grouping disparate sections into
three cohesive movements: ‘Explorer’ (Sir Francis Drake),
‘Poet’(William Shakespeare), and ‘Queen’ (Queen
Elizabeth II).
Two Hymn Tune Preludes
Chamber orchestra
fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, str
Score and parts on hire 9780193694590
In this work, Vaughan Williams arranges Eventide by W.H.
Monk (1823–89) and Dominus regit me by J.B. Dykes to
create an enchanting pair of orchestral preludes. The first
is quietly radiant, with sustained strings and an expressive
oboe solo. The second features gentle interplay between
the instrumental lines, building slightly in intensity as more
parts join the texture while maintaining an imperturbable
sense of tranquility.
Eventide • Dominus regit me
6 minutes
Two Shakespeare Sketches
Orchestra
2 fl, ob, 2 cl, bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp, perc (tab, sidedrum,
tri), pno, hp, str
These Sketches make use of two well-known tunes of
Shakespeare’s time: ‘When that I was and a little tiny
boy’ and Thomas Morley’s ‘It was a lover and his lass’. The
music has been taken from that composed in 1955 for the
documentary film, The England of Elizabeth.
Available from Goodmusic
arr. Gordon Jacob
Variations for Orchestra
Full orchestra
2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 2 perc
(glock, SD, BD, cym, tri, cel (opt)), str
Score and parts on hire 9780193695115
This work was originally composed as Variations for Brass
Band, and only later arranged for orchestra. In its original
form, it served as a test piece for the National Brass Band
Competition of Great Britain in 1957. Each of the variations
has a distinctive character, and they combine to form an
engaging and appealing work.
12 minutes
ed. David Matthews
Concerto for Bass Tuba and
Orchestra
Solo tuba and orchestra
tba solo, 2 fl, ob, 2 cl, bn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 2 tbn, timp, 2 perc (SD,
cym, tri, BD), str
Study score 9780193386754
Score and parts on hire 9780193694569
Arrangement for tuba and piano 9780193386761
Full score* 9780193694545
The Concerto for bass tuba and orchestra was composed
1953–4 to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of
the London Symphony Orchestra and was written for the
orchestra’s principal tuba player, Philip Catelinet. It was the
first major concerto to be written for the instrument, and
remains today the outstanding work of its kind.
*Available from Emerson Wind Music
13 minutes
arr. David Childs and Rodney Newton
Concerto for Tenor Tuba
Solo Tenor Tuba (Euphonium) and Orchestra
Tenor Tba solo, Fl 1&2, Ob, Clar 1&2, Bsn, Hn 1&2, Tpt 1&2,
Trbn, Timp, Perc, Solo Eup, Str.
Score and parts on hire 9780193543737
Arrangement for tenor tuba and piano Publishing 2022
Vaughan Williams’s Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra
was the first major concerto to be written for the
instrument. It was composed in 1953–4 to mark the
50th anniversary of the LSO, and was premiered by the
orchestra’s principal tuba player, Philip Catelinet. The
original plan to transpose it for Euphonium was not
realised during the composer’s lifetime, and only now,
in this transcription by David Childs, has that goal been
attained, with Vaughan Williams’s orchestration deftly
transposed and rearranged by Rodney Newton to allow
this characteristic work to enter the repertoire of many
more players.
14 minutes
Works for Solo & Orchestra
Concerto for Oboe and Strings
Solo oboe and string orchestra
ob solo and str
Score and parts on hire 9780193692329
Oboe solo and piano reduction 9780193692312
Study score* 9780193692305
A capricious, lyrical, and nostalgic work, it is often
considered to be Vaughan Williams’s most successful work
in this form. The first movement is pastoral in feeling. The
second movement begins with a minuet, light and staccato
in nature, with a middle section featuring a musette’s
characteristic long-held drone played by the oboe with the
melody in the strings. The third movement is a scherzo and
two trios.
*Available from Emerson Wind Music
17 minutes
Concerto for Violin
Concerto Accademico
Solo violin and string orchestra
vln solo, str
Score and parts on hire 9780193695238
Arrangement for violin and piano* 9780193695221
Concerto for Violin was composed 1924–5 at a time when
neo-classicism was being explored by many of the leading
composers of the day. It seamlessly combines references to
the baroque style with Vaughan Williams’s own distinctive
vein of pastoral violin writing, so beautifully demonstrated
in the earlier The Lark Ascending. The work comprises three
movements, each featuring contrasts in mood. The first
movement juxtaposes heavy orchestral passages with
elegant ones that bring the soloist to the fore. The central
slow movement blends tranquil pastoralism with more
sombre moments, while the Presto sets nimble melodies
alongside jagged ones in a virtuosic close to the work.
*Available from Emerson Wind Music
16 minutes
Works for Solo & Orchestra
16 minutes
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