IDAGIO | Vaughan Williams: Beyond My Dream – Music for Greek Plays 5060158190331

Featuring

Alan Tongue
Heather Lowe
Britten Sinfonia
Joyful Company of Singers
Ralph Vaughan Williams

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Recording & Production

The scores for The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Tauris were transcribed by Alan Tongue from manuscripts at the British Library, with permission from the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust.

Recording & Production

This album features world premiere recordings of Ralph Vaughan Williams's music for three plays by Euripides: The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Tauris.

Performer Biography

The Joyful Company of Singers, one of Europe's prominent chamber choirs, has a discography of over 25 CDs and has previously recorded Vaughan Williams's works with Albion Records.

Composition History

Ralph Vaughan Williams was approached by the American dancer Isadora Duncan, who wanted him to write music for her to dance to, specifically a chorus from The Bacchae.

Composer Biography

Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, and Gilbert Murray, the translator of the Greek plays, both refused a knighthood but later accepted the Order of Merit, and their ashes are interred in Westminster Abbey.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ralph Vaughan Williams believed that folk songs, like the Bible and Homer, contain the 'spiritual life-blood of a people' and are continually re-created by successive generations.

Compositional Technique

Ralph Vaughan Williams's music for the Greek plays often uses a 'chant without any accompaniment' style, but also incorporates more operatic methods, resulting in a mixture of approaches.