The Stage Works: Who Wants the English Composer?
Donald Macleod explores Vaughan Williams's first opera, Hugh the Drover, influenced by his folksong collecting.
Despite his fascination with music for the stage from childhood onwards, Vaughan Williams's operas remain a neglected area of his work. His first opera, Hugh the Drover, was influenced by his folksong collecting of the early 1900s, and the concerns expressed in his 1912 essay 'Who wants the English Composer?'.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
Linden Lea
Performer: Stephen Roberts (baritone)/ Roger Vignoles (piano)
- GMNCO110.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Wasps – Extract:Overture
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra/ Sir Adrian Boult (cond)
- EMI CDM 7 64020 2.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
Hugh the Drover - Extract: Act II
Performer: Rebecca Evans (Mary)/ Bonaventura Bottone (Hugh the Drover)/ Performer: Sarah Walker (Aunt Jane)/Richard van Allan (The Constable)/ Performer: Alan Opie (John the Butcher)/ Corydon Singers/ Corydon Orchestra/ Performer: Matthew Best (cond)
- Hyperion CDA 66901/2.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
London Symphony – Extract: final mvt (orig version)
Performer: LSO/ Richard Hickox (cond)
- CHAN 9902.
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