Ralph Vaughan Williams – English Folksong Suite
When considering appropriate aspects of “Englishness” to be reflected in a choice of idiomatic English music, I settled on folk tunes and the piece called English Folksong Suite written by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The composer not only appreciated British landscapes and heritage, but he was also sentimental about Britain`s musical history. In 1923 Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the English Folk Song Suite for wind orchestra. It consists of three movements which based on main British folk songs from the Norfolk and Somerset regions of England. These folk songs bring different stories and emotions.
He first movement is an English march, and it contains three folk songs; Seventeen Come Sunday (played by the woodwinds and strings), Pretty Caroline (solo clarinet), and Dives and Lazarus (lower instruments). The first two folk songs are about military men falling in love with and marrying, beautiful women. The mood of the two songs is creating a contrast. The first is bouncy and jovial while the second is legato and cantabile. Also, the irregular phrasing of the melody adds to the syncopated quirkiness of the march. The third folk song of this movement is Dives and Lazarus. The story of this tune is Lazarus repeatedly begs Dives, a rich man, for food but is denied. To portray the antagonism of the event, the composer set a firm duple meter melody in the low brass against a rigorous triple meter accompaniment in upper winds.
The second movement is an Intermezzo and begins with My Bonnie Boy (solo oboe). The melody interrupted by Green Bushes which is more upbeat and dance-like than the slow, emotional opening. Both folk songs deal with love betrayed. My Bonny Boy is set in the F dorian mode, which features the folk roots in the music. The mood shifts slightly to the folk song Green Bushes which is in a playful scherzando style.
The third movement uses four different folk songs dealing loosely with unattainable love. First folk song is Blow Away the Morning Dew (clarinet solo) describes a country boy attempting to seduce a girl who quickly outwits him. Second folk song is High Germany (led by lower instruments) and it is about a young English woman’s lover and her three brothers being called off to war in Germany. Third folk song is a modified version of The Trees They Do Grow High, and it brings the story of a young woman who has been wed by her father to a much younger boy. The final folk song is John Barleycorn which is an allegory representing the harvesting and cultivation of barley.
Reference
Williams, R., 2021. English Folk Song Suite. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0sC4xbyT5c> [Accessed 5 February 2021]
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021. Ralph Vaughan Williams | British composer. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Vaughan-Williams> [Accessed 5 February 2021]
Williams, R., 2021. English Folk Song Suite (Vaughan Williams, Ralph) – IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download. [online] Imslp.org. Available at: <https://imslp.org/wiki/English_Folk_Song_Suite_(Vaughan_Williams%2C_Ralph)> [Accessed 5 February 2021]
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