Vaughan Williams composed and conducted at Stratford-upon-Avon for a summer season in 1912 and 1913, an experiment by actor-manager Sir Frank Benson.
Critical Reception
Despite some mixed reviews, Birmingham's Evening Mail noted in 1912 that Vaughan Williams had "put the music of the theatre on a much higher level" at Stratford.
Performer Biography
The Kent Sinfonia, founded in 1962 by Hungarian conductor Dr Béla de Csilléry, comprises leading professional musicians from Kent and the surrounding region.
Album & Artwork
The album's principal sponsor is The Vaughan Williams Foundation, and it is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Christopher Batt OBE, a long-term supporter and trustee of The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, deeply loved Shakespeare and set his words many times throughout his career, considering it a 'love affair that never ended'.
Recording & Production
This album features the first recording of the Two Shakespeare Sketches from 'The England of Elizabeth', arranged by Muir Mathieson, a former pupil of Vaughan Williams.
Compositional Technique
Vaughan Williams often drew freely on existing folk dances and other sources for his incidental music, and some movements were interchangeable between plays.
