Ralph Vaughan Williams was asked to write the music for a ballet based on William Blake's engravings of the Book of Job in 1927 and accepted the commission without seeing the scenario.
Composition History
Vaughan Williams composed his Ninth Symphony, his last, between early 1956 and November 1957, when he was in his eighty-fifth year.
Performer Biography
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the world's oldest, dates back to 1765 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2015.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Vaughan Williams, along with his friend Gustav Holst, sought to establish an expressly English style of ballet, disliking classical 'en pointe' dancing and preferring folk traditions.
Notable Performances
The ballet 'Job' was initially rejected by Diaghilev as 'too English and too old-fashioned' before Ninette de Valois and Lillian Baylis agreed to take it on.
Compositional Technique
For his Ninth Symphony, Vaughan Williams continued exploring unusual instrumental sonorities, including three saxophones, a flugelhorn, a deep gong, bells, and a glockenspiel.
Compositional Technique
Vaughan Williams called his work 'A Masque for Dancing', linking it to the English masque tradition and incorporating 17th-century court dances like the saraband, pavane, and galliard.
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