Vaughan Williams composed three 'Norfolk Rhapsodies' in 1906. Nos. 2 and 3 - now sadly lost - were actually performed at a concert in London's Queen's Hall on 17 April 1912 under Balfour Gardiner just days after the "Titanic" disaster. The First Rhapsody was given its premiere on 23 August 1906 at the same locale under Henry Wood's baton. The composer made a number of revisions to the work before a second performance took place (21 May 1914) i...
Vaughan Williams' setting of four poems from George Herbert's 1633 collection, The Temple: Sacred Poems was done between 1906 and 1911. The premiere was given under the composer's direction on September 14, 1911 at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester. This new edition of the vocal score by Richard Sargeant has been prepared with chorus' needs in mind. The layout is music improved over the original 1911 score, with the vocal staves at full s...
Vaughan Williams' masterpiece for string orchestra was given its premiere on September 6th, 1910 at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra under the composer's direction. It was an immediate success, but the composer revised the piece twice (1913 and 1919) before it's first publication in 1921. The Phrygian-mode Tallis melody upon which the work is based originally appeared in Archbishop Parker's P...
Vaughan Williams' setting of three traditional English carols, The Truth sent from Above, Come All You Worthy Gentlemen, and On Christmas Night all Christians Sing was composed in 1912. The premiere was given under the composer's direction on September 12 of that year at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford Cathedral. This new edition of the vocal score by Richard Sargeant has been prepared with chorus' needs in mind. The layout is vastly imp...
