8th Symphony (Vaughan Williams)
The 8th Symphony by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was premiered in 1956 in Manchester under Sir John Barbirolli .
Origin and premiere
In 1953, the year his 7th Symphony ( Sinfonia Antartica ) was premiered , Ralph Vaughan Williams began composing his 8th Symphony in D minor , which he completed in 1955. In 1956 it was revised again. The work is dedicated to the first performance conductor Sir John Barbirolli , who launched it on May 2, 1956 with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester . The world premiere of the 8th symphony turned out to be a success with the public (the original Scherzo even led the audience to laugh) and the work of the 83-year-old composer was also largely positively judged by the critics, only the effectively orchestrated finale did not meet with unanimous approval.
Cast, playing time and characterization
The score provides for the following scoring : 2 flutes (2nd also piccolo flute ), 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , 2 trumpets , 3 trombones , timpani , percussion ( vibraphone , triangle , glockenspiel , snare drum , bass drum , Basin , tubular bells , 3 tuned gongs (ad libitum), xylophone ), celesta , 2 harps (2nd ad libitum) and strings .
The duration of the symphony is around 28 minutes.
The four sentences are labeled as follows:
- Fantasia (Variazioni senza Tema)
- Scherzo alla Marcia
- Cavatina
- Toccata
- 1 sentence
The composer himself characterized the first movement as seven variations in search of a theme (“seven variations in search of a theme”). It reveals elements of the sonata form and is based on the transformation of three closely related motifs , of which the first - two ascending fourths in the trumpet, answered by the vibraphone - plays the greatest role.
- 2nd movement
The humorous Scherzo with a fugue-like development and pastoral trio insert in 6/8 time is only set for wind instruments and is thematically based on the first motif of the first movement.
- 3rd movement
In contrast, in the slow 3rd movement (in E minor), which is opened by an expressive melody in the cello, only the strings play. A passage with pentatonic figurations of the solo violin is reminiscent of the composition The Lark Ascending , composed around 40 years earlier .
- 4th movement
The final movement is a modified rondo and adds a rich percussion, which alone requires five players to - according to the composer - all the 'phones and' plays known to the composer (“all the phones and games known to the composer ”) handle. The predominantly joyful, colorful movement leads to a triumphant coda . Vaughan Williams added the three tuned gongs only afterwards under the impression that he had attended a performance of Puccini's Turandot .
literature
- Michael Kennedy: The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Oxford University Press, 2nd Ed. London 1980, ISBN 0193154544 , pp. 334-335, 365-367.
- Jack Diether: LP cover text RCA GL 43579 (Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 6 and 8, André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra.)
- Michael Kennedy: CD text Chandos 10103 (Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 6 and 8, among others, Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra.)
- Keith Anderson: CD-Beitext Naxos 8.550737 (Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 7 and 8, Kees Bakels, Bornemouth Symphony Orchestra.)