Alain Frogley - The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams

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, have been insufficiently appreciated. This volume brings together a team of leading scholars, examining all areas of the composers 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 composers 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.

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. In 20056 he was a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the editor of Vaughan Williams Studies (1996) and the author of Vaughan Williamss 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 Queens University Belfast in 2003. 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 The Musical Quarterly ), Ethel Smyth and Arnold Bax.

For a list of titles published in the series, please see .

The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams

Edited by

Alain Frogley

University of Connecticut

Aidan J. Thomson

Queens University Belfast

University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.

It furthers the Universitys mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

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Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521162906

Cambridge University Press 2013

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2013

Printed in the United Kingdom by CPI Group Ltd, CR0 4YY

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

The Cambridge companion to Vaughan Williams / edited by Alain Frogley and Aidan J. Thomson.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-521-16290-6

1. Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 18721958. 2. Composers England

Biogaphy. 3. Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 18721958 Criticism and

interpretation. 4. Music England 20th century History and criticism.

I. Frogley, Alain. II. Thomson, Aidan J., 1975

ML410.V3C36 2013

780.92dc23

[B]

2013016199

ISBN 978-0-521-19768-7 Hardback

ISBN 978-0-521-16290-6 Paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In memory of

Ursula Vaughan Williams (19112007)

and

Richard Hickox (19482008)