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Vaughan Williams' Pageants and Music for Bands


Pageants

  • Music for the Pageant of Abinger (1934)
    Composed in aid of the Abinger Church Preservation Fund. All parts are unpublished except for the hymn "O How Amiable", originally written for military band accompaniment, but later arranged by the composer for organ.

  • England's Pleasant Land (1938)
    RVW's contribution to a pageant in aid of the Dorking and Leith Hill Preservation Society. This work was arranged for mixed chorus and military band, and is notable because it contains themes that would later appear in the Scherzo and Preludio movements of the 5th symphony.

  • Solemn Music for the Final Scene of the Masque of Charterhouse (1950)
    Although unpublished, the manuscript is kept at Charterhouse School where RVW was once a pupil.

Music for Brass Band


Unpublished Brass Band Works
  • Henry the Fifth Overture (1933)
    For brass band and percussion. Although unpublished the manuscript survives.

  • Flourish of Trumpets for a Folk Dance Festival (1935)
    Based on a folk tune called "The Morris Call", this 28 bar allegro was recorded in 1937, although the manuscript has never been published.

  • Flourish for Three Trumpets (1951)
    Composed for Staffordshire schools for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The manuscript is in the Music Department of Stafford Library.

Music for Military Band


Unpublished Military Band Works
  • The Golden Vanity March (1933)


Background Information

Sea Songs

"This 4 minute work is based on the sea songs "Princess Royal", "Admiral Benbow" and "Portsmouth". RVW originally arranged this march for brass and military band in 1923, it wasn't until 1942 that he created the version for full orchestra. The first performance of the band version was at Wembley during the 1924 British Empire Exhibition."

"A quick march and a perfect miniature, with more invention crammed into it than some symphonies. There is not one note in it that doesn't gladden the heart." -- Steve Schwartz

Recommended Recording :
  • Bournemouth Sinfonietta; George Hurst, conducting. Chandos CHAN 8432

    English Folk Song Suite

    Composed : 1923
    Movements : I - March : "Seventeen Come Sunday", allegro, F minor
    II - Intermezzo : "My Bonny Boy", andantino - allegro scherzando, F minor
    III - March : "Folk Songs from Somerset", allegro, B flat
    Duration : 11 minutes
    Other versions : Arranged for brass band, and also full orchestra by Gordon Jacob in 1924

    "A military band classic - and this is the version to get, rather than Gordon Jacob's arrangement for full orchestra. Full of great tunes, tellingly set, it pioneered ( along with Holst's two Suites for Military Band ) serious composition for symphonic wind ensemble in this century. Serious does not mean solemn, however. Vaughan Williams is one of the few composers who turns out heavy and "light" with equal ease while remaining recognizably himself. Treat yourself to a very good time indeed. The classic recording comes from band legend Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. The later recording with Denis Wicks and the London Wind Orchestra lacks Fennell's bouncy vim." -- Steve Schwartz

    Recommended Recordings :
  • London Wind Orchestra; Denis Wicks. ASVCD QS 6021.
  • Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell. Mercury (lp) SRI 75011

    Flourish for Wind Band

    "This short work (only about 90 seconds long) was scored for military band with numerous clarinets, cornets, saxophones, euphoniums and timpani. Having been written as an overture to a pageant in the Royal Albert Hall, the score was then lost - only to reappear in 1971. Upon its discovery the work was adapted twice by Roy Douglas - first for brass band, and then for symphony orchestra. The orchestral version is scored for wind instruments, together with double basses, timpani and percussion. This version had its first performance by the Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra in 1974. The original and the adaptions have all been published by Oxford University Press, although no recordings are known." -- Steve Schwartz

    Toccata Marziale

    "This revolutionary piece for band treats that ensemble as a vehicle for expressing musical modernism so advanced that it sounds like American works written fifteen to twenty years later. The classic recording has the Eastman Wind Ensemble led by the legendary Frederick Fennell. Denis Wick and the London Wind Orchestra pale in comparison." -- Steve Schwartz

    Recommended Recordings:
  • Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell. Mercury (lp) SRI 75011.
  • London Wind Orchestra; Denis Wicks. ASVCD QS 6021.

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