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Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

Author of The Oxford Book of Carols

694+ Works 2,643 Members 41 Reviews 4 Favorited

About the Author

English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire. An early aptitude for music was encouraged by his parents, and he studied at the Royal College of Music in London as well as in Paris and Berlin. Vaughan William's music is essentially English in character, making him show more the first truly national composer since the sixteenth century. He is especially in touch with the English choral tradition. His first major success was Sea Symphony (1910), a choral piece set to words by Walt Whitman. His interest in choral music contributed to his becoming a leader in the English folk-song movement, and he was an enthusiastic collector of traditional folk songs. In his own work, Vaughan Williams often combined folk melodies with modern harmonies, creating a very distinctive style. Among his orchestral music, the most notable are the beautiful Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1909), London Symphony (1914), Pastoral Symphony (1922), and Sinfonia Antarctica (1952), a tribute to the explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Other well-known works include the ballad opera Hugh the Drover (1911--14) and the opera The Pilgrim's Progress (1948--49). He has also composed works for the ballet, for the stage, and for films. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Note that the composer's surname is Vaughan Williams, not Williams.

(fin) Säveltäjän sukunimi ei ole Williams vaan Vaughan Williams.

Image credit: Image © ÖNB/Wien

Works by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Oxford Book of Carols (1928) — Editor — 457 copies
The English Hymnal (1906) — Editor — 195 copies
The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs (1959) — Editor — 155 copies
Songs of praise [enlarged edition, with music] (1931) — Music Editor — 79 copies
Songs of praise [original edition, text only] (1925) — Music Editor — 64 copies
Songs of praise [enlarged edition, text only] (1925) — Music Editor — 29 copies
Vaughan Williams on Music (2008) 17 copies
Serenade to music [vocal score] (1938) — Composer — 17 copies
A London Symphony [score] (2013) 16 copies
A Sea Symphony [score] (1961) 14 copies
Mass in G Minor (1995) 13 copies
Hodie: Vocal score (1954) 13 copies
O Clap Your Hands (1920) 11 copies
Symphonies 7 & 8 (1987) 11 copies
Complete Symphonies 1-9 (2002) 10 copies
Symphony no. 5 in D Major (2009) 10 copies
Job [sound recording] (1934) 10 copies
Sinfonia Antartica (1953) 9 copies
The Making of Music (1965) 9 copies
Greensleeves (1988) 8 copies
Linden Lea 8 copies
Three Shakespeare Songs (1951) 7 copies
O Taste and See (1953) 7 copies
Benedicite (vocal score) (1929) 6 copies
Symphony No. 9 (1958) 6 copies
Flos Campi [full score] (1969) 6 copies
At the Name of Jesus (1955) 5 copies
Songs of praise [original edition, with music] (1964) — Music Editor — 5 copies
Rhosymedre (1989) 5 copies
O How Amiable (1972) 5 copies
National music (1934) 5 copies
Collected Songs Volume 1 (1993) 5 copies
Mass in G Minor (2001) 5 copies
Toward the unknown region [score] — Composer — 5 copies
Sir John in Love (2001) 4 copies
Sine Nomine (1951) 4 copies
Festival Te Deum (1937) 4 copies
On Wenlock Edge (1993) 4 copies
English Folk Song Suite (2009) 4 copies
A Choral Flourish (1956) 3 copies
Serenade to music + Symphony no.3 [sound recording] (2001) — Composer — 3 copies
Sinfonia Antartica (2002) 3 copies
A little piano book (1934) 3 copies
Valiant-for-Truth (1941) 3 copies
Down in Yon Forest (2003) 3 copies
Symphony 5 D Maj (2002) 3 copies
Folk Songs 1 2 copies
Songs of Travel 2 copies
Over Hill, Over Dale (1995) 2 copies
An Oxford Elegy [score] (1982) 2 copies
Holst : The planets + Marching song + Vaughan Williams : Symphony no.4 [sound recording] (2006) — Composer; Conductor, some editions — 2 copies
Mass in G Minor (1996) 2 copies
Symphony no. 8 in D minor (2022) 2 copies
The Vagabond 2 copies
Mass in G Minor 2 copies
The Turtle Dove 2 copies
All Hail the Power (1938) 2 copies
Eternal Vaughan Williams (2008) 2 copies
The Poisoned Kiss (2003) 2 copies
Poème [sound recording] (2011) — Composer — 2 copies
Film Music 2 copies
A Babe is Born 2 copies
Te Deum in G 1 copy
English Song (2006) 1 copy
Folk Songs 2 1 copy
Orchestral Works — Composer — 1 copy
Piano Quintets (2014) 1 copy
English Classics (2011) 1 copy
Loch Lomond 1 copy
The Call 1 copy
Silent Noon 1 copy
Silent noon 1 copy
Hodie: Chorus part (2007) 1 copy
Wassail Song 1 copy
Five English Folksongs (2003) 1 copy
Symphony No. 5 [sound recording] (2002) — Composer — 1 copy
Flowers of the Field (2014) 1 copy
Loch Lomond 1 copy
Te Deum in G (1928) 1 copy
The New Commonwealth (1969) 1 copy
Three Vocalises (2004) 1 copy
On Wenlock Edge (1940) 1 copy
Easter Hymn 1 copy
Greensleeves 1 copy
I Saw Three Ships (1990) 1 copy
Lullaby (1954) 1 copy
Symphonies 1 copy
Symphony 8/9 (1996) 1 copy
Rest 1 copy
The Lover's Ghost (2003) 1 copy
Serenade to music [catch-all] — Composer — 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

