{"id":50001,"date":"2024-11-15T16:16:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1c2574d6-73a0-489d-b463-88d72764f143"},"modified":"2024-11-15T17:09:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T16:09:23","slug":"the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lark Ascending: the story of Vaughan Williams’s evocative masterpiece, and five great recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 15 November 2024 at 15:16 PM<\/p>

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The Lark Ascending<\/em>, Ralph Vaughan Williams<\/a><\/strong>‘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<\/em> 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<\/em> for solo violin and orchestra – effectively, a one-movement violin concerto – though a version for violin and piano also exists.<\/p>

The greatest violin concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>

<\/div> <\/figure> <p>Known for its serene and pastoral character, <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em> evokes the gentle movement of the English countryside, with the violin’s soaring lines representing the bird’s song and flight. The work\u2019s 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 <em>Lark<\/em> is a staple of the concert hall and recording studio.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/best-classical-music-to-boost-your-mental-health\">Best classical music to boost your mental health<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-by-nature-weather-storms\">16 captivating evocations of weather, storms, and the drama of nature<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Lark Ascending: first performance<\/h2> <p><strong>Marie Hall (violin); British Symphony Orchestra\/Adrian Boult<\/strong><\/p> <p>This performance at London\u2019s Queen\u2019s Hall in June 1921, featuring Marie Hall with the British Symphony Orchestra, was the start of Adrian Boult\u2019s long association with <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em>. The British <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-does-a-conductor-do\/\">conductor<\/a><\/strong> went on to programme it for decades afterwards, each performance faithfully recorded in his score. He conducted the first performance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/guide-vaughan-williamss-symphony-no-3-pastoral-symphony\/\"><strong>Vaughan Williams\u2019s <em>Pastoral Symphony<\/em><\/strong><\/a> in 1922 and thereafter his championing of Vaughan Williams\u2019s music never faltered.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-vaughan-williamss-pastoral-symphony\/\"><strong>The best recordings of Vaughan Williams’s <em>Pastoral Symphony<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending - Pougnet \/ LPO \/ Boult\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AixYKu9-VOA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first-ever broadcast of The Lark Ascending<\/h2> <p><strong>September 1924<\/strong><\/p> <p>No soloist was named for this scheduled <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em> 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 <em>Lark<\/em> broadcast the following year with the station <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-an-orchestra\/\">orchestra<\/a><\/strong>. Billed as conductor for this 1924 performance was the young New Zealand-born Warwick Braithwaite.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/worlds-best-orchestras\/\">The best orchestras in the world<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first commercial recording<\/h2> <p><strong>Isolde Menges<\/strong> <strong>(violin); Malcolm Sargent<\/strong><\/p> <p>Released on HMV in 1928 with an unnamed orchestra conducted by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/malcolm-sargent\">Malcolm Sargent<\/a><\/strong>, 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 <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em> outside the UK \u2013 in Switzerland, in 1933.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Proms performance<\/h2> <p><strong>Marie Wilson<\/strong>, 1934<\/p> <p>\u2018Miss Marie Wilson played with the right repose\u2019, was how The Times understatedly described her role in this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/\"><strong>BBC Proms<\/strong><\/a> premiere with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/who-was-sir-henry-wood\/\">Henry Wood<\/a><\/strong> at the Queen\u2019s 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\u2019s championing of women orchestral players. She enjoyed an extensive career as a soloist and chamber music player.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/vaughan-williams-reviews\/\"><strong>Read our reviews of the latest Vaughan Williams recordings<\/strong><\/a><\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Lark Ascending for violin and piano<\/h2> <p>Have a listen, below, to what <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em> sounds like in its pared-back arrangement for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/lark-ascending-violin-piano-duo\">violin and piano duo<\/a><\/strong>. What do you think?<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Benjamin Grosvenor & Hyeyoon Park \u2013 The Lark Ascending (for Violin and Piano) \u2013 Vaughan Williams\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Lnv9tBSMDDk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Five great recordings of The Lark Ascending<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tasmin Little (violin); BBC Philharmonic\/Andrew Davis <em>Chandos CHAN10796<\/em> (2013)<strong> <\/strong><\/h3> <p>The second of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/tasmin-little-interview\">Tasmin Little<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s recordings of Vaughan Williams’s <em>The Lark Ascending <\/em>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/conductor-andrew-davis-1944-2024\"><strong>Andrew Davis<\/strong><\/a>, with works by Moeran, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/gustav-holst\">Holst<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/frederick-delius\">Delius<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/edward-elgar\">Elgar<\/a><\/strong>. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/lark-ascending-2\/\">Read our review.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B00FNY1HDC\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Lark Ascending Tasmin Little Chandos <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hugh Bean (violin); Philharmonia Orchestra\/Adrian Boult <em>Warner Classics 680 5262<\/em> (1967)<\/h3> <p>This classic performance of <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em> 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.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B006BYWDZ4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/the-lark-ascending\/692342407\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stream on Apple Music<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-15T140622.429.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Ascending\" class=\"wp-image-215922\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Lark Ascending <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-pieces-music-inspired-birdsong\/\"><strong>Six of the best pieces of music inspired by birdsong<\/strong><\/a><\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Iona Brown (violin); The Academy of St Martin in the Fields\/Neville Marriner <em>Decca 478 5692<\/em> (1971)<\/h3> <p><em>The Lark Ascending <\/em>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.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B00D3HG7O0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/vaughan-williams-lark-ascending-fantasia-on-theme-by\/1452643335\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stream on Apple Music<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-15T140849.749.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Ascending Iona Brown Academy of St Martin in the Fields Neville Marriner \" class=\"wp-image-215923\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Lark Ascending Iona Brown Academy of St Martin in the Fields Neville Marriner <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending; Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis; Symphony No.5\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/1S8h0fZZw27ifqfsaabmbN?utm_source=oembed\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James Ehnes (violin); Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra\/Andrew Manze <em>Onyx<\/em> <em>ONYX4212<\/em> (2019)<\/h3> <p>A moving, lyrical account of the <em>Lark<\/em> from Canadian violinist <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/six-of-the-best-recordings-by-violinist-james-ehnes\">James Ehnes<\/a><\/strong> and the Liverpool Phil under violinist and conductor Andrew Manze. \u2018The music sounds as rapturously beautiful as ever,’ said our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/james-ehnes-and-rlpo-pay-handsome-homage-vaughan-williams\">review<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jennifer Pike (violin); Martin Roscoe (piano) <em>Chandos CHAN20156<\/em> (2020)<\/h3> <p>And now for something a little different. In <em>The Lark Ascending<\/em>\u2019s 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\u2019s performance is bewitchingly immaculate. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/chamber\/elgar-%E2%80%A2-vaughan-williams-sonatas-the-lark-ascending-etc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Read our full review of this recording<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B089HZCGM2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/elgar-vaughan-williams-works-for-violin-piano\/1523070708\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stream on Apple Music<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/11\/Untitled-design-2024-11-15T141946.438.jpg\" alt=\"The Lark Ascending violin piano Jennifer Pike Martin Roscoe\" class=\"wp-image-215926\"\/> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> The Lark Ascending violin piano Jennifer Pike Martin Roscoe <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: The Lark Ascending (Arr. for Violin & Piano)\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/0dhJiY7slkE9r0H4grRjM3?si=xznsflepS6GTmdLayvQKfg&utm_source=oembed\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/vaughan-williams-reviews\/\">Read more reviews of the latest Vaughan Williams recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Friday, 15 November 2024 at 15:16 PM 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50002,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/the-lark-ascending-the-story-of-vaughan-williamss-evocative-masterpiece-and-five-great-recordings.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Friday, 15 November 2024 at 15:16 PM 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…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}