Awards

• Joint winner of A Classical Music Editor's Choice Top Ten Book of the Year 2014

Overview

An icon of British national identity and one of the most widely performed twentieth-century composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams has been as much misunderstood as revered; his international impact and enduring influence on areas as diverse as church music, film scores and popular music has been insufficiently appreciated. This volume brings together a team of leading scholars, examining all areas of the composer's output from new perspectives, and re-evaluating the cultural politics of his lifelong advocacy for the music-making of ordinary people. Surveys of major genres are complemented by chapters exploring such topics as the composer's relationship with the BBC and his studies with Ravel; uniquely, the book also includes specially commissioned interviews with major living composers Peter Maxwell Davies, Piers Hellawell, Nicola Lefanu and Anthony Payne. The Companion is a vital resource for all those interested in this pivotal figure of modern music.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alain Frogley (University of Connecticut) ,  Aidan J. Thomson (Queen's University Belfast)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 25.30cm
Weight:   0.890kg
ISBN:  

9780521197687

ISBN 10:   0521197686
Pages:   358
Publication Date:   14 November 2013
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Chronology; Introduction Alain Frogley and Aidan J. Thomson; Part I. 'Who wants the English composer?': Forging a Path, 1890–1925: 1. The composer and society: family, politics, nation Julian Onderdonk; 2. Vaughan Williams's musical apprenticeship Byron Adams; 3. Becoming a national composer: critical reception to c.1925 Aidan J. Thomson; Part II. Works by Genre: 4. History and geography: the early orchestral works and first three symphonies Alain Frogley; 5. The songs and shorter secular choral works Sophie Fuller; 6. 'An Englishman and a democrat': Vaughan Williams, large choral works and the English festival tradition Charles Edward McGuire; 7. Folksong arrangements, hymn tunes, and church music Julian Onderdonk; 8. Music for stage and film Eric Saylor; 9. Chamber music and works for soloist with orchestra Christopher Mark; 10. The later symphonies Julian Horton; Part III. Activism, Reception, and Influence: 11. The public figure: Vaughan Williams as writer and activist David Manning; 12. Vaughan Williams, Boult, and the BBC Jenny Doctor; 13. Fluctuations in the response to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams Michael Kennedy; 14. Vaughan Williams and his successors: composers' forum Peter Maxwell Davies, Piers Hellawell, Nicola LeFanu and Anthony Payne in conversation with Aidan J. Thomson; Select bibliography; Index of Vaughan Williams's works.

Reviews

'A thoughtful and informative companion.' Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine 'A challenging and a stimulating read.' Gramophone 'A really fine book about a great composer and a great man.' Classical Music

'The fourteen chapters take a variety of differing approaches to the process of exploring Vaughan William's life, work and broader cultural and social surroundings, so that the total result gives a genuine sense of 'something for everyone' … A thoughtful and informative companion.' Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine 'A challenging and a stimulating read.' Gramophone ' All the essays here are valuable and often insightful … A really fine book about a great composer and a great man.' Classical Music

'A thoughtful and informative companion.' Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine

'The fourteen chapters take a variety of differing approaches to the process of exploring Vaughan William's life, work and broader cultural and social surroundings, so that the total result gives a genuine sense of 'something for everyone' ... A thoughtful and informative companion.' Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine 'A challenging and a stimulating read.' Gramophone ' All the essays here are valuable and often insightful ... A really fine book about a great composer and a great man.' Classical Music The fourteen chapters take a variety of differing approaches to the process of exploring Vaughan William's life, work and broader cultural and social surroundings, so that the total result gives a genuine sense of 'something for everyone' ... A thoughtful and informative companion. Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine All the essays here are valuable and often insightful ... A really fine book about a great composer and a great man. Classical Music

Author Information

Alain Frogley has taught at Oxford and Lancaster universities, and since 1994 at the University of Connecticut; in 2008 he was Visiting Professor at Yale University. In 2005–6 he was a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. A specialist in the music of the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly that of Britain and America, he has also worked extensively on Beethoven. His research has centered on sketch studies, reception history and musical nationalism; his most recent work explores music and the modern city. Frogley is the editor of Vaughan Williams Studies (1996) and the author of Vaughan Williams's Ninth Symphony (2001); he has also contributed to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Aidan J. Thomson taught at the universities of Oxford and Leeds before being appointed Lecturer in Music at Queen's University Belfast in 2003. His main research interests are the music and culture of early twentieth-century Britain and Ireland, particularly the relationship between reception, criticism and analysis. His publications include articles and book chapters on Elgar (in 19th-Century Music, The Cambridge Companion to Elgar, Edward Elgar and His World, Elgar Studies, and Musical Quarterly), Ethel Smyth and Arnold Bax. He has served on the councils of the Royal Musical Association, the North American British Music Studies Association, and the Society for Musicology in Ireland, and is currently the reviews editor of the Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions