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Published: Friday, 15 November 2024 at 15:16 PM
The Lark Ascending: the story of Vaughan Williams’s evocative masterpiece, and five great recordings
The Lark Ascending, Ralph Vaughan Williams‘s 15-minute work for violin and orchestra, regularly tops lists of the best-loved pieces of classical music ever written, in Britain at least. Written in 1914 and later revised in 1920, The Lark Ascending is based on a poem of the same name by George Meredith, which reflects on the beauty and flight of a lark soaring high in the sky. The piece is a romanza for solo violin and orchestra – effectively, a one-movement violin concerto – though a version for violin and piano also exists.
Known for its serene and pastoral character, The Lark Ascending evokes the gentle movement of the English countryside, with the violin’s soaring lines representing the bird’s song and flight. The work’s subtle harmonies and flowing melodies create a timeless and soothing sense of tranquility: it’s also one of the most eloquent and articulate evocations of nature and landscape in all of classical music. No surprise, then, that the Lark is a staple of the concert hall and recording studio.
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The Lark Ascending: first performance
Marie Hall (violin); British Symphony Orchestra/Adrian Boult
This performance at London’s Queen’s Hall in June 1921, featuring Marie Hall with the British Symphony Orchestra, was the start of Adrian Boult’s long association with The Lark Ascending. The British conductor went on to programme it for decades afterwards, each performance faithfully recorded in his score. He conducted the first performance of Vaughan Williams’s Pastoral Symphony in 1922 and thereafter his championing of Vaughan Williams’s music never faltered.
The first-ever broadcast of The Lark Ascending
September 1924
No soloist was named for this scheduled The Lark Ascending performance for the BBC Cardiff radio station, but it may have been the all-but-forgotten Leonard Busfield. Busfield was active on the Cardiff network and named as soloist for a Lark broadcast the following year with the station orchestra. Billed as conductor for this 1924 performance was the young New Zealand-born Warwick Braithwaite.
The first commercial recording
Isolde Menges (violin); Malcolm Sargent
Released on HMV in 1928 with an unnamed orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent, this is a vigorous, direct rendering likely affected by time constraints on 78rpm discs. Sussex-born Menges had German roots: she performed widely in the UK, but the international dimension to her career was mainly focused on the celebrated Menges String Quartet. Menges also gave an early performance of The Lark Ascending outside the UK – in Switzerland, in 1933.
First Proms performance
Marie Wilson, 1934
‘Miss Marie Wilson played with the right repose’, was how The Times understatedly described her role in this BBC Proms premiere with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Henry Wood at the Queen’s Hall in September 1934, as part of an all-Vaughan Williams concert. Wilson led the BBC Symphony Orchestra on many occasions, benefiting from Henry Wood’s championing of women orchestral players. She enjoyed an extensive career as a soloist and chamber music player.
Read our reviews of the latest Vaughan Williams recordings
The Lark Ascending for violin and piano
Have a listen, below, to what The Lark Ascending sounds like in its pared-back arrangement for violin and piano duo. What do you think?
Five great recordings of The Lark Ascending
Tasmin Little (violin); BBC Philharmonic/Andrew Davis Chandos CHAN10796 (2013)
The second of Tasmin Little’s recordings of Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending captures the wistfully melancholic dimensions to the English composer’s score in the most natural, unsentimental way. Beautifully sympathetic accompaniment from the BBC Philharmonic and the late, lamented Sir Andrew Davis, with works by Moeran, Holst, Delius and Elgar. Read our review.
Hugh Bean (violin); Philharmonia Orchestra/Adrian Boult Warner Classics 680 5262 (1967)
This classic performance of The Lark Ascending remains a perennial favourite. Famously learned by Hugh Bean in a matter of hours to fill spare studio time, this is an unforced yet radiant recording of Vaughan Williams’s great work for violin and orchestra.
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Iona Brown (violin); The Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner Decca 478 5692 (1971)
The Lark Ascending was a work Iona Brown adored and spoke about with passion and eloquence. Her performance here fully reflects that affection without ever being over-indulgent.
James Ehnes (violin); Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Manze Onyx ONYX4212 (2019)
A moving, lyrical account of the Lark from Canadian violinist James Ehnes and the Liverpool Phil under violinist and conductor Andrew Manze. ‘The music sounds as rapturously beautiful as ever,’ said our review.
Jennifer Pike (violin); Martin Roscoe (piano) Chandos CHAN20156 (2020)
And now for something a little different. In The Lark Ascending’s early days, it was regularly heard in Vaughan Williams’s violin-and-piano arrangement mentioned above, yet this is barely available in recordings. Thankfully, Jennifer Pike’s performance is bewitchingly immaculate. Read our full review of this recording.
Read more reviews of the latest Vaughan Williams recordings