Vaughan Williams: Job, A Masque For Dancing

Featuring

Andrew Manze
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Ralph Vaughan Williams

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Notable Performances

The first performances of 'Job' were in the concert hall in 1930 and 1931, both conducted by Vaughan Williams himself, before its stage premiere in London in July 1931.

Critical Reception

Serge Diaghilev, director of the Ballets Russes, rejected the 'Job' project as 'too English and old-fashioned' for a stage production.

Compositional Technique

The musical structure of 'Job', with its succession of varied episodes, is similar to how Vaughan Williams later structured his film scores.

Compositional Technique

The score of 'Job' features a strong contrast between the musical portrayals of God, which are powerful and majestic, and Satan, depicted by dissonant and rhythmic passages.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vaughan Williams insisted on calling the work 'A Masque for Dancing' to avoid it being described as a ballet and to prevent conventional dancing en pointe.

Composition History

Vaughan Williams's interest in the 'Job' story came from William Blake's illustrations, particularly a celebrated series of 22 engravings from 1826.

Composition History

The idea for a ballet based on 'Job' was conceived by Geoffrey Keynes, a Blake scholar, and Gwen Raverat, Vaughan Williams's cousin, for the centenary of Blake's death in 1927.