20th century (42) 20th century music (88) Anglican (36) British (26) carols (68) CD (120) Choral (51) choral music (21) Christianity (44) Christmas (72) church music (23) classical (28) Classical CD (29) classical music (144) England (33) English (32) General (25) Hymnal (70) Hymns (70) LDS (27) Liturgy (24) music (506) Music CD (79) Music CD: Classical (20) music score (31) non-fiction (40) orchestra (28) Orchestral (33) organ (23) piano (28) Ralph Vaughan Williams (23) religion (82) SATB (46) score (43) sheet music (31) songs (23) sound recording (79) Symphony (82) Vaughan Williams (136) Vocal (26)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Vaughan Williams, Ralph
Birthdate
1872-10-12
Date of death
1958-08-26
Burial location
Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Place of death
London, England, UK
Places of residence
Wotton, Surrey, England, UK
London, England, UK
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
Education
Charterhouse, Godalming, Surrey, England, UK
Royal College of Music
Cambridge University (BM|1894|BA|1895|DM|1901|Trinity College)
Field House preparatory school
Occupations
composer
ambulance driver (WWI)
Relationships
Vaughan Williams, Ursula (2nd wife)
Darwin, Charles (great-uncle)
Raverat, Gwen (second cousin)
Gurney, Ivor (student)
Whitlock, Percy (student)
Vaughan Williams, Adeline (1st wife, until her death in 1951)
Organizations
American Academy of Arts and Letters (Foreign Honorary, Music, 1949)
Leith Hill Music Festival
Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Artillery
Royal College of Music
Awards and honors
Order of Merit (1935)
Cobbett Medal (1930)
Shakespeare Prize (1937)
Albert Medal (1955)
Howland Memorial Prize (1954)
Short biography
Ralph (pronounced /ˈreɪf/) Vaughan Williams OM (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song; this also influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, which began in 1904, many folk song arrangements being set as hymn tunes, in addition to several original compositions. (Text from Wikipedia)
Disambiguation notice
Note that the composer's surname is Vaughan Williams, not Williams.

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Statistics

Works
694
Also by
16
Members
2,643
Popularity
#9,717
Rating
4.2
Reviews
41
ISBNs
210
Languages
7
Favorited
4

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