Vaughan Williams: Five Tudor Portraits & Five Mystical Songs

Featuring

Hilary Davan Wetton
Henry Herford
Sarah Walker
Philharmonia Orchestra
Guildford Choral
Ralph Vaughan Williams

Did you know?

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Critical Reception

The Five Tudor Portraits, based on the 'vigorous realistic and earthy verses' of Tudor poet John Skelton, caused consternation among some audience members at its premiere.

Compositional Technique

Maurice Ravel taught Vaughan Williams to be 'complex but not complicated' in contrapuntal textures, to orchestrate in points of color, and that formal development should serve a purpose beyond its own sake.

Composer Biography

Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, studied with Maurice Ravel in Paris in 1908, despite their disparate personalities, and learned valuable lessons from him.

Composition History

The Five Mystical Songs were completed to fulfill a commission for the Worcester Festival, after the success of Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis.

Critical Reception

Despite its initial success and critical praise, the Five Tudor Portraits has not been performed frequently, possibly due to its difficulty and the archaic humor in its verses.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vaughan Williams chose to study with a French master, Maurice Ravel, rather than follow the Teutonic studies favored in his day, showing his discernment as an evolving composer.

Composition History

The Five Tudor Portraits, a choral suite, premiered at the Norwich Festival in 1936, where the composer noted that the audience might have expected a different kind of work.