In Windsor Forest by Ralph Vaughan Williams
This cantata was adapted by the composer from music from his opera Sir John in Love. Comprising five choral songs, it features texts by Shakespeare (from 'Much Ado About Nothing') and his near contemporaries Thomas Ravenscroft, John Lyly, and Thomas Campion. The first song is a gleeful denunciation of men and their devious ways, scored for women's voices, while the second is a rollicking drinking song for men's voices. The third maintains this energy, with sparkling orchestration to evoke the 'fairies' of its title, before the 'Wedding Chorus' changes the mood to one of blissful tranquillity. The Epilogue is celebratory and grand, bringing the cantata to a powerful close. All of the songs except the third are available individually.
Ralph Vaughan Williams, born in Gloucestershire on 12 October 1872, read History at Cambridge and went to the Royal College of Music where his teachers were Parry, Wood, and Stanford. Vaughan Williams believed in the value of music education and wrote practical competition pieces, serviceable church music, and with the 49th Parallel (1940-41) he found a new outlet in writing for film. His profoundly disturbing Symphony No.6 (1948) received international acclaim with more than a hundred performances in a little over two years. His great sensitivity to the 20th-century human condition, his flexibility in writing for all levels of music making, and his unquestionably great imagination combine to make him one of the key figures in 20th century music. Ralph Vaughan Williams had a long association with Oxford University Press; over 200 publications are available in the Oxford catalogue.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780193391215 |
| ISBN 10 | 019339121X |
| Title | In Windsor Forest |
| Author | Ralph Vaughan Williams |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Sheet music |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Year published | 1931-01-22 |
| Number of pages | 56 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |