Ralph Vaughan Williams: 50 years after

[general disarray]

He's been gone that long and he should be remembered as one of the greatest composers of all time. 

But let's allow the great man to speak for himself:

"Music cannot be treated like cigars or wine, as a mere commodity.  It has its spiritual value as well. It shares in preserving the identity of soul of the individual and of the nation."

"The great men of music close periods; they do not inaugurate them," he wrote famously.  "The pioneer work, the finding of new paths, is left to smaller men . . . I would define genius as the right man in the right place at the right time . . . we shall  never know of the number of 'mute and inglorious Miltons' who failed because the place and time were not ready for them.  Was not Purcell a genius born before his time?  Was not Sullivan a jewel in the wrong setting?"

If you doubt Ralph Vaughn Williams' genius, listen to the "Sea Symphony" or the Third, Fourth and Fifth Symphonies.  Just for starters.  It's a rich legacy and a very British one, but RVW proved that great music, as nationalistic as it must be, could transcend all borders. 

"Away O Soul!  hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers -- haul out -- shake out every sail!
Sail forth, sheer for the deep waters only,
Reckless O Soul, exploring, I wish thee, and thou with me,
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave Soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O darling joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

(text by Walt Whitman, my American brother, and set to sublime music by RVW.)
   

[rc]

I've liked what I've heard on the radio, will have to explore more RVW.  Thanks

[retrouvailles]

Truly a great Brit. I really like his Sinfonia Antarctica and his Piano Concerto. His early Piano Quintet is good, too.

Btw, why the hell is his first name pronounced "rayf"?

[pianistimo]

this is too much.  faints.

[general disarray]

this is too much.  faints.

  ??


@retro: "rayf."  It's a Brit thing.  Don't ask.

[thalbergmad]

Btw, why the hell is his first name pronounced "rayf"?

Our wonderful English language is full of curiosities.

I used to go out with a gril called Siobhan and that is pronounced shervon.

Thal

[general disarray]

Okay, you slackers.  Today, August 26, is 50 years to the day that RVW died, in 1958, and I think everyone here who calls him or herself a "musician" should post in his honor.

I wanna see a LONG list of posters citing their favorite RVW compositions.  If you don't, I'm reporting all of you to nils.

You stand warned. 

[mikey6]

I used to go out with a gril.

She must have been hot! (omg, too clever  )

Did anyone see the BBC special on him?  Apaprently he was quite the womaniser.

[richard black]

a gril called Siobhan and that is pronounced shervon

Well, that's Gaelic, not English. 'Rafe'/Ralph is just pretentious upper-middle-class England. But that's about all that's not to like about RV-W, OK, that and the fact that he set some Housman, surely the dreariest poet ever to be widely acclaimed.

When setting decent poets, RV-W was among the true greats. Look up 'The New Ghost' (wds Fredegond Shove), for instance. Absolutely jaw-dropping.

If I had a glass here I'd raise it to the great man's memory.

[thalbergmad]

'Rafe'/Ralph is just pretentious upper-middle-class England.

I will take your word for that old chap, as i am neither.

Thalph

[richard black]

I will take your word for that old chap, as i am neither.

That may well be, dear boy, but you must have met some along the way - or where else did you get that 'old chap' habit?

 

[thalbergmad]

or where else did you get that 'old chap' habit?

Gravesend Cricket Club.

Used to be a bit of an "Old Boys" place.

Thal